National Archives says presidents and lawmakers have mishandled classified documents for years
Brady Knox
Video Embed
National Archives and Records Administration officials told Congress that every administration since Ronald Reagan has mishandled classified documents to some extent.
The revelation was made during a closed-door House Intelligence Committee hearing in March. The transcript from that day was released Wednesday. The hearing revealed chronic problems the National Archives has experienced for decades that originate in more places than just the White House. William Bosanko, chief operating officer for the National Archives, revealed that the problems have persisted for decades, despite only coming to light recently.
KAMALA HARRIS TAKES HER PLACE AT THE DEBT LIMIT NEGOTIATING TABLE
Bosanko revealed that in every “administration from Reagan forward, we have found classified information in unclassified boxes.”
The transcript showed the heated nature of the questioning. Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) hammered Bosanko on several points. At one point, he pressed Bosanko to answer how the National Archives knew that former President Donald Trump was in possession of classified documents if the agency doesn’t know what documents an agency has.
“But you are not the Department of Justice,” Turner retorted when Bosanko said he wouldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation. “You are not in an investigation. You are a witness. And you are also a witness in front of our committee, and we have absolute jurisdiction over this topic, and we want to understand custody and control.”
Bosanko revealed in the hearing that there is no “document-level tracking” in the White House, making it difficult to know if and what documents are missing.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Testimony from the transcripts included an official claiming that the agency has received about 80 calls from libraries since 2010. The official said these calls were about lawmakers who had dropped documents off after serving their terms, saying libraries know to look through these document dumps and contact the National Archives with any concerns about classified documents found.
Upon the release of the transcript, Turner said the debacle showed how urgent it was to improve the handling of classified documents by government officials.