On January 18 of 2023, National Archives was informed by Pence about his potential possession of classified documents, some including vice presidential documents.  The FBI was notified, and the documents were placed in a safe accordingly.  Pence’s team insisted that the Department of Justice must officially confirm that some of the documents were classified despite their labels.  In other locations like the Advancing American Freedom Office, no classified papers were discovered.

Pence claimed that he was unaware of the presence of potentially classified documents in his Carmel, Indiana home.  He explained in a recent interview with Fox News that “‘…during the closing days of the administration, when materials were boxed and assembled…mistakes were made.’” (Creitz, 2023).  However, in the midst of investigations, Pence ensured complete cooperation with the procedures regardless of the source (National Archives, Congress, or the Justice Department).

Pence also claimed that he takes, “‘…full responsibility for it, and…going to continue to support every appropriate inquiry into it.’” (Creitz, 2023).  When president Biden was informed, he announced that Pence has “‘no regrets’” over this controversy (Creitz, 2023).

Security analysts also reported to USA TODAY that cases like these “…need…more safeguarding of classified materials, especially between presidential administrations” (Tilley, 2023).

References

Creitz, C. (2023, January 27). Pence speaks out for first time after classified docs found in Indiana Home: ‘mistakes were made’. Fox News. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://www.foxnews.com/media/pence-speaks-out-for-first-time-after-classified-docs-found-in-indiana-home-mistakes-made

Laco, K. (2023, January 24). Former vice president Mike Pence discovered classified documents in Indiana Home. Fox News. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vice-president-mike-pence-discovered-classified-documents-indiana-home

Tilley, J. P. (2023, January 24). Classified documents found in former vice president Mike Pence’s Carmel, Indiana Home. The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/24/vp-pence-had-classified-documents-in-his-indiana-house-cnn-reports/69836818007/