Hello! Hello! Hello! Welcome to episode 14 of We Don’t Talk About P-Word. Like last week, I want to talk about a current event. We have been seeing it on the news for months now, and there is no better example of partisan spin than this story. I want to use this to highlight the partisan propaganda that pervades our airwaves. More importantly, I want to draw your attention to a matter of national security. Today, I want to discuss the ongoing political issue that I’m calling Document-gate. The concern surrounding the story is far from over, and I may need to update it in the future. For now, I want to talk about what is going on and how both sides are using spin to enrage their base. In case you have been under a rock for the last three to four months, let me recap what has been happening. First, let’s talk a little about Classified Documents . During my time in the Marine Corps, I held a Top-Secret Clearance. I know a little about the classified document process. It was drilled into us from the moment we began school to learn our military jobs. The classification of documents can get a bit confusing, but I will try to simplify it. There are three ‘levels’ of classification: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.  Confidential denotes information that would damage national security if publicly disclosed.  Secret denotes information that would cause serious damage to national security. This is the most common level of classified information.  Top Secret denotes information that would cause exceptionally grave damage to national security. As a side note, just because you have the clearance for information doesn’t mean you get to see it. You also must have a “need to know” to access any classified information. Here is where it gets a little confusing. There are additional classifications that further characterize Top-Secret documents. These include:  Code Word  Special Access Program (SAP)  Sensitive Compartment Information (SCI)  Restricted Data (RD) Here is all you need to know about these. Code Word is limited to people authorized for a specific code word. As an example, you might have Top-Secret (Lemon) . This means only people cleared for “Lemon” may view these documents. Special Access Programs are limited to a very small number of people. This is usually at the highest echelons of government and the military. Sensitive Compartment Information is information that is tightly controlled due to its nature. This information may reveal human source or other methods of gaining intelligence. This would put a person or system in danger. Restricted Data covers nuclear information. Now that you know a bit about how classified documents work, let’s look at a timeline of recent events. Please bear with me. The timeline is long but is essential to place things in perspective. January 14 of 2021: Trump prepares to leave the White House. Photographers capture movers loading boxes into trucks. Four days later those trucks are seen at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. May 6, 2021: The Archives of the United States request that Trump turn over missing records. These requests continue through December. December 2021: A representative of Trump contacts the Archives. They located twelve boxes of documents. The Archives arrange for the boxes to be securely returned to Washington. January 18, 2022: Fifteen boxes of records were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. Some contain classified material. Many retrieved documents had been torn up, as was commonplace for President Trump. A quick aside here. It is a federal crime to destroy or steal official records of the President or Vice President. This was established by the Presidential Records Act of 1978. It changed the legal ownership of Presidential records from private to public. This makes complete sense. The President of the United States is the head of the People’s government. It is only appropriate that the People’s documents are protected. This act assigns sole responsibility for these documents to the President. It is the President's responsibility to ensure proper management of their documents. That means they cannot pass the blame on to a staffer or attorney. The buck stops with the President. The destruction of documents under President Trump is not in question. There are many reports from more than one of his chiefs of staff that he needed to be regularly reminded of this law. Staffers and archivists have reported the need to tape documents back together. This was after he had ripped them. We even have reports of toilets stopped up by documents he tried to flush. February 7, 2022: The Archives confirms receipt of the boxes. February 9, 2022: The Archives sends a referral to the Justice Department. This requests an investigation into Trumps handling of documents. In this referral, the Archives notes the presence of “a lot of classified records.” These classified documents were not in folders and were mixed with unclassified documents. February 18, 2022: The Archivist of the United States contacts Trump representatives. They notify them that the boxes contained classified documents. He then asked for them to continue their search for more documents. He also informs them that the Justice Department has been informed of the situation. April 12, 2022: The Archives informs Trump's representatives of the Justice Department's concerns. They inform them that the DoJ wants to review the records and that they intend to comply the next week. Trump’s attorney asked that be delayed until the 29th. April 29, 2022: The Justice Department informs Trump's attorney of national security concerns. Justice tells them it is in national security's interest that the FBI get access to the documents. More than 100 classified documents totaling 700 pages were found. Some documents found were at the highest levels of classification. This included Special Access Program materials. The Justice Department also informed them of a criminal investigation that required access. Trump’s attorney requested another delay. If not granted, they asserted the President would claim executive privilege. May 10, 2022: Trump’s attorney is informed that there is no basis for executive privilege. The Archivist says she will be providing the documents to the FBI. May 11, 2022: The Justice Department obtains a subpoena. This subpoena covers all documents bearing classification markings at Mar-a-Lago. In the subpoena, a deadline of May 24 is set for Trump’s custodian of records to comply and appear in court. In a separate letter, Trump's attorneys are required to provide a sworn certification. It will state that all records have been returned. May 16-18, 2022: After a preliminary review, the FBI finds classified documents in 14 of the 15 boxes. In total, 184 classified documents were found. These contained 67 confidential, 92 secret, and 25 top secret documents. May 24, 2022: Trump’s lawyer asks for an extension for complying with the subpoena. The date was moved to June 7. May 25, 2022: Trump's lawyers sent a letter to investigators. They claim that Trump has the absolute authority to declassify documents. It is important to note that this was true before he left office. The President, when in office, has the unlimited authority to declassify anything. But this is not done by a wave of the hand. Declassification is a process. There are steps that must be taken, and processes followed. There are official records of any declassification. In short, there is proof if this has taken place. Along the same line, most classified information is systemically declassified after 25 years. Some may be reclassified under certain narrow exceptions. After 50 years, there are only two narrow exceptions for maintaining classification. After 75 years, special permission must be granted to maintain classification. June 2, 2022: Trump’s lawyer requests FBI agents retrieve documents in response to the subpoena. June 3, 2022: FBI agents retrieve the documents from Mar-a-Lago. The documents were in one large envelope. Trump’s custodian of records attests and signs a certification. It states a thorough search was conducted and all documents had been turned over. Trump's lawyers certify all items from the White House are stored in a single storage room. FBI agents are shown the room but prohibited from looking in any boxes. In the envelope were 38 classified documents. This included 5 confidential, 16 secret, and 17 top-secret. June 8, 2022: Due to concern over the security of what might be in the room, a request to further secure the room was made. A second lock was added to the door. June 24, 2022: A subpoena for Mar-a-Lago security footage was issued. Trump’s team turns over footage. August 5, 2022: The Justice Department obtains a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago. The warrant claims the FBI uncovered evidence indicating classified documents remained there. It also states that further documents were concealed and removed from the room shown. Efforts to obstruct the investigation were likely, according to the warrant. August 8, 2022: The search warrant was executed. At least two Trump attorneys were present. One signs a receipt listing all property seized. Among the items taken were Trump’s passports which were later returned (on August 15). They were present in a desk drawer with classified documents that was taken. During this search, 33 containers from the storage room and Trump’s office were taken. After review, a total of 13 containers contained more than 100 classified documents. August 11, 2022: Attorney General Merrick Garland conducts a press conference. He announces that he approved the decision to seek a search warrant. The Justice Department also files to unseal the warrant. With no opposition from Trump, it is unsealed the next day. September 2022: There was a fight over the appointment of a special master. This fight ended by the first of December when it was determined one was unnecessary. November 2, 2022/; President Biden’s personal lawyers find ten classified documents. These are found at the Penn Biden Center at Pennsylvania University. His attorneys inform White House Council which notifies the Archives. The Archives take possession the next day. November 4, 2022: The Archives Inspector General informs the DoJ of Biden’s documents. Mid November 2022: The FBI searches the Penn Biden Center offices. This is conducted in the presence and cooperation with Biden representatives. At least 10 classified documents are found. November 18, 2022: Attorney General Merrick Garland appoints Jack Smith as independent counsel. He is tasked with investigating Trump's document case and recommending appropriate action. November 20, 2022: Biden’s lawyers inform the DoJ that more documents were found in his garage in Delaware. These documents were from his time as Vice President. The FBI retrieves them. December 2022: The DoJ determines not all documents had been turned over in Trump's case. His lawyers hire a search team to look for more documents. Two further classified documents are found in a different location. January 9, 2023: The media reports on the documents found at Penn Biden Center. This is the first time the public is made aware. January 12, 2023: Another document is found at Biden's home in Delaware. The AG appoints Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate Biden’s case. January 16, 2023: Former Vice President Mike Pence hires outside counsel. They search his Indiana home for classified documents. January 18, 2023: Pence’s counsel informs the Archives they have discovered classified documents. January 19, 2023: The FBI retrieves Pence's documents. January 20, 2023: The FBI searches Biden’s Wilmington home. They find six more classified documents. The search was in cooperation with all parties involved. February 1, 2023: The FBI searches Biden’s beach home, also in Delaware. No documents were found. February 2, 2023: The FBI announces they will search Pence’s home and office for more documents. Now, to this point that is all we know. All three stories are unfolding. We can, of course, expect more details as investigations continue. But now that special counsels have been appointed, details will become rarer. That is until decisions on prosecution are made. Of course, we can expect inevitable leaks. We all know Washington scandals rarely stay secret. Handling classified documents is a very controlled process. All documents are kept in brightly colored folders denoting their classification. The purpose is to ensure no document can be “accidentally” read or seen. You have to make a conscious effort to open and read a classified document. The folders contain no information themselves and are reused. But they are just as important to ensuring their secrecy. When classified documents are no longer needed, they aren’t simply placed in a trash bin. Not even in completely secure facilities would this be acceptable. Every office that has access to classified documents has what we call a burn bag. This was a brown paper bag (with a red stripe) that classified documents are placed in when no longer needed. Imagine a tall paper grocery bag. While I was active, I never burned any bags, but they were regularly taken and shredded. These weren’t basic shredders. They were cross shredders. They reduced the documents to confetti making them impossible to reconstruct. Some of the most sensitive information can only be viewed in what is called a SCIF. That's an acronym for: Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. These areas are highly secure. They include measures that block radio and phone signals among other security features. They are limited access, and any non-cleared visitor must be constantly escorted. Communication devices are usually required to be left outside before you enter. SCIFs have different levels of security depending on the information inside. Some SCIFS are only rated up to Confidential or Secret. SCIFs can be an entire building, a room on a ship or airplane, or just a single room in another building. The White House Situation Room is the most famous SCIF that you didn’t know about. Proper handling of classified documents is of the utmost importance. It was a subject drilled into us early and often. Had I taken a document outside of a SCIF, it would not have been good. I would have immediately garnered an investigation into my actions. No matter if it was an accident or not, removing a classified document from a SCIF was a serious matter. At best, I would have had a formal reprimand that would have probably cost me at least one promotion. More likely, I would have lost my clearance and had to be retrained in another job. However, it was also very possible that I would have been arrested. I could have been charged with, at the very least, mishandling of classified documents. We take classified documents in the United States very seriously, as we should. The information in these documents is dangerous if in the wrong hands. It is imperative that classified documents are handled with care. I once had to sleep cuddled up to some intelligence gathering gear and information. The SCIF on the ship I was picked up by was not rated to handle Top Secret information. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night. Now, there is a stark difference between a Marine and the President and Vice President. There are many reasons they need classified information outside of a secure facility. Hundreds if not thousands of classified documents need their attention every year. It would not be plausible to run to a secure facility for every one of them. That being said, there is no excuse for removing these documents from their offices. There is no reason these documents are mixed with non-classified documents at all. As I have said, they have their own folder that denotes them as classified. You must remove the documents from these folders to read them. They should be replaced when finished. Even the excuse of packing things quickly isn’t legitimate. Handled appropriately, you can’t miss the brightly colored folders emblazoned with their classification. I felt it important to talk about Document-gate because of the competing propaganda. I also felt it was important because the outrage is misdirected. The parties are more outraged by the damage to politicians than the damage to our nation. We don't know enough yet to understand the full picture. But that doesn't stop our political elites from trying to spin the story to their benefit. Both sides are spinning competing narratives. Both are either downplaying it or outraged for political gain. Which is which? Well, that depends on who you are talking to and which case you are talking about. When the news of the Mara-a-Lago search broke, Republicans were "outraged". Surprise, surprise! It wasn't because of the mishandling of classified documents. Instead, they claimed thug-like police tactics and an invasion of privacy. Democrats wanted to talk about how terrible it was. Biden even made some, now comical, comments in an interview. The spin changed when Biden was found to have mishandled classified documents. Republicans changed to outrage over the mishandling. They claimed that because he was Vice President at the time it was worse than Trump. Democrats now tried to downplay the situation. When the news that Pence had also mishandled documents broke, both sides said, “Well, crap.” The fact is that the mishandling of classified documents is serious. This is true no matter who did it. If they were working for the People, that is all they would need to say. Instead, they spin to benefit their parties by enraging their base. Don’t get me wrong. There is absolutely a difference in all three of these cases. They must be looked at through different lenses. However, all three of them appear to be guilty of mishandling classified documents. Remember what I said earlier, according to the Records Act of 1978, the buck stops with the principle. The problem is that the parties aren’t worried about what the People know. They aren’t even worried about the effect it has on the People. They are only concerned with how it affects their ability to get reelected. That’s why I felt today’s chat was important. I wanted to review the facts we know, and discuss the difference in the cases. I wanted to prepare you for the incoming propaganda and spin. This has already begun, but as more information comes out, it will only increase. We will begin with Pence. So far, Pence has done everything right. That is if you don’t count the fact he took the documents in the first place. Out of caution, he had his home searched independently. He immediately informed the Archives that the documents were found. As far as we know, he has cooperated fully with the Justice Department. So far, Pence has not had a special counsel assigned. This is because he is not currently a candidate for President. If he announces a run for President in 2024, there is a chance a special counsel will be appointed. That is more likely if they find anything problematic in what he has turned over. Biden is a little more controversial. The documents that were found dated back to at least 2016. This would have been when he left office as Vice President. Some may be, and probably are, older. These documents have been improperly secured for at least six years. The most controversial aspect is his handling of this with the public. Whether he is or not, the way Biden has handled this situation makes it appear that he is hiding something. In the midst of Trump’s scandal, documents were found in his office at the University of Pennsylvania. This was on November 2, 2022. More documents were found on November 20. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until January 9, 2023, when CBS News broke the story that it was reported to the public. It was another week before we found out about the documents found on November 20. At the very least, Biden’s lack of transparency is problematic. But to this point, as far as we know, he has cooperated fully with the DoJ. Then we have Trump… Trump’s case is a show of obfuscation and obstruction . Trump has been the exact opposite of cooperative. It took seven months for Trump to turn over 15 boxes of classified documents. This was after repeated requests by the Archives. Trump and his team have fought the Department of Justice every step of the way. A representative of Trump certified that all documents had been found and returned. The DoJ, not believing that to be true, obtained a search warrant. A month later, 100 more classified documents were found. This is in addition to the 100 plus found in the boxes that were already turned over. Nothing that Trump has done in this situation has been transparent or cooperative. I am not attempting to lay blame or convict anyone before an investigation is completed. Only an investigation can uncover knowledge, intent, or reasons for not being transparent. It is extremely important to pay attention to what comes out of these investigations. These scandals should not and cannot be ignored or forgotten. We don’t know what is in these documents. We don’t know who saw these documents. We don’t know why these documents were taken. But we need to. When we do, it is imperative that they are held to account for any crime that is uncovered. There cannot be laws for one American and not all Americans. Do I believe they should be prosecuted and thrown in jail? Not necessarily. It depends on the answers to what, who, and why. As these investigations proceed, you will hear a lot of technical terms thrown around. Here are some keywords we should be listening for:  Top-Secret SCI  Top-Secret SAP  Top-Secret (Code Word)  Top-Secret RD These are some of the most sensitive documents that can be found. These are documents that are the most dangerous when improperly secured. Documents classified Top-Secret should be a concern for everyone. There is no excuse for these documents to be outside of a SCIF . If these documents are found, we MUST question the intent behind taking them. I have said repeatedly that is important to be an informed voter. We must understand what is going on with our government. It is the only way that we can properly delegate our authority. We must know that national security secrets are kept safe for the common defense. Just as important, we must see through the propaganda and spin. We must see when our political elites try to mislead us. These are the People’s secrets, the People’s government, and the People’s nation. We must know that the People’s safety is ensured. We can only do that by being informed and understanding who we delegate our power to. At the very least, it is safe to say we need to take a look at how we handle classified documents. This seems especially important at the highest echelons and during transitions. It is painfully obvious that the People need better oversight in these situations. It is imperative that we get to the bottom of Document-gate. We must take it as seriously as Republicans take Biden's and Democrats take Trump's. Do not ignore these investigations. They are important to all of us. We must know what happened and why. It is our right to know. It is our responsibility to know, because it is our power they wield. We the People are the power.