In appointing Robert Hur to be special counsel in the Biden classified documents probe, Attorney General Merrick Garland laid out more than previously revealed about the timeline of how the documents came to be at the center of the investigation. Here is an updated timeline of significant developments: US Attorney General Merrick Garland names an independent special counsel to probe President Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at the US Justice Department in Washington, DC, Jan. 12, 2023. Jan. 5: U.S. Attorney Lausch advised Garland that further investigation by a special counsel was warranted.