The US Department of Justice has closed its investigation into former vice-president Mike Pence without filing any charges related to classified documents found in his Indiana home, a department official said on Friday.
The department notified Pence through a letter, the official added.
Representatives for Pence, who served under Donald Trump, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, although the Guardian confirmed the development via a source familiar with the investigation, and a Pence spokesperson told the Washington Post Pence is “pleased but not surprised” the investigation has come to an end.
Pence is expected next week to jump into the increasingly crowded Republican field for president in the 2024 election, as is former New Jersey governor Chris Christie. Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis are currently the frontrunners for the nomination, despite Trump still being the subject of multiple criminal investigations and civil legal action.
Though Pence was Trump’s vice-president during his single term, Pence has since turned against Trump in significant ways, testifying against him in front of a federal grand jury in April on the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Meanwhile, Trump has said that Pence did “something wrong” by not standing by his lies that the election was rigged and he defeated Joe Biden.
After revelations of classified material found at Trump’s Florida residence last year after he left office, the National Archives called on former presidents and vice-presidents to make checks for any material that should be in the government’s possession.
A lawyer for Pence had notified authorities about the discovery of records with classified markings, prompting an FBI search for records at his Indianapolis residence this year.
A justice department special counsel, Jack Smith, is investigating Trump’s handling of classified materials since leaving office in January 2021.
A separate special counsel was appointed to conduct an investigation after Biden reported finding some classified material in his possession.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
