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Garland's announcement came just hours after the White House revealed that more classified documents had been discovered in the garage at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware.

Congressional Republicans have called on Garland to name a special counsel in the Biden case, just as he did with regard to the classified documents found at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

\"PHOTO:
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Attorney General Merrick Garland names an independent special counsel, Robert Hur, to probe President Joe Biden's alleged mishandling of classified documents at the US Justice Department in Washington on Jan. 12, 2023.
>

Garland laid out more than previously known about of the timeline of how the Biden classified documents came to be at the center of the investigation.

On the evening of Nov. 4, the National Archives inspector general contacted the Justice Department to say the White House had notified the Archives that documents bearing classification markings had been identified at the Penn Biden Center, Biden's private office after he left as vice president, he said.

On Nov. 9, FBI agents commenced an assessment to understand whether classified information had been mishandled, according to Garland.

Garland said he then asked Lausch, a Trump appointee, to conduct an initial investigation on whether to appoint a special counsel, which Garland did on Thursday.

On Dec. 20, President Biden's personal counsel informed Lausch that additional documents bearing classification markings were identified in the garage of Wilmington, Delaware, home.

ABC News has also learned that the FBI has interviewed multiple Biden aides.

On Jan. 5, Lausch advised Garland further investigation by a special counsel was warranted.

In the days since, Garland said, Lausch continued the investigation, and the Justice Department identified Hur for appointment as special counsel.

On Thursday morning, he said, President Biden's personal counsel called Lausch and stated that an additional document bearing classification markings was identified at the president's personal residence in Wilmington.

Earlier this week, the White House said lawyers for President Biden had also found classified documents from 2013 to 2016 in his office at the Penn Biden Center - a think tank in Washington, in November.

Asked about the latest documents revelation involving his Wilmington home Thursday morning, Biden said, \"The Department of Justice was immediately -- as was done, the Department of Justice was immediately notified and the lawyers arranged for the Department of Justice to take possession of the documents.

\"So you're going to see, we're going to see all this unfold,\" he said.

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