About those Obama classified records in the Chicago-area furniture warehouse...

[bonnie]

September 27, 2022

About those Obama classified records in the Chicago-area furniture warehouse...

By Christopher Knight

 

 

It almost sounds like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie: a dusty warehouse.  The smell of must permeating the air.  The only sound the scurrying of the occasional rat.  And entombed within it, thousands of boxes upon boxes, practically stamped “TOP SECRET.”

But this is no flight of Hollywood fantasy.  It is the reality of what remains of the Barack Obama presidency: Twenty truckloads of crates, kept in a space that formerly housed the inventory of Plunkett Furniture, containing roughly thirty million documents generated during the eight years of Obama’s time in the Oval Office.

And to the best of anyone’s public knowledge, it may still be sitting there, uncatalogued and unscanned for future perusal.  It's composed in part, it can be assumed, of classified files.

That is the conclusion being made following a letter from the Obama Foundation to the National Archive and Records Administration  that has recently come to light.  According to the letter, at least up until 2018, the Obama-era documents -- all of them -- were being stored in the warehouse at Hoffman Estates.  The letter clearly states that classified papers were included alongside the unclassified files.

From the letter: “The Obama Foundation agrees to transfer up to three million three hundred thousand dollars ($3,300,000) to the National Archives Trust Fund (NATF) to support the move of classified and unclassified Obama Presidential records and artifacts from Hoffman Estates to NARA-controlled facilities that conform to the agency’s archival storage standards for such records and artifacts, and for the modification of such spaces. The first transfer of $300,000 was already made on August 9, 2018. An additional interim transfer will be made within 180 days of that date. Subsequent payments are subject to the negotiation of terms of the digitization process and museum operations.”

It is now also being reported by the Daily Herald that the Obama Foundation has extended its lease of the warehouse through 2026.

So for at least a year beyond his presidency, Barack Obama, through his foundation, held classified records, with the possibility that such material is still in storage.  And, he may be doing so with the full knowledge of the National Archives.

In addition to addressing the storage of Obama-era documents, the letter conveys that NARA “agrees to loan Obama Presidential records and artifacts and other NARA holdings, including but not limited to textual records, physical artifacts, and audio-video materials such as archival footage, sound recordings, and high resolution digital assets, to the Obama Foundation on an ongoing basis at the Obama Presidential Center… and to work with the Foundation in doing so.”

It seems that the National Archives has given the stamp of approval to the Obama Foundation holding onto documents and other flotsam and jetsam of the Obama years.  This would include, it is concluded, possession over previously classified material.

According to the National Archives, by law every former president must maintain a repository of his – or her – papers, for the sake of scholarly research.   It is unreasonable to believe that any former president will not have access to documents from his or her administration, if that president has anything to do with the planning of the future library.  It could be that some documents are planned for public display.  Ronald Reagan’s presidential library has video of the fortieth president apologizing for Iran-Contra.  The Richard Nixon Presidential Library may have beaten them all: it has the eighteen minutes of silence for one’s “listening” pleasure.

If Barack Obama held onto classified information following his presidency, and if the National Archives was in approval of this, then the benefit of the doubt must be extended to Donald Trump and his holding of documents during the year and a half after his own term of office ended.  Mr. Trump has claimed that the documents in his possession were declassified.  Even if that is so, the documents still belong to the National Archives.

The question that arises is: What was the purpose of having the documents at Mar-a-Lago?  It could be that they were indeed required for preparation of the future Donald Trump Presidential Library (an edifice the prospects of which must certainly make Hillary Clinton writhe with envy).

But Mr. Trump was apparently still regarding the documents as sensitive material, given that by all accounts the files were being kept under strictest lock and key within Mar-a-Lago.  During an inspection in June, agents of the Department of Justice raised some concern about the security of the stored documents at Mar-a-Lago.  They did not, however, demand that he immediately return them to the National Archives.  Trump assured the DOJ that there would be added measures taken to ensure the integrity of the files.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation had agents accompanying the Department of Justice personnel who inspected the storage facilities at Mar-a-Lago three months ago.  Several weeks before the August raid, they had not only given their approval of the documents’ presence, but offered sound advice about how to further protect them.  And it seems that Mr. Trump obliged them in this.

Mar-a-Lago is arguably the most secure home of a former United States president in the history of anything.  This is no mere Monticello or Hermitage that Donald Trump retired to after his term.  The Secret Service protection comes in addition to Mr. Trump’s private security.  Any documents that Trump had in his possession were arguably safer than any National Archive location.  They were certainly safer than in Plunkett’s old abode.

If it suffices that the storage of the Obama materials in an old furniture warehouse passed rigorous scrutiny with the National Archives, then we must also be prepared to accept that the documents in Trump’s possession -- unclassified or not -- were just as cleared by the federal government.  As it is, Mr. Trump has stated that he declassified the files.

Which makes the Federal Bureau of Investigation raid, and the Department of Justice investigation, all the more ridiculous.

 

 

 

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[phkrause]

Did Obama Foundation Store Classified Documents at Empty Furniture Warehouse?

The Obama Foundation stored classified presidential records in an empty furniture warehouse.

Rating

False

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/obama-classified-docs-furniture-warehouse/?

[bonnie]

Interesting post Won't have much time until later today but as for snopes I don't put much faith in their factual truthfulness.  You will deny the bias on their part and thats fine. I don't believe them anymore than anyone on the left. I don't believe much on the right either. I used to claim to believe about 5 % on the right but that has slipped a bit.

To many times when I have listened, not  an opinion, but listened to Biden and friends and then followed thru with what snopes had  to say, I read that what I know I heard was really false and was never said.

Whether it is the border crisis, which Biden and Harris have lied about,, the cognitive issues surrounding Biden(which are made out to be normal for all presidents) the lies about russian collusion, Hunter and his laptop ,showers with his daughter,and other issues, snopes and the NYT leave a lot to be desired.

 

 

[phkrause]

The claim: Barack Obama took 33 million documents, many of which are classified, to Chicago 

Former President Donald Trump has relentlessly denounced the FBI's search of his Mar-a-Lago estate on Aug. 8 as part of an investigation into whether he illegally removed classified documents from the White House. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/10/03/fact-check-archives-agency-charge-barack-obamas-records/7845055001/

[bonnie]

Your article may be correct. On the other hand it may be "disinformation". Isnt that the word the left is so partial to?

Obama is hardly the poster boy for ethics and truthfulness. Any person that held the highest most "trusted"? postion in the land that was party to and very likely instrumental in the very costly Russian collusion hoax is dispicable. I am sure we disagree,but the damage done,not only to Trump but as important or more so the country can't be calculated. Yet that whole democratic bunch so consumed by hatred put that aside. 

How do you sift thru what is said by either side and think you know the truth. You are very timely  in posting political negatives about Trump. Not president , but liberals are doing everything in their power to keep him front and center. Do we trust DOJ, The FBI,CIA, or maybe Biden. Proven liars all. Or when Trump protests his innocence do we trust him.

What a sick rotten bunch, that willingly put the entire country thru what the democratic machine did,

Now let's believe anything that comes out of the mouth of Obama and Friends

Biden and his dirty laundry should hold more importance now as sitting president. Nope,keep at Trump and hopefully the Biden cult wont notice the dirty laundry.

Because of who and what the DOJ,FBI and CIA  represent,after their proven lies,their raids on others that had connection to Trump I don't believe them. Raids that never had to take place,swat teams and the whole nine yards,with prior notice given to the press. And Obama and Biden were party to the  hoax in the beginning.

Obama is no more trustworthy than Trump or Biden, nor is a political person/org that supports and declares Obama's truthfulness.

It might make more sense if equal time was given to Biden. He went so far as to lower flags at half mast and yet he believes her to be in the aucience? His inappropriate showers with his daughter, what was his part in all of Hunter's questionable businesses?