Monday 6 February 2023

Classified Documents: Governments' and Yours

Do you have confidential documents in YOUR house?

Not to belittle the phrase which is profoundly important, but is there going to be a Me Too trend for confidential documents in someone's garage, library, or basement? What a joke this has become. 

One evening on CNN I believe it was #MargaretHoover who hit the nail on the head in my opinion. She opined that it was simple: once out of office people take files home to add legitimacy while they write memoires and books, hoping to make big bucks as authors. If this is true it makes the act even worse. Making money from country secrets is deplorable. In the case of Trump I think he had other reasons.

Having said all that I know that I have violated similar protocols at a corporate level in the past. I also had good intentions. I was taking work home - unpaid work - to get something done in a quiet environment with no interruptions. I felt confident that they would remain safe and secure until their return. This is probably true for many people - until they leave their briefcase on the bus or subway!

It was becoming laughable in America. Instead of spending millions on spy technology, satellites, balloons, and drones, China and aothers should just break into a prominent politicians house or garage. This is grab bag at the highest level - international Cracker Jack! White House fortune cookies!

If you have a Safety Deposit Box at a bank you know how secure procedures are. There are 2 keys required. You have to sign anything in or out. In this case nothing has to be returned but there is a record of visits. It should be easy to do something similar but even more strict within a government. 

Stuff should be read in a locked facility if possible and when finished with them materials should go straight back into a vault, double locked by administrators. If the volume is such that it must be taken from the reading room as homework, records have to be kept including the signature of the reader and a return date has to be agreed upon and tracked.

How does an administrator control or even reprimand the President or Vice President of the country without fear of job loss? How do authorities?

Drop the file Joe a put your hands behind your back! On the floor - NOW! We'll help you back up Mr. President.

Biden: "I had no idea there were any classified documents in my house. I'm serious. No this is no joke ... no joke. Really. Really. I mean this. I'm not being fasetious - fatecious - fasillyous ... I'm not kidding. Just ask Jill."

Trump: "This is another case of the deep state - the FBI gone wild. I read hundreds of documents every night - thousands of documents. More stuff than any President anywhere in history. That's because I have a higher EQ than any other President by far. Besides if there are any they are MINE. I unclassified them. I can do that you know. I can do anything as President. I can just grab them without even asking."

Mike Pence: "It has been recently brought to my attention that it is possible that certain select missives might have been identified in locations that could reasonably be associated with my person. I might not disagree with your contention but I want to assure you that the former President had nothing to do with this and that all procedures and protocols are always followed by my staff. I have also directed them to immediately ..." . Wait. Where are you going?"

#thebresterblock


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