Former Vice President Mike Pence will not be charged in the Justice Department’s investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records from his time in the Trump administration.
Multiple sources told Fox News that the Justice Department has closed the investigation into Pence’s possession of classified documents at his residence in Indiana.
The Justice Department sent a letter to Pence attorneys this week that said the FBI and DOJ have completed the investigation no criminal charges will be brought against the former vice president.
Pence informed Congress and the National Archives in January that he discovered documents with classified markings in his Carmel, Indiana, home on Jan. 16 from his time as vice president.
Pence told the National Archives on Jan. 18 about a small number of potentially classified documents found in two boxes. Another two boxes contained copies of vice presidential papers, and all of them were immediately put into a safe, according to the Pence team.
The Pence team said the decision to search the former vice president’s home and office of his political advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, for classified documents came after the initial revelations that President Biden held classified records at the Penn Biden Center.
VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE DISCOVERED CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS IN INDIANA HOME
Attorney General Merrick Garland had appointed two special counsels to investigate both former President Trump and President Biden for their alleged retention of classified records.
The FBI seized classified records from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida last August during an unprecedented raid. In November, Garland appointed former DOJ official Jack Smith as special counsel to investigate the matter.
At the time, Garland initially chose U.S. Attorney John Lausch to conduct a review of classified records that were discovered at the Penn Biden Center. In December, more classified records were found at Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware home, but the discoveries were not made public until this year.
Garland later appointed U.S. Attorney Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate Biden’s improper retention of classified records. Hur took over the DOJ investigation from Lausch.
The status of the Trump and Biden special counsel investigations are unclear at this point. Both Trump and Biden have announced their 2024 presidential campaigns.
Pence is expected to launch his presidential campaign next week in a campaign video and at an event in Des Moines, Iowa on June 7.