Biden on Classified Documents: 'What Quite Frankly Bugs Me' and 'There Is No There There' (January 19, 2023)

On a California beach, after touring storm damage, President Joe Biden took one question, about the classified documents found at his home and former office. He did not hide his annoyance. “You know, the only—I will answer the question, but here’s the deal: You know, what quite frankly bugs me is that we have a serious problem here we’re talking about,” Biden said [1].

“And the American people don’t quite understand why you don’t ask me questions about that. But having said that, what’s your question?” [1]

“Do you have any regret, sir, that you did not reveal the existence of the documents back in November, before the midterms?” the reporter asked [1].

“Just hang on, okay? Look, as we found—we found a handful of documents that were failed—were filed in the wrong place. We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department,” Biden said. “I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there. I have no regrets. I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It’s exactly what we’re doing. There is no there there.” [1]

The video above shows the exchange at Seacliff State Park in Aptos, California, on Jan. 19, 2023. Quotes are from the official transcripts and pool reports published by the American Presidency Project [1][2][3].

”Expressed Irritation”

The pooler described the moment. Biden “expressed irritation about being asked about documents scandal - before asking to hear the question,” the report said. “He told a staffer to hang on while he answered.” [2]

Earlier in the day, in Capitola, “POTUS ignored an innocuous shouted question about what he had learned on the trip,” the pool reported [2].

”These Helicopter Rides”

Biden opened by turning to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Well, Governor, you and I have got to stop taking these helicopter rides. We’ve made a bunch of them,” he said. “You’ve been hit—if anybody doubts the climate is changing, then they must have been asleep for the last couple of years.” [1]

Newsom told the crowd that “21 lives have been lost,” the pool reported [2]. Biden said the federal government had spent “$9 billion in disaster assistance to California for the extreme weather events they’ve had to go through. Nine billion.” [1]

“I’m Moving On”

On Air Force One, reporters pressed principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton about the House Oversight Committee’s new investigation. The committee’s chairman had just written to the University of Pennsylvania “requesting information regarding the Penn Biden Center,” a reporter noted [3]. “Do you pledge to cooperate with the House Oversight Committee for any requests that they may make? That’s an easy one,” a reporter asked [3].

“Again, I have to refer you to White House Counsel’s Office on this,” Dalton said [3].

“You can’t even give a simple pledge that, ‘Of course we’re going to cooperate with an Oversight Committee in Congress’?” the reporter asked. “So will you ignore requests from the House Oversight Committee?” [3]

“Again, I just need to refer you to my colleague to handle,” Dalton said. Asked once more, she ended it: “I’m moving on.” [3]

“Other Polling Out There”

Another reporter cited a new poll. “There’s a new Reuters/Ipsos poll out this morning, and it gives the President an approval rating of 40 percent,” the reporter said. “Does it reflect on the handling of the documents crisis?” [3]

“Well, look, I would just say that there’s other polling out there that shows that the President — his support continues to grow. Certainly, the FiveThirtyEight average shows that,” Dalton said [3].

By the Numbers

1: question Biden took at the end of his remarks, per the pool [2].
21: lives lost in the California storms, per Newsom [2].
$9 billion: disaster aid to California that Biden cited [1].
40%: Biden’s approval in the Reuters/Ipsos poll a reporter cited [3].
6: items with classification markings the Justice Department took from his home the next day, per his lawyer [4].

What Happened Next

The FBI searched his home the next day. “On Jan. 20, 2023, the FBI executed a planned, consensual search of the President’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware,” a Justice Department official told Fox News. The search “began Friday at 9:45 a.m. and concluded around 10:30 p.m.” [4]

Biden’s lawyer, Bob Bauer, said the Justice Department “took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials” [4].

The special counsel reported. In February 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report said that “at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” “We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,” the report said, according to Fox News [5].

The report also said Biden “did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended,” and that “He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died” [5].

For the White House’s answers on “no regrets” four days later, see HYGO News’ page on the Jan. 23, 2023, briefing.