WASHINGTON — When Hillary Clinton was running for president, her campaign wanted a gentler way to talk about the criminal investigation into her private email server, so they called it a “security review.”
Now President Joe Biden’s team is using similar language when talking about the discovery of classified documents in his Delaware home and former office. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, has often described the situation as a “review” or a “legal process,” using the term “investigation” less frequently.
Susan Walsh, Associated Press
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing Wednesday at the White House in Washington. President Joe Biden’s team has faced criticism for its fragmented disclosures about classified documents.
Any White House or campaign tends to choose its words carefully, but never more so than when under a prosecutor’s scrutiny. It’s a rhetorical dance where political figures weigh demands for full disclosure against the political imperative to cast investigations in the least ominous light — not to mention the desire to avoid potential criminal charges.
“Between the media and political concerns of protecting a president by being transparent, and the legal concerns of not speaking when you don’t know everything, there’s got to be a balance,” said Lanny Davis, who served as a legal adviser to then-President Bill Clinton as he faced investigations from independent counsel Ken Starr.
Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House counsel’s office, acknowledged that tug of war when speaking off-camera to reporters this past week — a conversation in which he didn’t shy away from using the word “investigation” repeatedly.
“I understand that there’s a tension between protecting and safeguarding the integrity of an ongoing investigation with providing information publicly appropriate with that,” he said.
Biden himself flashed frustration at all the focus on the documents matter when reporters questioned him about it while he was touring storm damage in California on Friday.
Andrew Harnik, Associated Press
President Joe Biden responds to questions from reporters after speaking Jan. 12 on the White House Campus in Washington.
He said he was confident “there’s no there there” and described the controversy as merely “a handful of documents … filed in the wrong place.”
Biden’s team has faced criticism for its fragmented disclosures about the documents, occasionally leading to heated exchanges between reporters and Jean-Pierre in the White House briefing room.
She ran into trouble when she suggested last Friday that all documents had been recovered, only to have an additional discovery disclosed over the weekend.
“Are you upset that you came out to this podium on Friday with incomplete and inaccurate information?” one reporter asked Jean-Pierre on Tuesday. “And are you concerned that it affects your credibility up here?”
Jean-Pierre responded by saying that “what I’m concerned about is making sure that we do not politically interfere in the Department of Justice,” describing the situation as an “ongoing process.”
Earlier in the briefing, Jean-Pierre said she was trying to be “prudent” with what information she shares.
Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press
The building that housed office space of President Joe Biden's former institute, the Penn Biden Center, is seen at the corner of Constitution and Louisiana Avenue NW in Washington. The White House has faced criticism for waiting two months to disclose that the president's lawyers had located some documents with classified markings in a locked closet at the center.
“I’m going to let this ongoing review that is happening, this legal process that is happening, and let that process continue under the special counsel,” she said.
There’s a long history of administrations deflecting about ongoing probes. Scott McClellan, who represented President George W. Bush’s White House, and Mike McCurry, who did the same for President Bill Clinton, frequently punted questions elsewhere rather than provide their own commentary.
Davis also said he doesn’t blame the White House for favoring some words over others.
“You use the word ‘review’ instead of ‘investigation.’ I’ve done it hundreds of times on behalf of clients,” he said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to lead the investigation, a decision that could leave a lingering cloud over the White House as Biden prepares a potential reelection campaign.
Richard Sauber, a lawyer for the president, has not used the word “investigation” in any of his written statements about the case, but he’s stressed the White House’s willingness to cooperate with the Justice Department. He said Thursday: “We are confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.”
There’s no single playbook for how to speak about a criminal investigation that reaches into the White House or touches one of its aspirants.
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AP file
Jan. 20, 2017: Biden's two terms as vice president to President Barack Obama end.
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AP file
Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington.
AP file
Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington.
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AP file
Jan. 20, 2021: Biden is sworn in as president.
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AP file
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 National Archives.
Nov. 3, 2022: The National Archives takes possession of the documents.
Nov. 4, 2022: The National Archives informs the Justice Department about the documents.
AP file
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 National Archives.
Nov. 3, 2022: The National Archives takes possession of the documents.
Nov. 4, 2022: The National Archives informs the Justice Department about the documents.
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AP file
Nov. 8, 2022: Midterm elections.
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White House via AP, File
November-December 2022: Biden's lawyers search the president's homes in Wilmington, Delaware, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to see if there are other documents from his vice presidency.
White House via AP, File
November-December 2022: Biden's lawyers search the president's homes in Wilmington, Delaware, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to see if there are other documents from his vice presidency.
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AP file
Nov. 9, 2022: The FBI begins an assessment of whether classified information has been mishandled.
AP file
Nov. 9, 2022: The FBI begins an assessment of whether classified information has been mishandled.
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AP file
Nov. 14, 2022: Garland assigns U.S. attorney John Lausch to look into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the matter.
AP file
Nov. 14, 2022: Garland assigns U.S. attorney John Lausch to look into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the matter.
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AP file
Jan. 5, 2023: Lausch advises Garland he believes that appointing a special counsel is warranted.
AP file
Jan. 5, 2023: Lausch advises Garland he believes that appointing a special counsel is warranted.
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AP file
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 "a small number" 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.
AP file
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 "a small number" 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.
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AP file
Jan. 10: 2023: Biden for the first time addresses the document issue. During a press conference in Mexico City, he says he was "surprised to learn that there were any documents" in the Penn Biden Center and doesn't know what's in them. He does not mention the documents found in Wilmington.
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.
AP file
Jan. 10: 2023: Biden for the first time addresses the document issue. During a press conference in Mexico City, he says he was "surprised to learn that there were any documents" in the Penn Biden Center and doesn't know what's in them. He does not mention the documents found in Wilmington.
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.
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AP file
Jan. 12: 2023: Biden's 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.
AP file
Jan. 12: 2023: Biden's 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.
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Jessica Christian, AP
Jan. 19, 2023: On a trip to tour California storm damage, President Joe Biden says there is "no there there" after the discovery of classified documents and official records at his home and former office. Biden says they "found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place." Biden says he is "fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”
Jessica Christian, AP
Jan. 19, 2023: On a trip to tour California storm damage, President Joe Biden says there is "no there there" after the discovery of classified documents and official records at his home and former office. Biden says they "found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place." Biden says he is "fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”
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Carolyn Kaster, AP
Jan. 20: The FBI searches President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware and locates six additional documents containing classified markings and also takes possession of some of his notes, the president's lawyer says. Authorities have complete access to the home and spend nearly 13 hours combing through handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists and schedules.
Jan. 21: President Joe Biden’s lawyers publicly reveal the results of the Jan. 20 search.
Carolyn Kaster, AP
Jan. 20: The FBI searches President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware and locates six additional documents containing classified markings and also takes possession of some of his notes, the president's lawyer says. Authorities have complete access to the home and spend nearly 13 hours combing through handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists and schedules.
Jan. 21: President Joe Biden’s lawyers publicly reveal the results of the Jan. 20 search.
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AP file
Then-President Donald Trump left the White House for Florida ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. According to the General Services Administration, members of Trump's transition team were responsible for packing items into boxes, putting boxes on pallets and shrink-wrapping those pallets so they could be transported.
Prior to shipping, GSA said it "required the outgoing transition team to certify in writing that the items being shipped were required to wind down the Office of the Former President and would be utilized as the Office transitioned to its new location in Florida."
GSA did not examine the contents of the boxes and "had no knowledge of the contents prior to shipping," according to an agency spokesperson. GSA was also not responsible for the former president's personal belongings, which were transported by a private moving company.
Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are considered federal property — not private — and are supposed to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location.
AP file
Then-President Donald Trump left the White House for Florida ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. According to the General Services Administration, members of Trump's transition team were responsible for packing items into boxes, putting boxes on pallets and shrink-wrapping those pallets so they could be transported.
Prior to shipping, GSA said it "required the outgoing transition team to certify in writing that the items being shipped were required to wind down the Office of the Former President and would be utilized as the Office transitioned to its new location in Florida."
GSA did not examine the contents of the boxes and "had no knowledge of the contents prior to shipping," according to an agency spokesperson. GSA was also not responsible for the former president's personal belongings, which were transported by a private moving company.
Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are considered federal property — not private — and are supposed to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Multiple federal laws govern the handling of classified and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location.
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AP file
After NARA realized that documents from Trump's presidency seemed to be missing from the material that it received as he left office, the agency requested the records from Trump on or about May 6, 2021, according to a heavily redacted affidavit made public Aug. 26, 2022.
AP file
After NARA realized that documents from Trump's presidency seemed to be missing from the material that it received as he left office, the agency requested the records from Trump on or about May 6, 2021, according to a heavily redacted affidavit made public Aug. 26, 2022.
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AP file
The special agent in charge of NARA's Office of the Inspector General sent a referral to the Justice Department via email after a preliminary review of the boxes revealed numerous classified documents.
"Of most significant concern," they wrote, according to a heavily-redacted affidavit released last week, "was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly (sic) identified."
After an initial review of the NARA referral, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
AP file
The special agent in charge of NARA's Office of the Inspector General sent a referral to the Justice Department via email after a preliminary review of the boxes revealed numerous classified documents.
"Of most significant concern," they wrote, according to a heavily-redacted affidavit released last week, "was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly (sic) identified."
After an initial review of the NARA referral, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
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AP file
Trump's Save America PAC released a statement insisting the return of the documents had been as "routine" and "no big deal."
Trump insisted the "papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis," and added, "It was a great honor to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy."
AP file
Trump's Save America PAC released a statement insisting the return of the documents had been as "routine" and "no big deal."
Trump insisted the "papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis," and added, "It was a great honor to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy."
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AP file
The Justice Department sent a letter to Trump's lawyers seeking immediate access to the material, citing "important national security interest."
"Access to the materials is not only necessary for purposes of our ongoing criminal investigation, but the Executive Branch must also conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps," the department wrote.
Trump's lawyers requested an additional extension.
AP file
The Justice Department sent a letter to Trump's lawyers seeking immediate access to the material, citing "important national security interest."
"Access to the materials is not only necessary for purposes of our ongoing criminal investigation, but the Executive Branch must also conduct an assessment of the potential damage resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary remedial steps," the department wrote.
Trump's lawyers requested an additional extension.
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AP file
Three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney went to Mar-a-Lago to collect additional material offered by a Trump attorney in response to the subpoena. They were given "a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape, containing the documents," according to an Aug. 30 filing.
That envelope, it was later found, contained 38 documents with classification markings, including five documents marked confidential, 16 marked secret and 17 marked top secret.
During the visit, the filing said, "Counsel for the former President offered no explanation as to why boxes of government records, including 38 documents with classification markings, remained at the Premises nearly five months after the production of the Fifteen Boxes and nearly one-and-a-half years after the end of the Administration."
Trump's lawyers also told investigators that all of the records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago storage room. Investigators were permitted to visit the room, but were "explicitly prohibited" from opening or looking inside any of the boxes, they reported, "giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained."
The Justice Department was also given a signed certification letter stating that a "diligent search" had been completed and that no documents remained.
AP file
Three FBI agents and a DOJ attorney went to Mar-a-Lago to collect additional material offered by a Trump attorney in response to the subpoena. They were given "a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape, containing the documents," according to an Aug. 30 filing.
That envelope, it was later found, contained 38 documents with classification markings, including five documents marked confidential, 16 marked secret and 17 marked top secret.
During the visit, the filing said, "Counsel for the former President offered no explanation as to why boxes of government records, including 38 documents with classification markings, remained at the Premises nearly five months after the production of the Fifteen Boxes and nearly one-and-a-half years after the end of the Administration."
Trump's lawyers also told investigators that all of the records that had come from the White House were stored in one location — a Mar-a-Lago storage room. Investigators were permitted to visit the room, but were "explicitly prohibited" from opening or looking inside any of the boxes, they reported, "giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained."
The Justice Department was also given a signed certification letter stating that a "diligent search" had been completed and that no documents remained.
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AP file
The Justice Department filed an application for a search and seizure warrant of Mar-a-Lago, citing "probable cause" that additional presidential records and records containing classified information remained in various parts of the club.
"There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction" would be found, read the heavily-redacted copy of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for the search.
The Justice Department also revealed in the Aug. 30 filing that it had found evidence "that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in South Florida approved the application that same day.
AP file
The Justice Department filed an application for a search and seizure warrant of Mar-a-Lago, citing "probable cause" that additional presidential records and records containing classified information remained in various parts of the club.
"There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction" would be found, read the heavily-redacted copy of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for the search.
The Justice Department also revealed in the Aug. 30 filing that it had found evidence "that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in South Florida approved the application that same day.
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AP file
The FBI executed the search at Mar-a-Lago, seizing 36 items of evidence, including boxes and containers holding more than 100 classified records, an order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone and information about the "President of France."
Agents found classified documents both in the storage room as well as in the former president's office — including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in office desks.
They included items so sensitive that, "In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents."
"That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the 'diligent search' that the former President's counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter," the Justice Department wrote.
Trump and his allies, meanwhile, cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system aimed at damaging him politically as he prepares for another potential White House run.
AP file
The FBI executed the search at Mar-a-Lago, seizing 36 items of evidence, including boxes and containers holding more than 100 classified records, an order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone and information about the "President of France."
Agents found classified documents both in the storage room as well as in the former president's office — including three classified documents found not in boxes, but in office desks.
They included items so sensitive that, "In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents."
"That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the 'diligent search' that the former President's counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter," the Justice Department wrote.
Trump and his allies, meanwhile, cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system aimed at damaging him politically as he prepares for another potential White House run.
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AP file
Judge Reinhart unsealed the warrant that authorized the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago, which details that federal agents were investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.
AP file
Judge Reinhart unsealed the warrant that authorized the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago, which details that federal agents were investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.
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AP file
A highly redacted version of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for searching Mar-a-Lago was released.
AP file
A highly redacted version of the affidavit laying out the FBI's rationale for searching Mar-a-Lago was released.
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Department of Justice via AP
The Justice Department responded to Trump's request for a special master in a filing that included new details about the investigation, including an assertion that classified documents were "likely concealed and removed" from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to obstruct the probe.
It included a photograph of some the material found at the club, including cover pages of paperclip-bound documents — some marked as "TOP SECRET//SCI" with bright yellow borders and one marked as "SECRET//SCI" with a rust-colored border — splayed out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago.
"Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see," Trump responded. "Thought they wanted them kept Secret?"
Department of Justice via AP
The Justice Department responded to Trump's request for a special master in a filing that included new details about the investigation, including an assertion that classified documents were "likely concealed and removed" from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to obstruct the probe.
It included a photograph of some the material found at the club, including cover pages of paperclip-bound documents — some marked as "TOP SECRET//SCI" with bright yellow borders and one marked as "SECRET//SCI" with a rust-colored border — splayed out on a carpet at Mar-a-Lago.
"Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see," Trump responded. "Thought they wanted them kept Secret?"
Former President Donald Trump, for instance, spewed vitriol at the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller during an investigation into whether his 2016 campaign coordinated with Russia, repeatedly deriding it as a “witch hunt” and claiming, falsely, that it was led by “angry Democrats.” Bill Clinton’s personal lawyer, David Kendall, blasted Starr for leaks and “overkill” in his investigation during House impeachment proceedings in 1998.
In some instances, the White House has disclosed or confirmed information about an ongoing criminal probe that a defense lawyer in a lower-profile probe might be less inclined to do. That’s what happened in 2004 when the White House acknowledged to the media that President Bush had been interviewed by investigators as part of a special counsel probe into the leak of the covert identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame one year earlier.
“The leaking of classified information is a very serious matter,” McClellan, then White House press secretary, said at the time. “No one wants to get to the bottom of this matter more than the president of the United States.”
Seth Wenig, Associated Press
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, pictured in March 2015 at United Nations headquarters, faced questions about using a private email server.
Hillary Clinton came under an FBI investigation in 2015 for her use of a private email server as secretary of state. Dogged by questions on the campaign trail about the probe, she and campaign officials took to calling it a “security review” or “security inquiry.”
In the Biden case, the White House has faced criticism for waiting two months to disclose that the president’s lawyers had located some documents with classified markings in a locked closet at the Penn Biden Center in Washington. Officials did not reveal until several days later that even more documents had also been located, this time in Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Jean-Pierre rejected suggestions that the White House had not been transparent. Even though the public wasn’t informed, she said, the Justice Department and National Archives had been notified.
“I want to say that we have been transparent here,” she said. “That is why the minute that his lawyers found those documents, they reported it.”
