In 2021, it was revealed that Joe Biden used private email accounts while serving as vice president. The information was uncovered during the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop. It was revealed that Joe Biden occasionally forwarded or received government correspondence through these private email accounts.
Among these accounts, three pseudonyms were identified: robinware456@gmail.com, JRBWare@gmail.com, and Robert.L.Peters@pci.gov. According to the National Archives, these accounts were involved in sending or receiving a substantial amount of emails, totaling 82,000 pages. This figure far surpasses the 33,000 emails that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unlawfully deleted from her private server.
The National Archives initially refused to provide the details, but a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act by the conservative nonprofit organization Southeastern Legal Foundation compelled disclosure.
The emails in question span an eight-year period.
The National Archives stated that they are actively processing these documents, intending to release non-exempt portions on a monthly rolling basis. Still, the scope of the task has contributed to delays. According to the National Archives, the documents require significant time and effort to be produced due to their sheer volume. Additional efforts are being made to refine the request for records in order to expedite the release of the emails, possibly before the 2024 election.
It is worth noting that government officials using private email for official purposes is discouraged by law. Officials like Joe Biden must preserve all government-related emails sent or received through their private accounts, as mandated by the Federal Records Act. The fact that the National Archives possesses such a substantial collection implies that Joe Biden had provided these emails to the agency responsible for preserving the nation’s historical records.
Although there is currently no indication from the National Archives that any of Joe Biden’s emails contain classified information, he is under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Hur concerning the improper storage and removal of classified documents from his time as vice president.
This revelation coincides with Republicans’ efforts to obtain records related to the Biden family’s activities in Ukraine and other countries. It raises the possibility that some or many of the 82,000 emails could provide valuable evidence for various Congressional corruption investigations.
Republicans have specifically requested an un-redacted document that reportedly shows then-Vice President Biden spoke with Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, on May 27, 2016. This document was allegedly emailed to ‘Robert L. Peters,’ with Hunter Biden included in the correspondence. At that time, the top Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was investigating the corruption allegations against Burisma Holdings, an oil company of which Hunter Biden was a board member.
These developments have sparked speculation about whether these emails may contain critical evidence or a “smoking gun” relevant to ongoing investigations and political discussions.