So, what precisely does “classified” even mean these days? You would think that when our government decides that something is “classified”, there would be some sort of automated system of knowing when and where these important federal secrets are being stored and/or seen.
But then we had the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago that turned up some allegedly classified documents that the National Archives were looking for, followed months later by Joe Biden’s sprawling, far more worrisome series of incidents, in which the President was found to have confirmed-as-classified documents turn up at a number of his properties – including at a home often accessed by his son Hunter.
And, as if to make it all just a little bit worse, the former Vice President is now revealing that he, too, has found classified documents at home.
Vice President Mike Pence informed Congress Tuesday that he discovered documents bearing classified markings in his Carmel, Indiana, home on Jan. 16 from his time as vice president.
Pence was being proactive about the situation.
Following the revelations that classified documents from President Biden’s tenure as vice president were found at the Penn Biden Center think tank and Wilmington, Delaware, the vice president’s team conducted searches of Pence’s Indiana home and political advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, office.
The former Veep appeared to be handling the discovery with care.
According to his team, Pence informed the National Archives on Jan. 18 of a small number of potential classified documents found in two small boxes. Another two boxes contained copies of vice presidential papers. The National Archives then informed the FBI per standard procedure.
Pence attorney Greg Jacob wrote on Jan. 18 Acting Director Kate Dillon McClure of the White House Liaison Division National Archives and Records Administration to inform her of the papers “containing classified markings.”
After the documents with classified markings were discovered, they were immediately put into a safe, according to the Pence team.
And while Pence’s treatment of the situation appears to be rather thorough and secure, the mere fact that so many high level politicians happen to have confidential documents floating around their properties is undeniably disturbing.
