With all the news about classified documents being found in places they shouldn’t be, I thought I would share this since no one in the media is talking about it. I don’t like being in the dark about things and I’m sure many of you are the same.
Seth Abramson has provided some key information which should be considered in how we view what’s happening, especially given the events of today (classified documents being found at the home of Mike Pence). I’m not going to break down the everything Seth has to say, since you can read it here for free, but I will share the key information that indicates why it’s possible for classified information to be accidentally retained by a VPOTUS.
The simplest and most correct narrative, now, is this one: NARA, per its regulations, offers round-the-clock expert consulting and even round-the-clock manual labor to assist outgoing American presidents with handling and (as appropriate) retaining or surrendering sensitive and classified documents, while vice presidents are offered no assistance at all. This ensures that vice presidents will accidentally end up with documents they should not, even as it gives former presidents the best opportunity imaginable to get things right.
Seth goes on to discuss how Biden and Pence are cooperating (as they should) while Trump refused this consulting and then fought for over a year — and is still insisting that he did nothing wrong as he continues to make wild claims about how he declassified them or kept folders as “cool keepsakes”, is being persecuted by the “deep state” etc.
I think we can all agree that this process needs to be changed to prevent this, as best they can, from happening again. However, I feel it’s important that this information, and distinction, be known.
So now is the time to contact your US Reps and Sens and demand they enact legislation that helps our national security with regards to classified documents! The simplest way to do this, and the method I use, is to send messages to them via text using Resistbot. Simply text “congress” to 50409 and Resistbot will walk you through the process. You can even donate to keep Resistbot going if you wish. And to be clear, I am not affiliated in any way with Resistbot — I’m just a very happy user because it’s so convenient!
