The White House along with the U.S. Secret Service said Monday they do not maintain visitor logs for President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called for the release of visitors logs.
Comer sent a letter on Sunday to White House chief of staff Ron Klain asking for the visitor logs amid the Justice Department and House Republicans’ investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents from his time as vice president in the Obama administration.
“Given the serious national security implications, the White House must provide the Wilmington residence’s visitor log,” Comer wrote. “As Chief of Staff, you are head of the Executive Office of the President and bear responsibility to be transparent with the American people on these important issues related to the White House’s handling of this matter.”
The White House responded on Monday by saying no such visitor logs exist for the President’s home in Wilmington.
“Like every President across decades of modern history, his personal residence is personal,” White House counsel’s office spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement. “But upon taking office, President Biden restored the norm and tradition of keeping White House visitors logs, including publishing them regularly, after the previous administration ended them.”
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the White House’s statement, saying “we don’t independently maintain our own visitor logs because it’s a private residence.”
The news comes a day after the White House said two other batches of documents were found that had been disclosed, bringing the total number to three: a “small” number in a Washington office Biden previously used, another set in the garage of his residence, and six pages in a room near the garage. The news has fueled the President’s critics while concerning allies that the issue was not properly handled or responded to.
Biden himself has grown frustrated with the backlash he has faced and doesn’t feel the White House’s response has been handled well, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed former Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur as special counsel to lead the investigation into the matter. The White House has said it will continue to cooperate with the investigation. Biden and former President Donald Trump are both facing special counsel investigations over their handling of classified documents after leaving office.
