In a previous post, I said that no one can remove a classified document from a SCIF. After doing some more research, I found that I was wrong.
Documents classified below "Secret" can, in fact, be removed from and reviewed outside of a SCIF by anyone with the proper clearance. That allows for the possibility of someone taking them home. Anything marked "Secret", "Top Secret", or above can only be reviewed in a SCIF. The Oval Office is a SCIF, as is the Situation Room in the White House, so sensitive documents could in fact have been lying around, unprotected. We know that Trump's stash included Top Secret documents; we don't yet know what the markings were on the documents Biden and Pence had.
And for those who think that what Biden and Pence did is the same as what Trump did, here is the statute I've referred to several times, 18 USC 1924:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1924
Please note the use of the terms "knowingly" and "with intent". Both Biden and Pence both said they were unaware that they had the documents in their possession, and both immediately notified the authorities as soon as they were discovered. Both facts work in their favor.
Trump, on the other hand, knew he had them and obstructed their retrieval for over a year, ultimately resulting in an FBI warrant to find and retrieve them. Trump himself claimed they were his property and said that he kept the empty folders as souvenirs, claiming that the documents he reviewed were never put back in their folders, which is absolute nonsense. Does anyone seriously believe that the individual classified documents were removed from their folders and then jumbled together at the end of the presentation with the empty folders left behind? Donald Trump would like you to think so.The real question is: where are the documents that belonged in those folders?
If you can't see the difference between what Trump did and what Biden and Pence did, there's something seriously wrong with your critical thinking skills... |
