President

Joe

Biden has been interviewed as part of an independent investigation into his handling of classified documents, the White House said late Monday.

Spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement that the interview was voluntary and was conducted at the White House on Sunday and Monday. The interview ended Monday, Sams said.

The investigation is being led by Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the politically sensitive matter to avoid conflicts of interest.

Sams reiterated that Biden and the White House are working together. He referred questions to the Ministry of Justice.

As we have said from the beginning, the President and the White House are cooperating with this investigation, and as it is appropriate, we have provided relevant updates publicly, being as transparent as possible consistent with protecting and preserving integrity of the research. , Sam said. ‘We would currently submit other questions to the Ministry of Justice.

It is not unusual for sitting presidents to be interviewed in criminal investigations.

President George W. Bush participated in a 70-minute interview as part of an investigation into the identity leak

F

y of a CIA agent. President Bill Clinton was questioned for more than four hours by independent counsel Kenneth Starr before a federal grand jury in 1998.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team negotiated with lawyers for then-President Donald Trump for an interview, but Trump never participated. His lawyers instead submitted answers to written questions.