What specific documents were withheld by the Biden administration?

1. What the records were — classified memos and Afghanistan material

Special counsel reporting and contemporary news coverage identify the recovered items as documents bearing classification markings from Biden’s vice‑presidency and senate tenure; reporting highlights Afghanistan-related documents — including materials about decisions to send additional troops — and notes some items were labeled top secret or Sensitive Compartmented Information ^{[3] [1]}.

2. Where investigators found them — three separate locations

Initial discovery occurred when Biden’s attorneys located classified documents in a locked closet at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., on November 2, 2022; additional classified materials were subsequently found at Biden’s Wilmington residence (garage and basement) and later classified items from his Senate period were identified among materials donated to the University of Delaware ^{[1] [4]}.

3. How many items — approximate counts reported

Reporting and summaries put the number of documents with classification markings in the general range of about 25–30 items overall, with later public descriptions and the special counsel report cataloguing batches recovered at different times ^{[1] [2]}.

4. Chain of custody and how the materials moved

Available sources say some files that should have been transferred to the National Archives instead went to two storage facilities and ultimately to a private office (the Penn Biden Center) before attorneys identified them; Biden’s counsel notified the National Archives the day after the initial Penn Biden Center discovery and the Archives then referred the matter to the Justice Department ^{[5] [2]}.

5. Legal finding: “willfully retained” but no charges

Special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation concluded Biden “willfully” retained classified documents, yet the report stopped short of recommending criminal charges, a distinction emphasized repeatedly in news coverage ^{[2] [6]}. The report drew contrasts between Biden’s cooperation and the facts in other cases, noting factual distinctions in obstruction and concealment ^[5].

6. Differences in interpretation and political framing

Republican critics framed the findings as evidence of “special treatment” or unequal accountability, while Democratic and White House statements underlined cooperation with authorities and disputed characterizations of the president’s memory in the report; the special counsel and outlets highlighted differences between Biden’s case and the Trump classified‑materials investigation ^{[5] [6]}.

7. What sources do not say or leave unclear

Available reporting in these results does not provide a full item‑by‑item catalogue in the public record here — for example, an exact list of each document’s title or full content is not published in the cited summaries (not found in current reporting). The precise number per location and full descriptions of all classification markings are summarized but not exhaustively listed in these sources ^{[1] [3]}.

8. Broader context: pattern of record mishandling across administrations

National Archives testimony and subsequent reporting indicate that mishandling of classified records has occurred across multiple administrations dating back decades; reporting places Biden’s incident within a broader context of record‑control challenges while still treating the Biden special counsel’s factual findings as a separate inquiry ^[7].

Conclusion: The public record in these sources identifies the withheld items as about 25–30 documents with classification markings — including Afghanistan-related memos and some top‑secret/SCI material — found at the Penn Biden Center, Biden’s Wilmington home, and among donated materials to the University of Delaware; the special counsel deemed the retention “willful” but recommended no criminal charges, and political actors have sharply disputed the implications ^{[1] [3] [2]}.