President Joe Biden on Wednesday denied having any advance notice of the FBI’s raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Aug. 8, saying he knew of the search “not a single bit” ahead of time. Biden made the declaration in response to a question from Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, who asked during a televised press conference: “How much advance notice did you have of the FBI’s plan to search Mar-a-Lago?” Biden responded: “I didn’t have any advance notice. None. Zero. Not one single bit.” The president then exited the podium without taking additional questions. It’s the first time Biden has outright denied having knowledge of the FBI’s raid of his predecessor’s residence, which was reportedly ordered to locate top-secret documents Trump took home with him after he left office. The FBI recovered 11 boxes in total, some of which were marked as “sensitive compartmented information”—one of the highest levels of classification, usually reserved for things such as nuclear secrets. Biden’s denial of knowledge on Wednesday comes after a barrage of unfounded claims in recent weeks from Trump and his allies that the raid was ordered by Biden as part of a political vendetta.
Doocy: How much advance notice did you have of the FBI’s plan to search Mar-a-Lago? Biden: None. Zero. pic.twitter.com/54ZqXmSibl
