Biden "lost the high ground" on this issue of classified information being where it should not be, Durbin told US media, referring to former President Donald Trump, around whom a similar secret papers scandal erupted last summer.
"When the information is found, it diminishes the stature of any person who is in possession of it, because it is not supposed to happen. Whether it was the fault of a staffer or an attorney, it makes no difference. The elected official bears all the responsibility," the senate's third-highest ranking Democrat told media.
Durbin also noted his own careful and responsible handling of official paperwork, adding that "to think that any of them (documents) ended up in boxes, in storage one place or the other is just unacceptable."
On Sunday, the Department of Justice conducted another search of President Joe Biden’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware, during which a new batch of classified documents was found.
On January 9, US media reported that the president's personal attorneys discovered 10 classified documents pertaining to Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom at a Biden think-tank's office, prompting a federal probe into the matter.
A second batch of classified documents was discovered in the garage of Biden's residence in Wilmington, Delaware, while another one-page document was found in an adjacent room. The classified documents reportedly date from 2013-2016, when Biden was vice president of the US.