At least 10 senior Biden administration officials held posts at the Penn Biden Center, President Joe Biden’s think tank, where classified records were discovered last year.
The Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement’s leadership included longtime Biden aides and former top Obama administration officials, many now serving in top positions across the White House and the State and Defense departments. The center is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, where Biden held an honorary position between 2017 and 2019.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the think tank’s managing director from 2017 to 2019, followed by Biden’s now-counselor, and one of the president’s closest advisers, Steve Ricchetti. U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Michael Carpenter succeeded them in the role.
DISCOVERY BIDEN HELD CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS COULD MUDDY ATTACK AGAINST TRUMP
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy Spencer Boyer, and Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Jeffrey Prescott also worked at the think tank.
Brian McKeon, a senior director at the think tank, was Biden’s deputy secretary of state for management and resources before he stepped down last month.
Inside the White House, Penn Biden Center alumni include senior adviser to the national security adviser Ariana Berengaut, Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere Juan Gonzalez, and Senior Director for Speechwriting and Strategic Initiatives Carlyn Reichel — all National Security Council staff.
Biden appointed former University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann as ambassador to Germany and the president of the university’s board of trustees, David Cohen, as ambassador to Canada.
The discovery of secret files in Biden’s think tank office has renewed questions about foreign actors targeting the president through his family’s business dealings.
A government watchdog group called on the university to disclose funding to the center, with the Washington Free Beacon reporting in 2021 that foreign donations to the university surged after the think tank opened.
Biden said Tuesday that he was “surprised” the documents were found and that his team cooperated swiftly.
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Discovered among them were classified U.S. intelligence materials on Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom, CNN reported.
Biden took an unpaid leave of absence from the center upon announcing his campaign in 2019.
