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DOJ Makes Decision Over Charges In Pence Classified Documents Case

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


The Justice Department has made its decision over whether to charge former Vice President Mike Pence with criminal conduct after he admitted having classified documents in his possession.

According to a letter from the DOJ that was obtained by CNN, the department won’t be pursuing any charges and has closed its investigation into the matter, the network reported Friday.

“The decision comes ahead of Pence’s planned announcement next week that he will run for president in 2024. It allows Pence to offer an additional contrast between himself and former President Donald Trump, his political rival who’s under serious investigation by the Justice Department and others,” the report said, adding:

In January, Pence’s attorney found about a dozen documents marked classified in Pence’s Indiana home after the former vice president asked his lawyer to search his records following the disclosure of classified documents in Joe Biden’s possession in Delaware.

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Pence turned over the classified records to the FBI following their discovery, and the FBI and Justice Department’s National Security Division launched a review of how they ended up at Pence’s home. Pence has said that he had been unaware the documents were at his home but said that “mistakes were made” and took responsibility for it.

The Justice Department is still investigating the handling of classified records by Trump and Biden. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel in each investigation, citing the fact that they are candidates for president.

According to Pence’s team, the former VP was happy with the DOJ’s decision but was not surprised by it.

They told the outlet that they believed that the way in which the former vice president handled the discovery of classified documents was notably different from Trump’s approach.

They emphasized the contrast in two aspects: First, the original process followed by Pence’s team when his documents were packed up at the conclusion of the Trump administration, wherein only a few classified papers were mistakenly included; and secondly, they highlighted Pence’s prompt cooperation with both the FBI and the National Archives upon learning of the situation.

“While Pence’s attorney contacted the National Archives and quickly returned the documents to the FBI, Trump resisted turning over the classified documents in his possession, eventually leading to a subpoena last year and the court-authorized August 2022 FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago resort,” CNN noted.

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Special counsel Jack Smith’s inquiry into Trump’s handling of classified documents and potential obstruction of investigators has led to interviews with numerous aides and employees of the former president. In recent months, there has been significant grand jury activity, indicating that a decision on whether to bring charges could be imminent, CNN noted.

Last August, during a search of Mar-a-Lago, the FBI recovered over 100 classified documents. The action occurred after Trump’s attorneys had previously affirmed that he had handed over all classified material in his possession in response to a subpoena, the report said.

In January, an attorney for Pence announced that he found classified documents at the Indiana home of the former vice president and has given them to the FBI.

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At the time, CNN reported: “The FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence’s house in Indiana. The classified documents were discovered at Pence’s new home in Carmel, Indiana, by a lawyer for Pence in the wake of the revelations about classified material discovered in President Joe Biden’s private office and residence, the sources said. The discovery comes after Pence has repeatedly said he did not have any classified documents in his possession.”

President Joe Biden has also been found to have classified documents in his possession as well. Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned a special counsel to that probe as well.

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