Lawmakers demand US classification system reform.

The past several months have been filled with allegations of mishandling classified documents against President Joe Biden, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former President Donald Trump. Last week, the Department of Justice indicted Trump on charges related to this issue and more.

In April, Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira accessed and leaked classified information, resulting in his recent indictment.

These incidents have sparked calls for reform of the U.S. classification system from lawmakers and the intelligence community. One common concern raised is the problem of overclassification.

“Overclassification of records plagues the Intelligence Community,” said Chris Farrell, the director of investigations and research at Judicial Watch and a former Army counterintelligence officer. “There is such a strong tendency to classify everything imaginable that it leads to contempt for the classification system and abuse of what is truly classified.”

Farrell also noted that whenever an agency or department wants to hide something from oversight or the public’s right to know, they simply classify it.

The U.S. government’s levels of classification, enacted in 1951 by President Harry Truman, are confidential, secret, and top secret.

Agreement in Congress

Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree that changes are needed in the U.S. intelligence classification system.

“I think we classify way too many documents that are floating around, so we need to go back. And that’s been said long before I got here,” said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also expressed concern about overclassification in the intelligence community.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) criticized the classification system as “over-broad” and suggested that agencies overclassify items to avoid accountability.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) stated that “too many things are classified” and questioned the necessity and relevance of classification in certain instances.

One example of overclassification, according to Farrell, is an FBI report alleging that then-Vice President Joe Biden accepted a bribe from a foreign official. Despite being unclassified, members of the House Oversight Committee could only view it in a secure facility.

“There’s always room for improvement in what’s classified and what’s not classified,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). “But let’s work towards getting better.”

However, not all lawmakers are in favor of reforming the classification system.