Republicans launch investigations into Biden’s handling of classified papers

Republicans on the House judiciary committee on Friday announced an investigation into the discovery of classified documents at Joe Biden's Delaware home and former office in Washington DC.

The GOP representatives, newly in control of committees after their party took the House last November, made their move a day after the attorney general, Merrick Garland, announced the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the matter.

In a letter to Garland, the judiciary committee chair, Jim Jordan of Ohio, said: "We are conducting oversight of the justice department's actions with respect to former vice-president Biden's mishandling of classified documents, including the apparently unauthorized possession of classified material at a Washington DC private office and in the garage of his residence in Wilmington.

"On 12 January 2023, you appointed Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate these matters. The circumstances of this appointment raise fundamental oversight questions that the committee routinely examines. We expect your complete cooperation with our inquiry."

The letter noted that the documents were discovered just before the midterm elections, and accused the justice department of departing "from how it acted in similar circumstances", namely the inquiry into government secrets found at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

A special counsel, Jack Smith, has been investigating Trump since November - an announcement made after the midterm elections.

The Republican congressmen demanded Garland turn over an array of documents related to the Biden investigation by 27 January.