House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner said Sunday the U.S. has a “systematic problem” in the mishandling of classified documents at the highest levels of government, in the wake of secret materials being discovered in the private possessions of President Biden, former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.
The Ohio Republican said he “can’t imagine a circumstance” in which politicians would need classified documents outside of their secured government locations.
“It’s just really astounding because it shows there’s really a systemic problem here on the administration handling side of both the vice president’s office and the president’s office,” Mr. Turner said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I can’t imagine a circumstance where anyone would believe that they need to have them in their home.”
Mr. Turner also lamented the lack of transparency by the Department of Justice about what Mr. Biden’s classified documents contain.
The House and Senate intelligence committees are demanding to be briefed on the materials’ contents to assess potential damage to national security.
Mr. Turner suggested that Attorney General Merrick Garland could be issued a congressional subpoena to pony up the information.
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“They don’t have an ability to say under the Constitution or a statute, ‘we have an ongoing investigation, therefore, now we can’t tell you,’” Mr. Turner said. “I think it only makes everybody concerned about what are they hiding and why are they trying to keep it from Congress. You’re going to see bipartisan, bicameral support to force Attorney General Garland to make these available to Congress so that we can take a look at what happened, what’s in these documents and what does Congress need to do to protect America’s secrets?”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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