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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) released new documents obtained through an ongoing investigation into the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), revealing that a senior official in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) National Security Division played a key role in coordinating the coverup of President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents before joining Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Office to prosecute President Trump.
Prior to joining Special Counsel Smith’s Office, Jay Bratt worked in DOJ’s National Security Division as Chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES). Bratt was responsible for coordinating DOJ and NARA’s recovery and investigation of the boxes of classified documents discovered in President Biden’s office at the Penn Biden Center and other locations.
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Prior to the Mar-A-Lago raid, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials were reportedly concerned about Bratt’s history of donating to Democrats and his “overly aggressive” tactics. The Biden-Harris DOJ dismissed claims that Bratt was biased against Trump and said Bratt pursued all cases aggressively.
But Bratt did not aggressively pursue the case against Biden. NARA released these records in response to FOIA requests filed by AFL and other organizations upon learning that classified documents had been discovered at the Penn Biden Center.
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The Hur Report summarized DOJ’s role in the recovery and investigation of Biden’s misplaced boxes, but we are presenting Bratt’s emails for the first time in the following timeline.
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On November 4, 2022, after NARA retrieved boxes that Biden should have turned over at the end of his term in 2017, NARA quickly reviewed them and found “nine documents (totaling 44 pages) with classification markings … Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, and Top Secret/SCI.”
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Later that evening, NARA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) made a “referral” to Jay Bratt of DOJ’s National Security Division. This was the Friday before the 2022 Midterm Election. The public would not learn about Biden’s classified documents until January 2023.
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Jay Bratt responded a week later, issuing orders that NARA OIG wasn’t to take any actions without consulting him so that “appropriate deconfliction” could occur. By Sunday, November 6, NARA OIG had discussions with Jay Bratt at DOJ and Intelligence Community investigators and lawyers at ODNI, and “the guidance received is that NARA should proceed with their retrieval/inventory/review.” There was no FBI raid of the Biden Center or his properties.
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On November 7, the day before Election Day, NARA asked for clarification. In response, “Bratt stated that does not change their guidance.” Later that evening NARA began to arrange for staff to visit the Penn Biden Center to “assess the remaining boxes and take custody of [only the ones deemed] appropriate for review.” |
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But “input from the FBI” changed NARA’s plan later that night: “We are now intending to take temporary physical custody of all materials.” Bratt’s guidance would have allowed much of the materials to remain at the Penn-Biden Center, but the FBI cautioned NARA otherwise.
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On November 9, the day after the election, Bratt was involved in a flurry of emails once DOJ and FBI officially became involved in this “new matter” (covering up Biden’s improper handling of classified records).
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Here are chat logs between NARA’s Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel getting their ducks in a row before their call with Bratt. |
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On November 14, Bratt coordinated with White House counsel to provide DOJ with access to the Presidential records, which were under NARA’s control. While Biden’s lawyer may arguably grant DOJ access to Biden’s own records, Biden’s lawyer could not have similarly granted DOJ access to Trump’s records under the Presidential Records Act.
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On November 18, Bratt would join Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team to investigate President Trump.
Later in November, the FBI agreed to delay review of the Biden boxes at NARA until the following Monday because NARA was closed on the Friday for Prince William's visit.
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On January 10, after CBS broke the news that AG Garland had assigned U.S. Attorney Lausch to investigate Biden’s classified documents, NARA requested Lausch and Austin Evers (a partisan operative at DOJ) to assist with drafting NARA’s public statement.
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NARA responded to Lausch’s offer to help with drafting its public statement by saying he was making sure “all were on the same page,” copying the email to Austin Evers, the FBI, and another NSD lawyer. By now, Bratt was working on Special Counsel Smith’s team.
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Here is a photo of the 9 boxes of Joe Biden’s records that were improperly stored at a law firm in Boston.
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When classified documents were discovered at the Penn-Biden Center, rather than pursuing the case aggressively, Bratt provided guidance to NARA that would have kept the matter as discrete as possible before the midterm election (but the FBI advised otherwise), he ordered NARA-OIG to take no further action without consulting him, and he coordinated White House counsel’s sign-off for DOJ’s access to the records at NARA. Later, on Special Counsel Jack’s team, Bratt would meet with Biden’s White House counsel’s office weeks before President Trump’s indictment.
This discovery reveals that high-ranking officials at the Department of Justice not only participated in but helped orchestrate the coverup of President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. It also further exposes how deep state actors throughout the federal government can and will weaponize their official positions and power to pursue specific partisan outcomes.
Read the documents here.
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