Biden removed and retained classified documents without authorization

On November 2, 2022, Biden's attorneys found classified documents dating to his vice presidency in a "locked closet" at the Penn Biden Center. According to the White House, the documents were reported that day to the U.S. National Archives, which recovered the documents the next day. On November 14, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. to conduct an investigation. On December 20, a second batch of classified documents was discovered in the garage of Biden's Wilmington, Delaware residence.

The findings were made public on January 10, 2023, after several news organizations published articles on the investigation. On January 12, Garland appointed Robert K. Hur as special counsel to investigate "possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records". The next day, the House Judiciary Committee opened a separate investigation into the documents. On January 20, after a 13-hour consensual search by FBI investigators, six more items with classified markings were recovered from Biden's Wilmington residence. FBI agents searched Biden's home in Rehoboth Beach on February 1 and collected papers and notes from his time as vice president, but did not find any classified information.