Greg Burton, a seasoned reporter from out west, wrote a revealing account of a skirmish he and a photographer got into with the White House Secret Service, all because then-Vice President Joe Biden had left classified documents lying about the West Wing.
Writing in the Arizona Republic on Sunday, Burton described a visit to the VP’s White House office to interview Biden about the recent financial crisis. Early in the visit, the journalist noticed a top secret document just low-key vibing on a table.
“The red warning on the cover caught my attention but my eyes drifted to the then-vice president’s keepsakes, a leather binder and photos of Jill, Beau, Hunter, Ashley and Champ,” recalls Burton. He reflects that the document might have contained anything from “launch codes” to “spy games and terrorism cells,” for all he knows.
Related: VIDEO: Are These The Classified Docs in Biden’s Garage?
Burton was one of several reporters and photographers who had been cleared to interview Biden in his office that day. Jay Carney, who became Obama’s press secretary not long afterward, was Biden’s director of communications at the time and was also in the room.
Biden discussed the Troubled Asset Relief Program and posed for pictures. After an hour and a half, his press secretary, Elizabeth Alexander, drew the interview to a close. Biden waved over one of the photographers with whom he was friendly for a few more snaps, then the group trooped out of the office. That’s when the action took place:
As we neared the exit, notebooks full of Bidenisms, Carney rushed up. Guys with ear pieces appeared. A Panasonic recorder in my hand clicked on.
Carney had seen the document on the table, and he knew we had seen it too. …
[Carney] valued press freedom.
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But [photographer] Fred might have been walking out with photos of classified information. Top secret documents must be handled under strict protocols, stored and viewed only in secure rooms. Someone screwed up.
Hm, who could it have been? Who in that room had top-secret clearance?
Carney demanded Fred’s camera.
We said no.
A few tense minutes later, we struck a deal: Fred deleted the offending images. I did not delete the tape but would not publish what I recorded.
And that classified document on Joe’s desk that day?
Could be in Wilmington.
Apparently, “President” Joe Biden’s proclivity to be irresponsible — to use his word — when handling classified materials is nothing new.
