The search was expected for weeks.
Pence’s former chief of staff, Mark Short, told CNN this week, “There have been conversations about conducting a consent search, and I guess that’s not too far in the future.”
A Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed Friday morning that the FBI is conducting a consent-based search of Pence’s Indiana home. A Justice Department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s questions Friday about whether DOJ prosecutors are overseeing the investigation.
Cases involving the mishandling or disclosure of classified information are typically handled by Justice’s National Security Division, but Attorney General Merrick Garland has referred recent episodes involving President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to recently appointed special prosecutors.
Pence is in California this week for the birth of his granddaughter.
In January, Pence’s lawyer, Greg Jacobs, found a dozen classified documents in the home, a revelation he reported in a letter to the National Archives.
Asked by ABC News if he took any classified documents home, he replied: “I didn’t.”
Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.