In Washington, ‘classified’ is synonymous with ‘controversy’

By CHRIS MEGERIAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, problems with classified materials have been a shortcut to controversy in Washington. Hillary Clinton got in trouble for her use of a private email server. Donald Trump risked criminal charges for refusing to return top secret records. And now misplaced files with classified markings could cause a political headache for President Joe Biden. The three situations are far from equivalent, but they’re a reminder of the federal government’s struggle to manage its stockpile of secrets. One former government official says “No one has figured out a good answer to this problem.”