I read an interesting comment from a Guardian reader (I'm not sure if that is on your news feed, so I'll mention it here). In regard to control of sensitive classified documents, the poster asked why it is that Amazon, UPS and DHL can track the whereabouts of every package and letter it sends anywhere in the world, and or government cannot track secret documents going from one government office to another. You'd think there would be a bar code or something like on each piece of paper that once checked out, must be checked back in. I am sure we could ask your local library to explain to the intelligence agencies how they do it.
Were the lawyers actually obligated to notify the FBI and / or DOJ, apart from returning documents to Archives? One would assume that the government agency involved would take care of that. If not, that's another crack in our security wall. I agree with you about the folly of trying to withhold information...the truth always comes out (though we still wonder about Jimmy Hoffa and the "second shooter"). The White House's communications strategy was poor, imho. (Drip, drip, drip.... As Pete Seeger used to sing,"...When will they ever learn?").
They were confronted with evidence of a possible crime, i.e. the mishandling or misappropriation of classified documents. As attorneys they had an obligation to notify the proper authorities. This they did not do. Instead, they tampered with a crime scene. The National Archives is not a law enforcement agency, nor does returning the documents to the National Archives satisfy that legal obligation or erase the crime.
Perhaps there's an innocent explanation for the presence of classified documents in that office (also in Biden's garage and residence). But as it is, there's probable cause that a crime has been committed. I might add that lower-ranking people are prosecuted and sentenced to prison all the time for mishandling classified documents. So I see no reason why eminent people should get a pass—through they do.
That some unnamed person may have deliberately planted classified documents is just dust being kicked up to hide the White House's embarrassment. The media should not bother giving such statements any credence, other than a verbal footnote.
It is a serious issue, and we need to know more details of how this was discovered and why the information was withheld until now.
So far as we know, neither the President nor any agency have acted improperly since the discovery. The Biden Admin's cooperative stance is in stark contrast to the ridiculous ballyhoo created by ex-President Trump and his allies' attempts to stonewall all efforts to recover er documents stored improperly at MAL.
Memories of Watergate: it's not so much the original act that is at issue -- mistakes happen, though our government definitely SHOULD have tighter security measures over such classified documents -- but it is the attempt to coverup (in Trump's case, to claim the documents were his and were not actually classified as he had magically unclassified the documents with his mental powers) that is the greatest danger to our institutions.
Attny Gen Garland's appointment of a special counsel to investigate was a step in the right direction: treating each case as a matter required careful investigation and possible referral to DOJ.
In my judgment, former VP Biden and his aides or whoever supervised removal of classified material were at fault in the first instance (taking and keeping the docs) but appear to have acted correctly in notifying relevant agencies once the docs were discovered. However, we will have to wait for the details (or whatever non-secret account is related to the public). My guess is that both men will suffer wrist slaps.
Ah, but they didn't act properly. When the first cache of documents was discovered in the Penn Biden Center office, Biden's lawyers did NOT immediately contact either the FBI or the Justice Department. And no, their activities at that time were NOT covered by attorney-client privilege. They tried to keep the whole thing quiet by returning the documents to the National Archives. That is to say, they failed to report to the relevant authorities evidence of a federal crime. You can bet, however, that they let Biden and his people know.
So you're right that we need to know more details. The problem is that the President and his cabal are trying to withholdd them from the American people.
You forgot to mention the claim currently making the rounds that the classified material was planted by Democrats desirous of hindering Biden’s aspirations for running for a second term. The claim is that supporters of a Gavin Newsom run are trying to sabotage Biden.
I read an interesting comment from a Guardian reader (I'm not sure if that is on your news feed, so I'll mention it here). In regard to control of sensitive classified documents, the poster asked why it is that Amazon, UPS and DHL can track the whereabouts of every package and letter it sends anywhere in the world, and or government cannot track secret documents going from one government office to another. You'd think there would be a bar code or something like on each piece of paper that once checked out, must be checked back in. I am sure we could ask your local library to explain to the intelligence agencies how they do it.
Were the lawyers actually obligated to notify the FBI and / or DOJ, apart from returning documents to Archives? One would assume that the government agency involved would take care of that. If not, that's another crack in our security wall. I agree with you about the folly of trying to withhold information...the truth always comes out (though we still wonder about Jimmy Hoffa and the "second shooter"). The White House's communications strategy was poor, imho. (Drip, drip, drip.... As Pete Seeger used to sing,"...When will they ever learn?").
They were confronted with evidence of a possible crime, i.e. the mishandling or misappropriation of classified documents. As attorneys they had an obligation to notify the proper authorities. This they did not do. Instead, they tampered with a crime scene. The National Archives is not a law enforcement agency, nor does returning the documents to the National Archives satisfy that legal obligation or erase the crime.
Perhaps there's an innocent explanation for the presence of classified documents in that office (also in Biden's garage and residence). But as it is, there's probable cause that a crime has been committed. I might add that lower-ranking people are prosecuted and sentenced to prison all the time for mishandling classified documents. So I see no reason why eminent people should get a pass—through they do.
That some unnamed person may have deliberately planted classified documents is just dust being kicked up to hide the White House's embarrassment. The media should not bother giving such statements any credence, other than a verbal footnote.
It is a serious issue, and we need to know more details of how this was discovered and why the information was withheld until now.
So far as we know, neither the President nor any agency have acted improperly since the discovery. The Biden Admin's cooperative stance is in stark contrast to the ridiculous ballyhoo created by ex-President Trump and his allies' attempts to stonewall all efforts to recover er documents stored improperly at MAL.
Memories of Watergate: it's not so much the original act that is at issue -- mistakes happen, though our government definitely SHOULD have tighter security measures over such classified documents -- but it is the attempt to coverup (in Trump's case, to claim the documents were his and were not actually classified as he had magically unclassified the documents with his mental powers) that is the greatest danger to our institutions.
Attny Gen Garland's appointment of a special counsel to investigate was a step in the right direction: treating each case as a matter required careful investigation and possible referral to DOJ.
In my judgment, former VP Biden and his aides or whoever supervised removal of classified material were at fault in the first instance (taking and keeping the docs) but appear to have acted correctly in notifying relevant agencies once the docs were discovered. However, we will have to wait for the details (or whatever non-secret account is related to the public). My guess is that both men will suffer wrist slaps.
Ah, but they didn't act properly. When the first cache of documents was discovered in the Penn Biden Center office, Biden's lawyers did NOT immediately contact either the FBI or the Justice Department. And no, their activities at that time were NOT covered by attorney-client privilege. They tried to keep the whole thing quiet by returning the documents to the National Archives. That is to say, they failed to report to the relevant authorities evidence of a federal crime. You can bet, however, that they let Biden and his people know.
So you're right that we need to know more details. The problem is that the President and his cabal are trying to withholdd them from the American people.
You forgot to mention the claim currently making the rounds that the classified material was planted by Democrats desirous of hindering Biden’s aspirations for running for a second term. The claim is that supporters of a Gavin Newsom run are trying to sabotage Biden.
We Americans do love our conspiracy theories! No doubt Ilhan Omar blames the Zionists and their neocon accomplices...