The search had been expected for weeks.
“There have been conversations about a consensual search to be conducted, and I presume that’s not too far off into the future,” Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short, told CNN this week.
A Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed late Friday morning that the FBI was conducting a consent-based search of Pence’s Indiana home. A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to queries from POLITICO on Friday about which DOJ prosecutors are overseeing the inquiry.
Matters related to mishandling or disclosure of classified information are typically handled by Justice’s National Security Division, but Attorney General Merrick Garland farmed out the recent episodes involving President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to recently appointed special prosecutors.
Pence has been in California this week for the birth of his granddaughter.
In January, Pence’s lawyer, Greg Jacob, found a dozen classified documents in the home, a revelation he reported in a letter to the National Archives.
Asked by ABC News whether he had taken any classified documents to his home, he responded: “I did not.”
Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.
