Classified Documents

For an extended period of time the US media has been chattering about the subject of classified documents or paper work that has markings indicating that it is "confidential", "secret" or "top secret". Classified material was found during an FBI raid on the home of former US president Donald Trump that perhaps has the potential of causing serious legal problems for him.

More recently, the personal attorneys of current president Joe Biden have discovered unsecured classified materials at his home and other places. This is an embarrassment for Biden if not a legal problem but since the FBI didn't dig through his closets he's probably OK.

There are some serious questions about this whole situation. While the national media is devoted to keeping us informed of the latest events in the lives of the Kardashian family and Harry + Meghan, no effort has been made to actually describe the classification process and its meaning.

While the marking process itself and other aspects are detailed in this government document,  which is produced for the Department of Defense, there doesn't seem to be any description of who might mark a document as classified, at what level and what the nature of the classified information must be. Only those with a security clearance at the same level as the document are authorized to view it. No explanation is given of how an individual becomes qualified to view "Top Secret" files.

 

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Apparently, we don't need to know anything at all about classified files. If they are laying around Joe Biden's garage perhaps the information they contain is meaningless to the public or a potential adversary. Further, we can't know what federal agencies are permitted to make use of file classification. It's obvious that the Defense Dept. and Homeland Security classify documents but how about the Depts. of Labor, Agriculture, Commerce, Education and so on? Don't they have bureaucratic secrets that they wish to keep from the populace? Do state and local government agencies also have levels of secrecy in their files?

Finally, just as the government issues flimsy paper cards with an applicant's social security number for a lifetime of use, why do they seem to be so freaked out over paper documents? Hasn't the world in general moved on to electronic record keeping? Wouldn't it make more sense to search the Biden palace for information hidden away on tiny flash drives? Even the infamous Hunter Biden laptop seems to be a relic from a bygone age. With the increasing use of electronic communication, keeping a secret is going to be more and more difficult, regardless of the red label on the file. However, using paper files might actually be more secure than internet communication, just as a private verbal conversation between two individuals should be the most secure form of communication.