First Trump, then Biden, and now former Vice President Mike Pence have discovered classified documents in their possession long after their terms in office had ended.
It ain’t rocket science, guys. A document marked “Top Secret,” “Secret,” “Confidential,” “Restricted,” or “Official” can’t be stuffed in a briefcase and taken home. The procedures for handling classified documents are clear, concise, and straightforward. There is no wiggle room. And there are no exceptions for violating the law.
No wonder the Russians and Chinese have most of our secrets.
For our VIPs: The Inevitable Stalemate Over Classified Documents
Now we learn that former Vice President Mike Pence discovered classified documents at his Indiana home. The discovery came about as a result of a search of Pence’s Indiana home and his office at the political advocacy group Advancing American Freedom, following the Biden document imbroglio.
According to his team, Pence informed the National Archives on Jan. 18 of a small number of potential classified documents found in two small boxes. Another two boxes contained copies of vice presidential papers. The National Archives then informed the FBI per standard procedure.
Pence attorney Greg Jacob wrote on Jan. 18 Acting Director Kate Dillon McClure of the White House Liaison Division National Archives and Records Administration to inform her of the papers “containing classified markings.”
After the documents with classified markings were discovered, they were immediately put into a safe, according to the Pence team.
The documents were collected by the FBI at Pence’s home in Carmel, Indiana, on Thursday evening, Jan. 19. Pence was in Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life when the FBI collected the documents.
It’s not like these guys were fleeing a coup d’etat in the dead of night, leaving Washington with only the clothes are their backs. They all had a couple of months to prepare for their departure, so why these searches couldn’t have been conducted between the election and the inauguration of the next president doesn’t make sense.
Ultimately, the searches should have been unnecessary. Whether the marked documents were taken to make an officeholder’s memoirs more authentic or whether they thought it was really cool to possess important, secret documents to show their friends after they were out of office is immaterial. It’s mind-blowing that no matter the reason, these documents were negligently mishandled, and the primaries involved — Pence, Trump, and Biden — should all be punished.
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