Updated 1/12/2023 at 10:35 a.m. ET

President Joe Biden having a “classified documents” scandal was not exactly on my 2023 bingo card. I mean, how many Presidents involved in document-related shenanigans can we possibly handle at once?

Read more

• Aside from Halle Bailey, Here Are Other Black Disney Actors and Characters We Love [Update]

• The Best TV Series, Movies of 2022 to Binge Before the Year Ends [UPDATED]

• Megan Thee Stallion Becomes 1st Black Woman to Land Forbes 30 Under 30 Cover

It shouldn’t surprise anyone to discover that Donald Trump and Biden’s situation are pretty different. But it feels worth getting into what’s happening (especially in light of yesterday’s revelation).

For everyone dying to understand exactly what’s going on here, we’ve compiled a list of the six things you need to know.

1. Biden’s Lawyers Found Additional Documents

Before we get into the original story, it’s worth giving you all an update. On Wednesday, NBC News reported that Biden’s team discovered a “second batch of classified documents” in a new location. Additional news outlets have since corroborated NBC’s reporting. At this point, it’s unclear where the documents were found, what issues they pertained to, and how many were discovered.

2. What was found and where?

Now that we’ve gotten the update out of the way, here’s some info on the original documents scandal. Roughly 10 classified documents were found at Joe Biden’s private office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, DC, according to CNN News. The outlet reported that “sources familiar with the matter” said that the documents included “intelligence memos and briefing materials that covered topics including Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom.”

The news that Biden’s lawyers found the documents was originally broken by CBS News. The documents were reportedly from between 2013 and 2016, during Biden’s time as Vice President. According to CNN, the items were discovered in boxes containing personal family items, including funeral arrangements for his son, Beau Biden.

2. When were they discovered?

The original documents were found in early November, less than a week before the midterms. According the New York Times, Biden’s lawyers found the documents while closing down his Penn office in DC. They reportedly noticed that some of the folders labeled personal actually contained “classified” information.

His attorneys immediately reached out to the National Archives and Records Administration and Biden’s team turned over several boxes of information. According to CNN reports, some of the turned over boxes included personal information out of an “abundance of caution.”

3. How did Biden respond?

The first thing to get out of the way is that Biden is not the one who made the information public. His lawyers found out about the documents in November, and we only found out about it through a CBS news reports on Monday.

The Biden administration does seem to be “cooperating” with the archives and the Justice Department. “We’re cooperating fully — cooperating fully — with the review, which I hope will be completed soon,” Biden said on Tuesday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland selected John Lausch, the US Attorney in Chicago and a Trump appointee, to oversee the investigation into the documents, according to CNN.

4. How does this differ from what happened with Donald Trump?

At this point, the situations look pretty different. Although we still don’t know what was discovered at the second location.

In Donald Trump’s case, at least 325 documents were found, 60 of which were top secret, according to CNN News. In Biden’s case, 10 documents were found, an unknown number of which were “top secret.” However, We don’t know how many documents were found in the “second batch.”

Their responses to people finding the documents were also vastly different. As we mentioned above, Biden and his attorneys appear to be cooperating with the appropriate government agencies.

Trump on the other hand, spent months delaying efforts from the National Archives to look at the documents, refused to fully comply with a subpoena, and then seemed to lie about what documents he had. Not to mention the fact that, according to the New York Times, Trump may have “mutilated” several of the missing files.

As far as we know, the documents in Biden’s possession were intact. According to the New York Times, the fact that Biden didn’t destroy documents and turned them over upon their discovery means he likely isn’t in the same legal jeopardy as his predecessor. However, we don’t know anything about the state of the second batch of documents.

5. What’s the political fallout?

Republicans are in control of the House, and that means Biden could be looking at a potential investigation.

Rep. James Comer, who is likely going to be in charge of the House Oversight Committee, said that Republicans planned on looking into the Biden documents, according to CBS News.

Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate the document breach.

“I think if you believe a special counsel is necessary to assure the public about the handling of classified documents by Donald Trump, you should apply a special counsel to the mishandling of classified documents by President Biden when he was Vice President,” Graham said on Fox News on Wednesday.

The documents drama doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, especially if additional documents continue to surface.

More from The Root

• 15 Priceless Black Twitter Moments Worth Remembering

• Madea Goes to Amazon: Tyler Perry Lands 4-Year Film Deal With Amazon Studios

Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.