Washington
CNN
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The Approximately 12 classified documents The discovery at former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home includes materials described as background briefing notes prepared for Pence’s foreign trips, multiple sources told CNN.
A source said some of those classified documents may have been used to prepare Pence for foreign meetings while he was vice president and may have been overlooked during the packing process because they were tucked away in old travel binders.
According to another source, unless the bakers go through the binders page by page, classified information materials are not found.
It is not unusual for presidents and vice presidents to be given travel briefing binders that include background notes on people they meet abroad. Sources who spoke to CNN said it sometimes includes basic biographical information about foreign leaders, but sometimes includes more sensitive information.
The FBI works with U.S. intelligence agencies to evaluate the documents, which includes determining how recent the information is, its level of classification, and the potential risks of storing classified material in an unauthorized location.
A source briefed on some of the classified documents told CNN that based on what they were told, there was nothing particularly unusual about the documents and described the classification markings as “low level.” No documents with SCI or SAP markings were mentioned, the two names of some highly sensitive classified materials, the source said.
Top Secret, the highest level of classification, includes a subset of documents known as SCI or classified information reserved for certain information obtained from intelligence sources. Access to an SCI document may be further restricted to a small group of people with specific security permissions.
Another type of sensitive information is classified as sensitive information or classified as SAP or Special Access Program, which requires additional safeguards. Anyone with Top Secret security clearance cannot access information in SAP.
CNN reported earlier this month that classified materials were found in President Joe Biden’s former private office in Washington. Includes US intelligence notes and brief materials from Biden’s tenure as vice president, covering Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom.
Among the items found in Biden’s former office were some documents marked Top Secret with the SCI designation. CNN previously reported.
More than 300 classified documents have been found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, including two boxes Trump’s aides returned to the National Archives and later discovered by the FBI. The FBI’s August search found 18 documents top secret, 54 documents classified and 31 documents confidential, according to court filings.
A batch of classified documents recovered by the FBI in August contained SCI identities Property Receipt Published in court filings.
