The recent FBI raid on former US President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago is nothing short of mind-boggling. While there have been other criminal investigations and impeachment proceedings against previous presidents, this is the first time a presidential residence has been raided to look for possible violations of federal law in America. And for good reason: the ex-president has, as it now appears, broken the law regarding the handling of confidential information.
Aside from the romanticization of Hollywood movies and the creativity that filmmakers show towards the CIA and FBI, the secrecy of confidential information within the US government is a very serious matter. Many US national security agencies have different classifications of confidential information: secret (S), Top Secret (TS) andTop Secret-Secret Classified Information (TS-SCI). The latter category is a special classification for material containing details of specific individuals who act as a source of highly classified information. Should this information fall into the wrong hands, the individuals in question could be killed.
About the author
Jennifer Smits Kilgus worked as a top official in the Bush administration and campaigned for the Biden-Harris team.
Policy Analyst
To illustrate the rigor in handling confidential information in America, here’s an example: Years ago I was a policy analyst at the State Department in Washington DC My main job was to maintain a liaison between the State Department and the relevant congressional committees on policy and budgetary issues, in particular with regard to Africa and the Middle East. I was part of a team tasked with briefing top officials and preparing for congressional committee testimony.
Getting hired at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and getting the proper security clearance wasn’t easy. And it never should be. For example, countless interviews were conducted with myself, friends and relatives to prove that I had a stable character to handle confidential information correctly. I had to provide extensive financial information as well as prove that I had never been blackmailed or worked with a foreign organization that could potentially undermine the United States. This process, even for my level, was a job that took months.
Safes in offices
Once hired, I had to undergo training on how to handle such classified information, even within the confines of a secure facility such as the department where I worked. We all had safes in our offices, where classified information had to be kept. We had to memorize long codes. At night we really had to keep every bit of classified documentation in our office under lock and key. Every night, US military personnel conducted a “security investigation.” If there was confidential material on a desk somewhere, they got one warning. There was no second warning; instead, you were laid off and fired.
Briefings containing confidential information on Capitol Hill were long and strenuous. These briefings were held in so-called SCIFs (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility), secure, windowless rooms scattered across Capitol Hill. These are the same rooms where many members of Congress hid during the January 6, 2021 riots. Prior to these briefings, we had to turn in all our electronic devices. We were not allowed to take notes during these briefings, which sometimes lasted 4 to 5 hours. The latter in particular presented an additional challenge as it was up to us to prepare a confidential report of all conversations, comments and information.
Arrogant attitude
At that time I was not a high-ranking official. I was just one of the employees. However, it was also the most important thing for me to handle confidential information with care. For the president, that interest should be even higher, since the president is in charge of national security affairs.
The fact that, as it turns out, President Trump not only removed classified documents from a secure complex but also decided to keep them in his office, a hotel, is perhaps as baffling as the FBI raid itself. The fact that the FBI was able to break into a vault at Trump means that any experienced criminal could have done the same thing in Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s arrogant attitude towards handling highly confidential information shows that he has no respect for US national security. In fact, his behavior endangers the entire nation.