A Classified Document Lesson

We recently learned that classified documents were found in a locked closet in the office that Joe Biden used after he was the vice president in the Barack Obama Administration. Then we learned that a special prosecutor will be appointed to investigate the Biden classified documents case. The first set of these documents was found by Biden lawyers on Nov. 2, 2022, just days prior to the midterm elections. We did not hear of this until two months later. This is troubling.

Perhaps we will be told that these Biden document control mishaps are just innocent mistakes. I doubt this explanation.

When asked about the Trump classified document controversy, Biden stated that this was “reckless.” While recklessness does not adequately describe the criminal behavior of the former president, it also may be inadequate to describe the actions of the current president while he was vice president.

My own experience with classified document handling is quite different from that of the White House in both the Trump and Biden administration. In any competent security organization the documents are protected and controlled within an approved facility.

No document can be removed or not returned in a timely manner. No documents are lost or stolen. If missing, a document must be retrieved immediately, and an investigation by federal authorities initiated.

This did not happen in at least two recent presidential administrations. Who knows how many others were negligent in this regard? Hopefully, someone has learned a lesson, and important state secrets did not end up in the hands of our enemies.

Thomas Oatway

Valencia