Remember last year when they found classified docs in former President Donald Trump's home and everyone said it was unprecedented, unthinkable, a national security disaster, and it was unthinkable that a public servant could ever be so reckless with sensitive material?
Yeah well the federal government is now like, "Hey any and all living presidents, can you check to make sure u haven't done the same thing?"
The National Archives is formally asking former presidents and vice presidents to re-check their personal records for any classified documents or other presidential records in the wake of classified documents discovered in the homes of former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and President Joe Biden over the last year. ...
"The responsibility to comply with the [Presidential Records Act] does not diminish after the end of an administration," the letter states. "Therefore, we request that you conduct an assessment of any materials held outside of NARA that relate to the Administration for which you serve as a designated representative under the PRA, to determine whether bodies of materials previously assumed to be personal in nature might inadvertently contain Presidential or Vice Presidential records subject to the PRA, whether classified or unclassified."
Maybe it's a pretty normal thing for classified documents to be mishandled. It shouldn't be done, it should be discouraged, it's not great. It's also not the end of the freakin' world when it happens.
The presidents themselves, meanwhile, are claiming claim they're innocent of any mismanagement:
The Archives sent the letter to representatives for former Presidents Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, and former Vice Presidents Pence, Biden, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Dan Quayle.
Representatives for the four former presidents have all so far told CNN they do not have any classified records in their possession. The representatives for former Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama and the late George H.W. Bush all told CNN that all classified records had been turned over to the National Archives upon leaving office.
The National Archives:
