Former President Bill Clinton’s office and former President Barack Obama’s office revealed they turned over all classified information in their possession at the end of their respective terms in the Oval Office.
The revelations were made on Wednesday (January 25), the day after former Vice President Mike Pence’s attorney revealed classified material was discovered in his Indiana home. Instead, according to reporting by The Hill, both former Presidents assert — as is required under the Presidential Records Act — they handed anything with classification markings to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) upon exiting their office.
Responding to a query from The Hill, Clinton’s office said he had “properly turned over to NARA” his classified materials.
Obama’s office responded to queries with a similar statement, asserting that the former President “submitted to the National Archives” all of his classified records.
The statement concluded by saying the National Archives “continues to assume physical and legal custody of President Obama’s materials to date.”
Freddy Ford, former President George W. Bush’s chief of staff, revealed to NewsNation earlier in the month Ford described the process Bush underwent to hand over classified material as being an “intensively thorough process.”
Ford explained this happened before Bush “left the White House,” at which point all his Presidential material, “classified and unclassified,” were handed to NARA.
The admissions come as former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and, more recently, former Vice President Mike Pence have been embroiled in the classified documents saga.
