THE HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

My View From Inside The Turret

In righteous indignation, on September 18, 2022, Joe Biden looked into the CBS show’s “60 Minutes” cameras … and in response to the question of alleged possession of classified documents at Trump’s Mar- a – Largo … Joe Biden said “How can anyone be that irresponsible … what sources and methods may have been disclosed … it’s a national security issue.”

cbsnews - How can anyone be that irresponsible … what sources and methods may have been disclosed … it’s a national security issue. Good questions Joe…

Two days ago, we learned that Joe Biden, was found to be in possession of classified documents acquired as part of his tenure as Vice President --- documents that are classified up to Top Secret / SCI (Special Compartmented Information). These documents were found in a closet in a DC office located in space designated the Penn Biden Center …

facebook - Students had access to the same office where the classified documents were found and not a security clearance among them … by the way that’s Tony Blinkin pictured with the visitors so what doe he know and when did he know it? Was he using the documents? Still a crime!

… which is a collaboration between the Biden Cartel and funded by the University of Pennsylvania. We were told that the documents were found in a LOCKED closet, found by his personal lawyer, and turned over to the National Archives for proper disposition --- that’s it --- at least to Biden --- no harm, no foul --- move on America, nothing to see here. But lo and behold, a mere two days later, we are informed that additional classified documents have been found in the garage of Biden’s Delaware home.  And again, we are told by Biden himself … The garage was locked … my Corvette is stored in the garage --- there is no problem here, move on America!

newyorkpost - The Corvette, the garage and circled in red - The documents … so who might have access to the garage … Hunter? Jill? The gardener? The Trashman?

NO … America is not going to move on. Here is what you need to know. The first crime occurred when any documents marked Confidential to Top Secret or containing any paragraphs so marked (whether or not a document was marked) were not stored in a GSA approved safe, as REQUIRED. Locked closets and locked garages do not meet this standard – full stop!  Here is what the GSA says about that: Effective October 1, 2012, classified national security information cannot be stored in non-GSA approved security containers. See 32 CFR, Part 2001.43(b), "Requirements for physical protection" for more information. Any classified material stored in non-GSA approved security containers should be moved immediately. All GSA-approved containers must have a GSA approval label, or a GSA recertification label on the front of the equipment in order to store classified National Security Information (NSI) or weapons.

GSA Approved Safe - But … It has to placed in a Government approved location …

Important to note is that before we even get to a safe in which to store the classified documents, the site or location where the safe is to be located must be approved in a site visit by the appropriate government security agency. Among other things, one must comply with requirements regarding: exactly where the safe will be stored, who comes and goes from that location, and even how visible the space is to public spaces … just to name a few of the physical and process requirements.

For some, that may raise the question about Trump storing documents in a locked room at his home. Here is the difference. Trump has stated that he declassified the documents in his possession, an authority that is afforded the President – and we understand that he did it while he was still President. The Special Counsel appointed by the DOJ will determine if that is true. Biden, on the other hand, appears to have taken documents at the end of the Obama-Biden Administration, with no authority to declassify any classified materials, thus making his document possession a direct violation and crime.

A close friend, who is also knowledgeable of security requirements for classified documents, pointed out that President Biden’s personal lawyers have been making the ongoing discoveries and handling the documents themselves --- begging the question, do these lawyers have the required security clearances to see these documents?

As I write this, we have now been informed by the Attorney General that there is a third discovery of a single document in Biden’s home office, which indicates that an incomplete search has been conducted to date. So, this leaves us to wonder about the reliability or trustworthiness of the statement that “no documents were found in the Delaware beach house.”  

As a point of reference, I would like to point out to my readers that I held a TS/SCI clearance during my military career, which was later reduced to Secret for the conduct of classified contracting activities during my time as a corporate executive. I would note that, in terms of restricted access facilities, there was none more restrictive than the Pentagon. We had well-established processes and procedures for handling and storing classified documents.  If a person was using a classified document in their office and planning to exit the office, even to use the bathroom, they were required to return that document to the safe.

dvids - Typical Pentagon Office - If you left your desk you secured the classified documents you were using even if there were others in the office…

In the morning, when the safe was opened the first time, a record was made of who opened the safe by the person opening the safe. In the evening, the last person to return documents to the safe, secured the safe and made a record of the closure … and … the last person to leave the office checked the safe (or safes) to ensure it was locked, then spun the dial of the locking mechanism, one last time, to confirm it was locked and finally, made a record of this confirmation. OPSEC - Operational Security first!

That was the process when I was a Captain at Ft. Knox, KY and that was the procedure when I worked for the Secretary of the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel. Furthermore, that procedure was the same when I was in the corporate world and the company was responsible for securing government classified documents for classified items the company was manufacturing. Anyone who has been granted the privilege of a security clearance, at any level, knows this is the procedure and failure to follow it can end badly for the offender.

In conclusion, I should be clear that I am not a lawyer, although I have played one in the corporate world from time to time. And I do believe that the following is clear … at least to me:

·         Saying I take classified documents very seriously … is not a defense …

·         Saying I don’t know what is in the documents … is not a defense …

·         Removing the documents in the first instance is a crime …

·         Intent is not a defense …

·         Having your personal lawyers tell you what to say does not absolve you of culpability …

·          Having your press secretary repeat to the press over and over that we did the right thing … well that just calls for the appointment of a new press secretary … one who knows what is really going on!

How this all sorts out will be the decision of the Special Counsel … where the docs have been, who may have seen them, what they were used for, and answers to all the other questions that surround this issue. Just know that the original crime occurred when the documents were removed from the White House.

What we now know for sure … a subpoena needs to be issued NOW for the 40 years of documents that are sealed at the University of Delaware and those documents need to be reviewed to determine how seriously Biden has ever taken his responsibility for the proper handling, storage and protection of classified materials. This is a matter of trust and national security.