A third stash. Is there a pattern here?
David Petraeus, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Joe Biden — it is beginning to look like private possession of classified documents is a standard practice in Washington, DC. The big secret is that government secrets are no secret at all, except to the American people who pay for them.
I’m not keen on impeaching the current miscreant, but these revelations do inspire questions. For example, why not simply publish all (or most) classified material?
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
The careless handling of classified materials is a serious breach of trust. It is true when Trump did it and it is true when Biden did it. If cases can be made, both should be prosecuted. Nobody is above the law.
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RE: “The careless handling of classified materials is a serious breach of trust.”
And apparently an inevitable one. I propose that we stop pretending to enforce rules that nobody respects.
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I seem to recall a concern a few decades back regarding over-classification of documents. Covering ones butt by classifying even innocuous papers was common. The problem is that if everything is classified, then, effectively nothing is.
Bit that does not mean tossing out a method for protecting sensitive material.
I suggested a staff position for a “secrets courier”. Like the man carrying the “football” for nuclear codes. If the cleared person, like a president, wants to review at 2AM, the courier is there. When done reading, he collects the papers.
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One thing that would help is to have classification carry an expiration date.
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In numerous cases it does. In other cases it is up to the originater to to declassified document. Declassifaction OADR marking means originating agency’s determination required.
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RE: “But that does not mean tossing out a method for protecting sensitive material.”
Why not? I’m suggesting that sensitive material be published, not hidden.
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So let’s share the names of our moles in the Kremlin?
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Why not?
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Uh, because then they will be taken out and shot. And we will never get anyone to help us ever again. Other than that, why not?
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Well, then, stop using moles.
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As long as there are countries subject to the decisions of people like Vladimir Putin it would be suicidal to give up information gathering. So whether it be by moles, or intercepts, or electronic, or any other means – we need the methods and we need to keep quiet about them and what they are telling us.
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RE: “As long as there are countries subject to the decisions of people like Vladimir Putin it would be suicidal to give up information gathering.”
Yes, that is the very assumption I am challenging. Our intelligence services failed to see the collapse of the Soviet Union, failed to understand WMD in Iraq, and failed to prevent 9/11. So, it seems we are committing suicide, anyway.
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Intelligence didn’t really fail on the WMD. Political pressure was enormous in spite of the lack of evidence. Similarly, intelligence was aware of 9/11 threats, but our agencies were siloed so cooperation and coordination were not effective. Homeland Security was the result.
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I think you are factually incorrect about the failures of our security services. The actions taken by the political leadership were the problem – at least with respect to Iraq and 9-11.
On Iraq WMD, the Bush administration just did not want to hear there was no threat so they cooked the books. And, of course, Bush’s reaction to explicit warnings of a looming attack using airliners was Zilch – just a snide remark to the briefers that they had covered their ass.
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I fully know and respect the reasons for classifications of documents and materials. The president has very wide latitude in release of secrets for various reasons. However, there is a GLARING difference in the DOJ narratives of Trump and Biden possession of classified documents. Both were/are cooperating with returning classified materials but Garland DOJ storms Trump property and makes a national case but handles Biden with kid gloves. I wouldnt be surprised to learn that Carter, Clinton, Bush and Obama have stockpiles of material in private possession but there has to be an equal, not partisan, response to that.
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“Both were/are cooperating with returning classified materials . . .”
That is patently FALSE. Trump was NOT cooperating and evidence to that effect was received by the DOJ from someone in Trump’s circle – maybe a lawyer who was lied to. They acted accordingly and appropriately.
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Um, that is patently TRUE. Has Biden been forthcoming of HIS possession of classified documents? Hell no, he plays dumb…AGAIN. Why is Biden so dumb and unaware all of the time?
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First you say that both were cooperating. Now you say that Biden wasn’t. But Trump was?
I will not defend Biden and I sincerely hope that his mishandling of classified material was just plain dumb and not deliberate as it clearly was with Trump.
And the fact remains that Trump did NOT cooperate in returning what he took. The opposite in fact. So, let’s stick to the facts. It will be better in the end.
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Since the discovery of the documents, has Biden or his lawyers obstructed return of said documents? Have they filed lawsuits to try and prevent the return? Has Biden declared they were declassified by his mind? Did Biden’s lawyers LIE to the court when affidavits were filed stating that all classified material has been returned? Has the DOJ had to file a search warrant to retrieve documents that were said not to exist?
Talk about DUMB.
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RE: “I fully know and respect the reasons for classifications of documents and materials.”
That was my way of thinking once, as well. But I have begun to be open to the possibility of radical transparency.
Ronald Reagan famously suggested that if we produced an effective missile defense system, we should share it with our enemies. Because there is a big difference between knowing how something is done and being able to do it, I suspect there are ways in which radical transparency can actually improve national security.
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Trump was cooperating? Why did it take a subpoena to turn up more documents after a year of begging? Then the search turned up more after assertion that they got them all. Then another assertion, and more yet. In large quantities, I might add. So far, 11,000 documents and 300 classified. Hard to say this was about a few missing documents that got shuffled around in the transition or even misplaced.
Both presidents need to be investigated to see if this kind of problem can be avoided. And they both are. I don’t think House Republicans want to delve too deeply into this fiasco since the comparisons that come out won’t help Trump. In fact Comer, a right wing firebrand, said as much. He was asked about investigating Biden visitor logs, but not Trump’s.
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Most people seem to think this is a Joe Biden story. I feel he is much too tidy to be leaving things lying around. But Hunter, now there’s a guy who forgets where he puts things. And there is a financial angle in his case: people were paying him for “access.” How about access to classified secret materials that our enemies would want to know. This sounds like espionage and treason. I wouldn’t be surprised if Democrats are worried that Hunter will finally bring down the presidency.
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Lol, now that is an interesting take on the situation. The president’s son is the falcon and the snowman is yet to be discovered, maybe Beau?
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Kind of funny until you invoke a deceased son. But to you, that is the best you can come up with.
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So what if he’s dead? Alot of bad people and their spawn are dead. If Beau was involved with espionage, does being dead make him any less guilty? Beau died in 2015 so he was alive when these documents were “mishandled”. Timeline fits. Is crying and complaining with zero intelligent response the best you can do?
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“So what if he is dead?”
Mr. Smith, do you have to work hard at being stupid and offensive or does it just come naturally for you?
The apparent mishandling of documents occurred when Vice President Biden left office. That was in 2017. Beau had been dead for two years.
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I could call you an asshole. Would that make you feel better?
“Alot of bad people and their spawn are dead.”
How many of yours are?
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