Don’t look now, but more classified documents have been discovered where they’re not supposed to be.
Politics :
On Tuesday, former VP Mike Pence announced that his attorney found classified documents inside his Indiana home. This revelation comes after President Biden found classified docs inside his Delaware home and after Donald Trump hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago mansion.
According to CNN, a lawyer found about a dozen classified documents at the Pence residence sometime last week. The former vice president immediately turned those records over to the FBI. The discovery has prompted the FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division to launch a review of how classified documents are turning up in personal residences and not remaining in secure government locations.
“Vice President Pence was unaware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his personal residence,” representative Greg Jacob said in a statement. “Vice President Pence understands the high importance of protecting sensitive and classified information and stands ready and willing to cooperate fully with the National Archives and any appropriate inquiry.”
Interestingly, the discovery of even more classified documents is not good news for Donald Trump. Here’s why:
PARTISAN POLITICS?
When documents were found at Mr. Biden’s Washintgon office and personal home, Donald Trump attempted to use the finding to his own advantage. He immediately barked that if officials were going to punish him for holding classified docs, then they should punish Joe Biden just the same. He also claimed that the whole case against him was a partisan political witch-hunt designed to ruin him.
However, now that documents have been found inside the home of not only a fellow Republican but Trump’s own vice president, his partisan argument is obsolete.
BIDEN vs TRUMP
For anyone who wishes to compare the Biden document discovery with the Trump document discovery, there really is no comparison. The finding of documents inside the Biden home and now the Pence home clearly appear to be inadvertent. Moreso, both men alerted authorities, immediately returned the secret papers, and are cooperating with the government.
However, the discovery of classified documents at the Trump home was not at all inadvertent but rather a purposeful act. Trump not only deliberately stole more than 300 secret documents from The White House, but he later bragged about it and admitted to doing so. He never offered to return the documents and flat-out refused to cooperate or give them back when government officials requested they be returned. In fact, he claimed the papers were his to keep as ‘souvenirs’ and he held onto them for more than a year — until the FBI was forced to raid his home and retrieve them via a search warrant.
Clearly, this proves there are zero comparisons between the Biden and Pence document situation and the Trump situation.
WHAT’S GOING ON?
Inquiring minds understandably want to know exactly why more and more classified documents are turning up in personal spaces that are outside of secure government locations.
According to US protocol, classified documents are meant to be opened and viewed only in secure locations. Anyone with the correct security clearance is allowed to only see the papers inside a government facility where the papers are expected to remain.
However, it appears some persons with security clearances (i.e. Biden and Pence) were allowed to take papers outside secure locations (i.e. their offices) for later review. This likely led to aides packing up offices at the end of a term and unknowingly including classified documents inside moving boxes.
REMEDY
It’s very likely that Trump, Biden, and Pence are not the only government officials with classified documents in their personal residences (Clinton, Bush, and Obama should be triple-checking their homes ASAP). If true, the US government needs a total redesign of how these secret papers are handled.
A designated official should be dispatched to open all classified documents inside an official and secure government location ONLY. The person reviewing the docs should ONLY be allowed to do so inside that secure facility. The designated official should be charged with watching over the documents at all times and assuring they are returned in the end. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should classified documents ever leave a secure area or the view of a designated official.
AS FOR DONALD TRUMP…
Of course, none of this applies to Donald Trump. He purposely stole his documents, boastfully hoarded them, then refused to return them for more than a year. The case against him should certainly continue.
OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
More classified documents are found.
I bet this type thing has been happening for years. There are probably documents spread around everywhere.