Former White House officials, the intelligence officials describe protocols that appeared to have been violated, including reading documents from secure rooms, locking them in safes and returning them to the relevant agencies.
- Former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, called Trump’s stockpiling “staggering.”
- Andy Card, former White House chief of staff, said the classified documents were “never” lost.
- David Laufman, a former DOJ attorney, said top secret files were kept in secure rooms, in safes.
WASHINGTON — Serving two presidents, Leon Panetta’s appreciation for the risk posed by the mishandling of classified documents remains palpable nearly a decade away from the top echelons of government.
“I would have been scared to see a (news) story detailing the White House’s negligence with classified information,” said Panetta, whose other postings included stints as CIA director, secretary of defense and White House chief of staff. “I have lived in fear, knowing what is going on in the collection of this information.”
