It has been more than entertaining watching the Plebes supporting Biden tie themselves into knots to make Trump guilty and Biden not, on the issue of classified material.
In the case of Trump, everyone knew Trump had possession of classified material. The FBI is on record as having inspected the container and advised him on the proper GSA approved lock to bring it up to legal standards. The documents were secured.
In the case of Biden, their defense is he had no criminal intent. He forgot he had them. A staff member misplaced them, and what about Trump?
What Trump did, or didn’t do has nothing at all to do with what another did
But ask those defending Biden on what the law says, and you end up playing the part of Abbot in “Who’s on first.” The left doesn’t want to know what the laws and regulations say.
Well, I am here to fix that. So, if you support Biden, stop reading now, lest you have to deal with the truth.
But first though, a bit of my background. I held a Secret Clearance all through my 11+ years of active duty in the Air Force. I held one while working for a DoD Contractor when I became a civilian, and part of that job was ensuring classified docs were properly stored. Later, I worked for a Security Contactor, running their largest contract west of the Mississippi. The job once again required making sure classified material was properly secured.
I worked hand in hand with the Facilities Security Manager and was training to become one myself. I also worked hand in hand with the DoD inspectors who conducted audits on our site of the classified documents every 6 months. I had worked with a Facilities Security Manager that failed an audit once. It wasn’t the site I was working, but I still followed what he was involved with. I’d rather have proctology exam done with a dull chainsaw. It ended my wanting to become a FSM.
In the last Air Force Base I was assigned too, I spent three and half days out of nine on a Launch Control Facility for almost 4 years. I signed for and received classified documents each tour. More often than not, I destroyed classified material and signed documentation certifying the destruction.
I was responsible for securing the classified documents under my control using the above standards in the form of and addition to Air Force Regulations, AFR-207-1 and Strategic Air Command Regulation, SACR-207-1 just to name the top two. There were lots more.
My Launch Control Facility was a secure building located within a secured fence located in the middle of Nowhere, Montana. The Security Office is a locked room within the LCF. Unless I was using a classified document, all documents were secured in the GSA approved container which was locked at all times. If not, I was subject to a Court Martial.
Everyone working the LCF was responsible for reporting violations up the chain. Even the cook who brought me dinner.
All this, and none of it was classified Top Secret, which the latest reporting is what Biden left lying around.
My point is, securing classified material is not a joke, and not to be taken lightly. There are laws, regulations and directives that must be met. There are penalties for not doing so.
So, without boring you further, here are just some of the laws and regulations Biden violated.
Title 18 US Code Section 1924
(a) Whoever, being an officer, employee, contractor, or consultant of the United States, and, by virtue of his office, employment, position, or contract, becomes possessed of documents or materials containing classified information of the United States, knowingly removes such documents or materials without authority and with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
12 FAM 531 (a), (b)
a. Store classified material only in a manner that conforms to the provisions of this subchapter.
b. Whenever classified material is not under the personal control and observation of an authorized person, store it in an approved locked container under the conditions cited in this subchapter. Domestically, for the Department, contact the Office of Information Security (DS/SI/IS) via [email protected] regarding open storage.
12 FAM 531.2 Top Secret Storage
12 FAM 531.2-1 Domestic
(CT:DS-392; 11-07-2022)
(Uniform State, OPIC, USTDA)
Storage of Top Secret (TS) material is approved in either of the following:
(1) General Services Administration (GSA)-approved container with a GSA-approved, built-in, three-position, dial-type combination lock; locate this container either in a DS-approved alarmed area or in a building controlled by cleared U.S. citizen personnel on a 24-hour basis; or
(2) Domestic strongroom (see 12 FAM 013 definition) approved for TS storage by the Program Applications Division (DS/IS/APD).
12 FAM 531.3 Secret and Confidential Storage
12 FAM 531.3-1 Domestic
(CT:DS-392; 11-07-2022)
(Uniform State, OPIC, USTDA)
Storage of Secret and Confidential material is approved:
(1) In the same manner authorized for Top Secret (TS) information (see 12 FAM 531.1); (2) In a barlock cabinet equipped with a GSA-approved three-position, dial-type, changeable, combination padlock located either in a DS-approved alarmed area, or in a building controlled by cleared U.S. citizen personnel on a 24-hour basis; or
(3) In a domestic strongroom or vault approved for Secret (S) storage by the DS/IS/APD division chief.
12 FAM 532 LOCKS
12 FAM 532.1 Electronically and Manually Activated Locks
(CT:DS-392; 11-07-2022)
(Uniform State, OPIC, USTDA)
Only DS-approved locks satisfy protection requirements for classified national security information. Other electronically activated locks (for example, cipher and magnetic strip-card locks) or mechanical locks that may not afford the required degree of protection prescribed in 12 FAM 531.2 and 12 FAM 531.3 are not authorized for the safeguarding of classified information. The DS Technology Development Branch (DS/FSE/TDB) identifies DS-approved locks through coordination with the OSPB, GSA, and other U.S. Government groups responsible for certifying locking devices for certain applications. Refer to the DS/FSE/TDB Web site for information regarding the level of protection afforded by specific DS-approved locks.
He also is in violation of the NDA. Specifically, SF-312 which he signed as required by law when he left the office of Vice President.
There more regulations, more laws, and more directives one can research if you are truly interested. I just thought people speaking on this issue should know the basics.