US: Republicans probe Biden's handling of classified docs; question if Hunter had access

US House of Representatives Republicans investigating President Joe Biden for possession of two batches of classified documents related to his time as the Vice President during the Obama administration, on Friday, questioned whether his son, Hunter Biden also had access to them. In a letter that they dispatched to the White House, the Republicans asked if Hunter Biden had the access to the classified documents found at his private residence in Delaware, which was owned by his son in 2018. The other batch of the documents was found in his garage tucked away in his corvette. 

Hunter Biden's licence shows he 'owned' the house through 2018

As they criticised Biden’s handling of classified documents, Republicans also pushed for a probe related to Biden's son Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine, reports confirmed. Representative James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, pointed out that the home where the classified documents were discovered was listed as Hunter Biden’s address on his driver’s licence in 2018. 

“The Committee is concerned President Biden stored classified documents at the same location his son resided while engaging in international business deals with adversaries of the United States,” the letter cited by the American broadcasters sent to the White House read. 

Biden’s legal team said in televised statements that as the search for more documents was on, another set of classified documents was discovered in Biden's think tank office. The new batch of classified documents was first reported by NBC news. American Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a special counsel to probe the material relating to US intelligence and memos about Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom found at Biden's residence and private office whilst his attorneys were packing files at his former private office. Some classified documents were marked as “top secret."

The special counsel appointed to investigate Biden is Robert Hur, nominated to be US attorney in Maryland by the former Republican President Donald Trump in 2017. Under the United States Presidential Records Act, classified documents must be turned in to the National Archives when an administration ends for the party officials. 

“I strongly believe that the normal processes of this department can handle all investigations with integrity. But under the regulations, the extraordinary circumstances here require the appointment of a special counsel for this matter,” Garland was quoted as saying by broadcaster CNN. “This appointment underscores for the public the department’s commitment to independence and accountability and particularly sensitive matters and to making decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law," he noted. 

Image: AP