Leaky Town

"When one side only of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it insensibly." —George Washington, January 22, 1795

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One of the biggest open secrets inside the Beltway revolves around what is deemed “classified” information and who has access to it. The official line spouted by bureaucrats is that the many layers of “secret,” “top-secret” and so forth have grave meaning and import, but the truth on the ground is that information is as much the currency of the nation’s capital as dark money. 

Everybody trades in it.

In fact, there are no secrets there. That is the inescapable conclusion I drew from my short stint as a bureau chief in Washington, D.C. Even I, as a newcomer with few sources inside the administration or Congress, could find out all kinds of things that were supposedly “classified” simply by meeting people for coffee or lunch or (even better) for drinks after work.

Government officials, consultants, lobbyists, activists and reporters were constantly rubbing up against each other (sometimes literally) to acquire secrets that they would duly pass along down the line.

Much like a virus. Or the ultimate “trickle down” theory. Or the kids’ game of “Telephone.”

Of course, to a certain extent this is true of all cities and towns and truck stops. It’s usually called gossip or scuttlebutt. But nowhere in my experience is the chatter more toxic and constant than in the town named after our august first president.

That’s because one’s prestige and social standing in Washington is completely dependent on how close to the sources of perceived power one is, and you can only demonstrate that by sharing tidbits of what they’ve supposedly told you.

A con-man might imagine he could thrive in such an environment. (Just ask George Santos.)

So it is essentially one big candy store for journalists. The only tricky thing is finding corroboration — single-source stories abound.

All of which is a way of saying that the whole current hullabaloo over Biden’s possession of a few classified documents, Trump’s possession of a few more, or even Hillary Clinton’s computer stash back in the day, all are pretty much overblown when referred to as finger-wagging “scandals.”

Of course those guys have tried to get their hands on material that could benefit them personally and politically — before, during and after leaving office. They are politicians — that’s what they do.

Just remember, during all of this hand-wringing, the line from Casablanca, slightly edited for these purposes: “I’m shocked — shocked — to find that leaking is going on in here!”

LINKS:

• Biden's Top Secret Documents Reportedly Found In Cache (CNN)

• White House's response to Biden documents frustrates Democrats inside and outside the West Wing (CBS)

• The swamp comes for Joe Biden (The Hill)

• Opinion | Biden’s Documents Case Isn’t Similar to Trump’s. It’s Really Like Hillary’s. (Politico Mag)

• At least 68 killed in Nepal’s worst airplane crash in 30 years (CNN)

• Trump’s political fate may have been decided – by a Georgia grand jury (Guardian)

• Santos Raised Money for Company the SEC Says Was a Ponzi Scheme (WSJ)

• 'A fraudulent candidacy:' Former House Speaker Paul Ryan calls on George Santos to resign (USA Today)

• Santos’s Lies Were Known to Some Well-Connected Republicans (NYT)

• How California could save up its rain to ease future droughts — instead of watching epic atmospheric river rainfall drain into the Pacific (The Conversation)

• Why weeks of rain in California will not end drought (Reuters)

• In a Drought, California Is Watching Water Wash Out to Sea (NYT)

• Major Ukrainian cities hit by explosions; people trapped in Dnipro rubble (WP)

• Russian missiles hit critical infrastructure in Ukraine's capital (Al Jazeera)

• The U.K. pledges tanks to Ukraine as Russian missiles target multiple cities (NPR)

• China reports huge rise in COVID-related deaths after data criticism (Reuters)

• UN Security Council members urge Taliban to void bans on women (Al Jazeera)

• The Missouri House tightens its dress code for women, to the dismay of Democrats (NPR)

• Hate speech rises on Twitter in its largest markets after Musk takeover (WP)

• Prehistoric Puzzle Deciphered – Scientists Solve the Mystery of 300-Million-Year-Old Cooked Tetrapod Bones (SciTechDaily)

• Ancient cat fossils, paw prints recovered from beneath Texas Hill Country (KXAN)

• Sick Man Slowly Becoming Enthroned In Used Tissues (The Onion)