Posted on 01/17/2025 7:00:57 PM PST by ransomnote
A federal task force aiming to fix the mishandling of classified documents that it says has plagued outgoing presidential administrations for decades is recommending better Executive Branch guidance and training on such materials
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal task force aiming to fix the mishandling of classified documents that it says has plagued outgoing presidential administrations for decades is recommending better guidance and training on such materials.
Released Friday, the recommendations come nearly a year after President Joe Biden formed the Presidential Records Task Force with the goal of studying past transitions to determine best practices for safeguarding classified information from one administration to the next.
SNIP
Biden created the task force mere days after a Justice Department special counsel’s report sharply criticized him for mishandling sensitive documents from his time as vice president that should have gone to the National Archives for safekeeping.
That case came after federal agents searched Donald Trump’s Florida estate and charged him with purposefully hoarding top secret documents.
How potentially sensitive documents are handled is especially salient now, meanwhile, since Biden is in the process of packing up to leave the White House, three days before Trump takes office on Monday.
“For nearly 50 years, every administration — Republican and Democrat — has faced the issue of classified documents being inadvertently removed during presidential transitions," the task force wrote in its final memo. “In recent years, classified documents from previous presidential administrations have surfaced in unsecured locations.”
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
Sounds like they are setting up a time bomb to get Trump at some point over classified documents. Which, I don’t see how they can really do. But I think they have a plan.
How about trusting that a POTUS can never mishandle classified documents from his tenure or before? Or raise the burden of proof from merely “mishandling” to literal subversion or treason. Beyond a reasonable doubt.
Not to mention the problem of over classification. Anything that is mildly embarrassing to anyone with the ability to gets it classified.
It’s not about money or training.
It’s about years behind bars.
Do they really have to write rules like, “Don’t leave top secret information in haphazard stacks in your son’s garage unless you want him to sell that information to support his coke habit”?
He just doesn’t want his house raided.
US News and World Report/AP...Ooooo!
Doesn’t need to be so elaborate. A couple of officers just out of the academy can frisk Joe and Kamala on their way out the door.
Well, if their home garage is really safe, then no problem.
Failure and incompetence lead to career advancement and more money when it comes to the federal government. Every time.
p
Last day executive order declassifying anything that was packed in his boxes. No need to be specific, just any and all documents.
Meanwhile, shredders are overheating at FBI, CIA, ATF, NSC, NRC, FTC, the White House...
The first requirement should be to declassify 90% of classified material. Most is classified to hide misconduct, fraud, insubordination, failings, etc.
The really hilarious thing about this is it is not the Bee. The idiot media actually think this nonsense is “news”
A better idea would be to create a classified documents scheme. Think of it as “common sense classified documents control.”
Right now, various federal agencies create Cheops sized pyramids of classified paper every year, and only some of them *destroy* even a fraction of what they create.
The NSA HQ in McLean, VA has a giant incinerator solely to burn up such paper. And it does so by the ton. Paper contains a tiny bit of metal, yet so much is formed at the bottom of the incinerator, that they periodically have to remove hundreds of pig metal bricks.
And most of the classified data on this paper is crap. Totally useless offal classified because “why not?”
Comey was a good example...after meeting with Trump, in his car, he typed the results of their meeting...and then classified it. He was sure he had a "gotcha" he could use against Trump.
Partly my point. Lots of innocuous documents get classified for various reasons and in the case of a conspiracy like Comey they can make it impossible to get to the truth. No regular jury and only a few judges can even see classified documents. It was used as part of the frame up. Can’t let that happen again. Any documents from a POTUS or before his tenure should be privileged to that POTUS and free to be declassified by that POTUS. Otherwise the administrative date can pull all kinds of shenanigans.
“Sounds like they are setting up a time bomb to get Trump at some point over classified documents. Which, I don’t see how they can really do. But I think they have a plan.”
Declassify every document as executive privilege allows and everyone who rants against this should have their security clearances pulled.
I like that very much.
My general view is that the name and address of our top agents in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and North Korea should be classified. A few other things as well. But, in general? I don’t believe in classifying information. It just leads to corruption and secret dealings. I would like to see massive declassification.
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