The special counsel investigating President Joe Biden's handling of sensitive government records has brought on Marc Krickbaum, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, and Daniel Loveland, who served as counsel to former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, to assist in the probe, reports Bloomberg.
The special counsel, Robert Hur, is working to determine how classified information from Biden's time as senator and vice president came to wind up in his home and former office — and whether any mishandling involved criminal intent or was unintentional. But they'll also have to determine whether the notes they took are considered personal and therefore belong to Biden and would then likely be returned to him.
Hur was appointed to the role by Attorney General Merrick Garland in February.
The White House in a statement declined to comment on Hur's recent moves but said Biden's staff is working with Hur's office.
"We've been fully cooperative. The president has been fully cooperative. His lawyers are in direct discussions with the Justice Department. And that's going to continue," White House spokesman Ian Sams told reporters on Feb. 1.
There have been multiple cases in recent years of high-level officials mishandling notes about classified operations. Former CIA Director David Petraeus was prosecuted for his handling of eight notebooks of classified and unclassified notes he collected during his time leading U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan. According to a plea agreement, Petraeus kept the notebooks in his private possession and allowed his biographer, with whom he was having an affair, to review them.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.