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WASHINGTON >> As President Joe Biden returned from church a week ago, he stepped out of his armored SUV and into the driveway of his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on an important mission: He wanted to inspect the landscape.
The sprawling home on a man-made pond three miles from the city center holds a special place in his heart – some might call it an obsession.
Biden confessed when he met with special counsel Robert Hur and talked about sensitive documents he improperly preserved while serving as vice president. Biden told Hull three times over the course of five hours that he was a “frustrated architect.”
He admitted that his wife, Jill, once offered to send him to architecture school if he never ran for Senate again. But in fact, it’s not. But architectural design still seems to be in his blood. He is privately considering redesigning elements of the home after becoming president.
The House is at the center of the controversy over Biden’s handling of classified documents. There, FBI agents and the president’s lawyers discovered at least 28 items containing classified information or markings from his time as vice president. Hour defended his assessment last week that there was insufficient evidence to accuse Biden of knowingly withholding classified information.
In a transcript of Hule’s interview, conducted in the fall and released on the day a House committee heard testimony from the special counsel, Biden laid out the specs of his home in detail, prompting Hule to comment on his “photographic” recollection even though he had done so elsewhere. questioned the president’s memory.
When Biden popped out to inspect the landscaping, the area had just been replanted through a Secret Service program that lasted about a year to improve security at the presidential compound. The work includes new fencing and vehicle barriers, bulletproof windows and extensive modifications to the home required by the agency to make it safer.
Satellite images from last year show construction crews removing a second-floor balcony and sunroom overlooking the pond as part of renovations to the 7,000-square-foot home’s south side and grounds.
The sunroom ceiling fan was stored in Biden’s cluttered garage next to his beloved Corvette in January 2023 as FBI agents spent nearly 13 hours searching the house from top to bottom , looking for confidential documents.
The home, which Biden aides refer to as the “lake house,” has been the centerpiece of Biden’s life since moving there in 1998. It has been the site for decades of meetings with aides and occasional lawmakers, as well as a temporary home from which he hosted his 2020 presidential campaign from a basement studio during the pandemic.
Biden often spends weekends at his house in Wilmington, usually from Friday to Monday. One bonus: Quick access to the Philadelphia area, a Democratic base in a key swing state for Biden in his re-election bid.
His visit to Wilmington is somewhat a continuation of his commute schedule as vice president. During his previous three years as a senator, Biden took Amtrak from Delaware to Washington every day.
The Delaware home was more than just a gathering place for his family and some close friends, more than just a retreat away from the prying eyes of the White House. Biden aides say he feels rooted in Wilmington, where his interactions with church parishioners, neighbors and even gardeners often serve as the basis for policy questions he poses to his team when he returns to Washington.
The construction project, which lasted more than a year when FBI agents searched his home, was underway, much to Biden’s chagrin.
“The FBI knows my house better than I do,” Biden quipped to Hour. A month ago, he complained to reporters that “I was homeless” during construction.
Aides said Biden was annoyed by the pace of renovations — a common experience among many homeowners — and not being able to get there for months to view changes made the process more stressful. He hopes to reverse some of those changes once he steps down.
After the president and his wife purchased the property in 1996, they carefully furnished the home.
“I mean, I was a frustrated architect, and if you look closely, you could probably see all the massive house plans I drew,” Biden told Hull, referring to a set of drawers that investigators opened .
Biden did some of the work on the home himself, sometimes with the help of his sons Hunter and the late Beau, and his brother Jimmy. Other changes he oversaw were made with great attention to detail.
“I’ve used so many contractors,” he said, citing roofers and others. “It took them three years to build the house.”
Biden has filled his home with sentimental items, from the desk he used while serving in the Senate to tchotchkes picked up over decades in public life. He has dozens of three-by-two photos documenting moments during his tenure.
“I hung them on the wall downstairs, in the TV room, and in the library,” Biden told Hull.
A cabin at the top of the driveway now serves as a security operations center for Secret Service agents and military officials. But this was the home of Biden’s mother, who died in 2010 at the age of 92.
In subsequent years, while serving as vice president, Biden charged the Secret Service $2,200 per month for hotel rent.
Biden’s wood-paneled library is a special pride of place in the home, complete with chandeliers and upholstered leather sofas. There, investigators discovered his personal notebooks documenting key meetings during his tenure as vice president.
“I just want you to know that I picked the walnut tree that was cut down,” Biden told investigators. Some of the walnuts ended up being left at the home. “I picked a craftsman to do it – this room cost a third of what my entire house cost. Swear to God.”
“It seems so,” Hull replied. “It’s very impressive.”
Pointing to the seven different molds the FBI photographed in the room, he added, “I kind of got carried away.”
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