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Former FBI agent: Classified documents in Pence’s home may be ‘inadvertent’

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — The FBI is expected to conduct a search in former Vice President Mike Pence’s Carmel home after classified documents were found inside.

The Pence team has already returned those and is cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice. After conducting its search, Pence’s team does not believe there are additional documents.

Doug Kouns, a former FBI agent and the owner of Veracity IIR, said, “I think it’s more about transparency and making sure I (Pence) didn’t inadvertently do something I’m not supposed to.”

The former FBI agent does not believe Pence took the documents with malicious intent.

“I know some people think this is no different than trump’s issues but in my opinion, it’s very different where you basically had negotiations over where they knew they were being held and they wanted them back and there was refusal and ultimately they had to get a search warrant,” said Kouns. “Whereas Pence and Biden cooperated voluntarily and it appears to be inadvertent.”

The document classification level has not yet been shared. Kouns says the current status of these specific documents is unclear.

“Sometimes things are declassified but the document still has the classification marking on it,” Kouns said. “So, is it something that was declassified but still has the portion markings on it?”

The former VP has publicly taken responsibility for this.

“And while I was not aware those classified documents were in our personal residence, let me be clear, those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence. Mistakes were made and I take full responsibility,” Pence said.

The documents were reported in January, and the Pence team says they were “lower level” classification.

No word on when exactly the search will happen, but it was expected to be soon.