DOCUMENT TRACKING

News that former Vice President Mike Pence also held onto classified documents represents the fourth former senior government official to violate federal law, behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Donald Trump, and more recently, President Joe Biden.

Some government officials lack the ability or the focus to properly return classified documents when they leave office. Instead of turning every case of found documents into a criminal investigation, maybe it is time to rethink how such documents are handled. Perhaps a team from the National Archives should visit an departing official’s offices and residences beforehand and thoroughly search for classified documents.

A better retrieval system may avoid this embarrassing spectacle.

– Joseph A. DeMaria,

Coral Gables