Republican senators were shocked to learn of the discovery of classified material at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence, in another twist involving US government officials and the handling of sensitive documents.
“What the hell?” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) spoke to reporters after CNN first broke the news Tuesday.
“I didn’t ask for that,” added Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who often handles classified information as part of his job as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“Anyone who deals with classified material knows that it should be kept in a safe place and not available to the enemy by putting it in a place that is easily penetrated. So, it’s not good,” added Cornyn.
Pence’s lawyers found a “small number” of classified documents that were “inadvertently packed and transported” to his home after becoming vice president, according to Pence’s lawyers.
Pence had no knowledge of its existence, prosecutors said, and his legal team voluntarily turned it over to the National Archives and Records Administration — an approach in stark contrast to former President Donald Trump and his team’s months-long refusal to return classified material. located at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump also compared the FBI agents who conducted the search of his home to Nazi Germany’s secret police.
News of the Pence document comes after the discovery of classified material in President Joe Biden’s home and office, including from his time as a senator. The Justice Department has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents, with the White House maintaining that the mistake was accidental.
But the fact that at least three top U.S. officials from both major parties mishandled classified information caused shockwaves on Capitol Hill — as well as plenty of jokes.
“I know the president has documents … but the vice president or the senator? I mean, you don’t matter. Come on,” Tuberville told HuffPost when asked about Pence’s revelation.
“It’s either incompetence, not paying enough attention, or you’re doing it on purpose,” he added.
“What’s going on here?” Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), another member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to reporters when asked his response to the news. He cited “systemic problems” in the executive branch in handling classified information.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) marveled that his lawyers had “opened my file and found the remains of Jimmy Hoffa,” referring to a wild conspiracy theory about the union leader’s disappearance in 1975.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (RN.D.) suggested former Vice President Dan Quayle might have to conduct a thorough search of his possessions, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) said “just about me you’ll find in my house a lot of bags of Chick-fil- A on the floor.”
In addition, some senators also recommended reviewing the government’s classification process because it tends to overclassify information, as well as reviewing how officials interact with sensitive documents.
“I can’t explain it,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “If the work of the staff is shabby, that’s it. But ultimately, elected officials must be held accountable.
The revelation that Pence kept classified documents in his home has been downplayed week of the Republican attack to Biden. Some GOP House members even have recommended that the president violated the Espionage Act.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he plans to seek an intelligence review and damage assessment of classified documents from Pence’s home, as he did for those found in Biden’s home and office. check if there is a national security issue.
“It is a serious matter for government officials to mishandle confidential documents,” Turner tweeted.