Docs case marks Garland’s latest test…

The discovery of classified documents at President Biden’s old office and Delaware home have thrust Attorney General Merrick Garland back into a situation none of his predecessors have encountered.

Garland has, over the past three months, appointed two special counsels to review the handling of classified documents: One involving the current president, and one involving the former president, both of whom may be on the ballot in 2024.

Garland appointed a special counsel on Thursday to handle the review of the Biden documents, which were found late last year but only disclosed publicly this week. The Justice Department was quickly alerted, the White House said, and the files were returned to the National Archives.

Garland’s tenure has in many ways been defined by his methodical approach to investigations of former President Trump. He has taken fire from both sides of the aisle, at times from Democrats, accusing him of moving too slowly to investigate Trump, and at times from Republicans, who’ve said he appears too focused on the former president and not on issues like crime.

But now the focus is largely on how he is handling a review of Biden and how a small number of classified documents from his time as vice president came to be found at a Washington, D.C., office and Biden’s Delaware residence in recent months.

With the appointment of a special counsel to handle the Biden documents, experts say they believe Garland is taking great pains to keep the department out of the political fray.

“Merrick Garland is ver …