Clinton, Bush, Obama Handed Over All Classified Papers After Leaving Office, Media Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former US presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have handed over all classified documents to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) after their departure from the post, with no additional searches conducted, American media reported, citing the ex-officials' representatives.

"All of President Clinton's classified materials were properly turned over to NARA in accordance with the Presidential Records Act," Clinton's office was quoted by the media.

Bush and Obama's representatives said that no additional searches of former leaders' offices or homes were carried out, as cited in the report.

Scandals associated with mishandled official papers erupted around incumbent US President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, in recent weeks and months.

On January 9, US media reported that Biden's personal attorneys discovered 10 classified documents pertaining to Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom at his think-tank's office, prompting a federal probe into the matter. Several new packages of classified official papers have been discovered in Biden's personal home in Wilmington, Delaware since then.

Last August, the possession of classified documents about nuclear weapons was one of the reasons for the search Trump's Mar-a-Largo residence in Florida. Law enforcement officials seized thousands of documents, including those with various levels of secrecy, up to the highest. Trump disagreed with the investigative procedures and criticized the Justice Department's actions, saying they were politically motivated.

The searched locations included Trump Tower in New York, the Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, an office location in Florida as well as a Florida storage unit where they discovered two classified documents.