Among the documents with classification markings found in an office used by then-former Vice President Joe Biden in Washington, DC were intel briefing memos dated from the years 2013 to 2016 concerning the UK, Ukraine, and Iran, CNN reports. The materials were found in a box – also containing some personal documents such as details of Beau Biden’s funeral arrangements – by a lawyer who was closing out the office in November. The lawyer then contacted NARA and then began turning over additional boxes out an abundance of caution, a source told CNN.
So again, Biden or someone working for him fucked up and took these documents from the White House or the Naval Observatory residence in 2017, either not knowing they were classified or mistakenly believing they were declassified. Either way, instead of shredding them they promptly contacted the proper agency to report it and then Merrick Garland directed the Trump-appointed US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois to investigate further.