WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Key dates related to the discovery of classified documents tied to President Joe Biden, based on statements from the White House, the president and Attorney General Merrick Garland:
鈥 Jan. 20, 2017: Biden's two terms as vice president to President Barack Obama end.
鈥 Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington.
鈥 Jan. 20, 2021: Biden is sworn in as president.
鈥 Nov. 2, 2022: Biden's personal attorneys come across Obama-Biden administration documents in a locked closet while packing files as they prepare to close out Biden's office in the Penn Biden Center. They notify the 春色直播 Archives.
鈥 Nov. 3, 2022: The 春色直播 Archives takes possession of the documents.
鈥 Nov. 4, 2022: The 春色直播 Archives informs the Justice Department about the documents.
鈥 Nov. 8, 2022: Midterm elections.
鈥 November-December 2022: Biden鈥檚 lawyers search the president鈥檚 homes in Wilmington, Delaware, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to see if there are other documents from his vice presidency.
鈥 Nov. 9, 2022: The FBI begins an assessment of whether classified information has been mishandled.
鈥 Nov. 14, 2022: Garland assigns U.S. attorney John Lausch to look into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the matter.
鈥 Dec. 20, 2022: Biden's personal counsel informs Lausch that a second batch of classified documents has been discovered in the garage at Biden's Wilmington home. The FBI goes to Biden's home in Wilmington and secures the documents.
鈥 Jan. 5, 2023: Lausch advises Garland he believes that appointing a special counsel is warranted.
鈥 Jan. 9, 2023: CBS News, followed by other news organizations, reveals the discovery of the documents at the Penn Biden Center. The White House acknowledges that 鈥渁 small number鈥 of Obama-Biden administration records, including some with classified markings, were found at the center. It makes no mention of the documents found in Wilmington.
鈥 Jan. 10: 2023: Biden for the first time addresses the document issue. During a press conference in Mexico City, he says he was 鈥渟urprised to learn that there were any documents鈥 in the Penn Biden Center and doesn't know what's in them. He does not mention the documents found in Wilmington.
鈥 Jan. 11, 2023: Biden's lawyers complete their search of Biden's residences, find one additional classified document in the president's personal library in Wilmington. NBC News and other news organizations reveal a second batch of documents has been found at a location other than the Penn Wilson Center.
鈥 Jan. 12: 2023: Biden鈥檚 lawyer informs Lausch that an additional classified document has been found. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, reveals publicly for the first time that documents were found in Biden's Wilmington garage and one document was found in an adjacent room. Garland announces that he has appointed Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in the Trump administration, to serve as special counsel.
