Senate Intelligence Committee Outraged by White House Refusal to Allow Access to Classified Documents Found in Biden, Trump, and Pence Records

The White House has refused to allow the Senate Intelligence Committee access to classified documents found in the records of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, prompting outcry from both major parties.

In a joint interview with “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan set to air in full Sunday, Sens. Mark Warner, the Democratic chair of the Intelligence Committee, and Marco Rubio, the Republican vice chair, expressed the importance of seeing the records for themselves to determine whether there has been a national security breach.

At a press conference with reporters following a closed-door hearing with National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) expressed their frustration with the White House’s decision. The White House has suggested it cannot share information until receiving the go-ahead from the special counsels investigating the apparent mishandling of classified documents by Biden and Trump.

In response to the White House’s refusal, both parties are threatening action. Warner and Rubio have urged the director of national intelligence to provide the panel with access to the documents marked classified that were found in the homes of President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is responsible for overseeing the nation’s intelligence agencies and ensuring that they are operating in accordance with the law. It is imperative that the panel be allowed to access the documents in question in order to fulfill its duties. Until the White House allows the committee to do so, the controversy surrounding the documents will remain unresolved.