New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
There’s a reason we in the U.S. take classified material so seriously
When you are in your 70s, you may still be able to remember occurrences of the ’70s. Recent news events have been the occasion for me to recall events of somewhat similar significance to events of today involving in each instance government malfeasance or negligence and presumed dishonesty. I refer to the Watergate debacle of 1972-1974 and the attendant media coverage illustrated in part by the film “All the President’s Men” recently shown on television.
For 2022, I refer to the handling or mishandling of classified documentation and the unwillingness of political players to speak candidly about their own behavior or the behavior of their colleagues.
When I was stationed at the Pentagon in 19701972, I was periodically assigned to perform a security check of the agency where I worked to ensure that safes and secured cabinets containing classified documents were in fact secured after hours. On one occasion, I discovered a cabinet that was unlocked, thus exposing its contents to possible theft or copying. My duty was to report that finding to appropriate authorities, which I did. Accidents can happen and I do not recall the ultimate consequences to those responsible. I do recall that the security checks were taken seriously.
I mention this to emphasize the importance of the current investigation of former President Trump’s alleged behavior. Our country has traditionally treated classification matters with extreme care. A president should not attempt to declassify materials because of fear of potential legal liability.
Secured materials could include intelligence reports, records of conversations with foreign leaders, photographs of military installations, troop strength levels of allies and enemies. President Trump may be exonerated or he may be found culpable; I do not know the outcome and neither do the talking heads on nightly television nor the columnists of the nation’s newspapers. The point is protecting classified information is important for the nation’s security. This is not a hypothetical exercise. Potential consequences are serious and not a matter for political party gamesmanship. Jason Robards was a leading actor in the film mentioned, receiving an Oscar for his portrayal of the executive editor of the Washington Post, Ben Bradlee. Much of the film deals with the efforts of two young, inexperienced reporters to discover, and then publish, findings of fact and possible legal responsibility for the Watergate break in and subsequent coverup.
Ben Bradlee is portrayed as consistently frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation and the denial of published materials by members of the Nixon administration. In one scene he shouts at the reporters and other editors: “When is somebody going to go on the record in this story?” The same could be said a half-century later.
It would be nice if we could recognize courageous behavior on the part of public officials from the Trump administration as to what they knew then, and/or know now. For 10 generations our country has been a work in progress. Cheap sloganeering from members of either party is not a substitute for thoughtful action.
It would be nice if we could recognize courageous behavior on the part of public officials from the Trump administration as to what they knew then, and/or know now.