Trump Appointee To Review Classified Documents Found In Biden's Penn Biden Center Office

A U.S. attorney appointed by former President Donald Trump has been tapped to oversee the review of the classified materials found in President Joe Biden's former office at the Penn Biden Center, according to a report.

The documents date to Biden's vice-presidential days. John R. Lausch Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, will allegedly be overseeing the review of Biden documents, The Washington Post reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Lausch is a Trump appointee and is one of two presidentially appointed U.S. attorneys that the Biden administration kept on at the request of Democratic senators from Illinois.

In addition to Atty. Lausch, one of the sources, also claimed that the FBI will be taking part in the review.

The outlet noted that the Justice Department, the FBI, and Atty. Lausch are yet to comment on the reporting. The International Business Times also could not independently verify the information.

As per previous reporting, Biden's personal lawyers found nearly 10 documents in a locked closet while preparing to vacate the office space at the Penn Biden Center. Biden frequently used the office from mid-2017 until he launched his presidential bid in the 2020 election.

The documents were discovered on Nov. 2, just days before the 2022 midterm elections. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said they immediately notified the National Archives of the discovery, adding that archive officials took possession of the documents the following morning.

"The discovery of these documents was made by the President's attorneys," Sauber said in a statement cited by CBS News. "The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives. Since that discovery, the President's personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives."

Biden's case has several parallels with that of Trump. However, the documents were discovered by Biden's lawyers and immediately surrendered to the National Archives. In comparison, Trump's office surrendered 38 classified documents only after it was served with a grand jury subpoena demanding their return.

Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence was also raided by the FBI in August, wherein officials recovered additional classified materials not turned over to authorities.