The Justice Department has told former Vice President Mike Pence’s legal team that it will not pursue criminal charges related to the discovery of classified documents at his Indiana home.

The department sent a letter to Pence’s attorney on Thursday informing his team that, following an investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information, no criminal charges will be brought. A Justice Department officially confirmed the authenticity of the letter, which was obtained by

T

he Associated Press.

The news comes days before Pence will launch his campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa on Wednesday, a race that will put him in direct competition with his old boss, former president.

Donald

Trump.

No evidence has ever emerged to suggest that Pence deliberately hid documents from the government or even knew they were in his house, so there was never any expectation that the former vice president would be charged. But the government’s decision and timing are nevertheless good news for Pence’s political team ahead of his entry into the 2024 contest.

Mike Pence starts campaigning for president in Iowa on June 7. Attorney General Atty. Gene.

Merrick Garland had appointed special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents and Trump’s efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election, just three days after Trump formally announced his 2024 campaign launched in recognition of the high political stakes

Documents with secret markings were discovered in January at Pence’s home after he asked his lawyers to search his belongings belonging to the vice president. The items, which were promptly turned over to the FBI, were accidentally boxed and transported to Pence’s home at the end of the last administration, Pence’s attorney, Greg Jacob, wrote in a letter to the National Archives.

The FBI discovered an additional document with secret markings in the Indiana home the following month during a search.

Outside of Pence, Justice Department special counsel continue to investigate the handling of classified documents found in homes or offices of both Trump and President

joe

Biden, from when he was vice president.

The status of the Biden documents investigation is unclear, but the Trump investigation is showing signs of winding down. Prosecutors appear close to a decision on whether or not to bring criminal charges against the ex-president or anyone else.

The team led by Special Counsel Jack Smith has placed a broad cross-section of witnesses before a federal grand jury investigating Trump, including former and close aides to Trump. The investigation focused not only on whether Trump illegally possessed about 300 documents marked as classified, but whether he obstructed the administration’s efforts to secure their return.

The Biden and Pence cases have always been factually and legally separate from the Trump investigation, because in both cases aides proactively disclosed the discovery of classified documents to the Justice Department and facilitated their return.

In the Trump Inquiry, Trump resisted months of demands to return classified documents he took from the White House to his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, after his term in office ended. After the FBI began to suspect that more classified documents had been left at the property despite a subpoena and a visit from investigators, the FBI returned last August with a search warrant and recovered about 100 additional documents marked secret, including at the extreme secret level.