The Justice Department has closed its review into whether former Vice President Mike Pence mishandled classified documents with no charges filed, according to a person familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — The Justice Department has closed its review into whether former Vice President Mike Pence mishandled classified documents with no charges filed, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Justice Department sent Pence’s lawyer a letter on Thursday saying he’s been cleared in the review, according to the person, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss non public information.
The department began the review after lawyers for Pence found “a small number” of documents marked as classified at his Indiana home and turned them over to the FBI in January.
Pence’s lawyer Greg Jacob told the National Archives about the document discovery in a Jan. 18 letter, saying that the materials were “inadvertently boxed” and sent to Pence’s home after he left office in January 2021.
The Justice Department also completed a search of Pence’s advocacy organization in Washington in February, and Pence has said he fully cooperated with the investigation.
The department declined to comment.
Pence plans to launch a challenge to his former boss Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday, offering himself as the only traditional conservative in the field who can win the nomination and defeat President Joe Biden — and govern with more civility than Trump.
Read More: FBI Agents Find Additional Classified Document in Pence Home
The Pence review was launched after the Justice Department opened formal investigations into how Trump and Biden handled documents with classification markings. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith to handle the Trump investigation and Special Counsel Robert Hur to handle the Biden probe.
Smith and Hur are continuing their investigations, but the end of the Justice Department review into Pence is another sign that all of the document probes are coming to a conclusion.
Trump faces the greatest legal peril from the probes, as federal prosecutors also have amassed evidence that could also lead to charges for obstruction of justice.
Smith is also investigating whether Trump or any of his associates broke laws in their efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. That part of his investigation is expected to continue for some time.
Trump commented on closing of the Pence review Friday.
“Just announced that they are not going to bring charges against Mike Pence on the document hoax. That’s great, but when am I going to be fully exonerated, I’m at least as innocent as he is,” the former president wrote on social media.
(Updates with Trump social media post.)
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