The White House makes an attempt of transparency as Republicans hammer President Biden over his handling of classified documents.

We'll bring you the very latest.

Meanwhile, some of the most extreme, far-right members of the GOP will have real power in the House,

thanks to Kevin McCarthy's desperate deal-making to become speaker.

And also ahead, another tragic scene in Ukraine this morning.

We'll have the latest on a deadly helicopter crash outside Keith.

Good morning and welcome to way too early on this Wednesday, January 18th. I'm Jonathan Lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. And we'll begin in Washington,

where the White House is making efforts to tamp down criticism about a perceived lack of transparency in the classified documents case involving President Biden.

In a phone call with reporters yesterday, a spokesman and senior advisor for the White House counsel's office, Ian Sams,

fielded questions about the administration's handling of the matter.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called on the White House

to explain why it took until this month to inform the public that classified material

had been found at the Penn Biden Center, Washington, D.C., and the documents were discovered

back in early November. When asked yesterday about the administration's transparency, Sam said this.

We understand that there's a tension between the need to be cooperative with an ongoing DOJ

investigation and rightful demands for additional public information.

And so we're trying to strike that balance and being as clear as we can.

But the Justice Department is already pushing back against that explanation.

Speaking to NBC News yesterday, a DOJ official said the department has not told the White House

to not talk about the underlying facts in the case. Instead, the official said the Biden administration

is making a strategic choice not to do so. And we've also learned that the Department

of Justice reportedly decided against having FBI agents monitor President Biden's personal

...