Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, delivered a speech on the Senate floor this week regarding ongoing reporting on President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents dating back to his time in the U.S. Senate.
Click the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer’s remarks
Following is a transcript of Senator Fischer’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
Mr. President,
When I joined the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2013, I encountered a new world of information. Along with that information came a new world of security measures.
As a member of SASC, I review document after document apprising me of critical national security developments, with strict orders not to share the classified information I encounter.
The American people expect Senators tasked with this solemn duty to take our responsibilities seriously.
Let me illustrate just how restrictive the rules are around classified documents.
When I receive classified information, I have to go to a secured space — known as a SCIF — to read the documents. There, a security manager — and often a Capitol Police officer — will perform checks when I enter and exit.
My background on Armed Services is one of the many reasons I am shocked at news that classified documents dating back to President Biden’s time in the Senate were found sitting haphazardly in his garage this month.
The President’s personal attorney confirmed that some of those documents came from the Senate — and they’ve apparently been collecting dust next to the President’s Corvette for years.
It’s also concerning that the President’s documents were found in the first place by personal lawyers without the necessary clearances to view that classified information.
We’ve all learned recently that the executive branch has issues regulating documents. I’ve refrained from commenting on that issue because I’ve never been part of that branch of our government, so I can’t speak to its regulations.
But in the Senate, we have strict protocols that protect classified information.
Based on the rigorous security standards of the Senate, it’s important we ask the hard questions.
How did classified Senate documents make their way from the Capitol complex, past Senate security managers, and all the way to the President’s house in Delaware?
I think most people believe this demonstrates incompetence at best — if a newly elected Nebraska Senator in 2013 could figure out how the security procedures work, surely a career politician like then-Senator Biden could do so.
As chair of the foreign relations committee, former Senator Biden likely had access to information that could have jeopardized lives, especially those of patriots serving in sensitive roles overseas.
President Biden should know: Leaked information puts people in danger. This affects all Americans, including the many Nebraskans serving abroad. Not to mention, it impedes our national security here at home.
Of course, we have no idea what’s in the Senate documents that found their way to Wilmington, Delaware, because the President and his personal attorneys refuse to share them with Congress.
The Biden Administration argues that it cannot brief us on the mishandled documents because of the ongoing special counsel investigation.
There is precedent for intelligence briefings coinciding with special counsel investigations. And as my friend Senator Cornyn said last week, there are public safety and national security concerns that make this an exceptional case.
If there was a breakdown in Senate protocols to protect classified information, Congress needs to know immediately.
That’s the only way we will know how to rectify potential problems caused by the President’s unsecured Senate documents.
We at least need to know the general subject of the documents or the area of the world that they cover.
I’m proud of my colleagues on the Intelligence Committee, both Democrats and Republicans, for realizing the seriousness of this issue. I hope that we continue to set aside partisan politics and uncover the truth of this matter.
President Biden’s comment on his handling of documents a couple weeks ago was that he has “no regrets.”
Let me tell you, Mr. President, if a sitting Senator was found to have mishandled classified information — it would be more than just regrettable. It would call into question his or her capacity to serve in this chamber, and it would be a slap in the face to the hard-working men and women of the intelligence community.
By the time we uncover the truth about these documents, I hope the president will have learned to regret his bad decisions.
Thank you. I yield the floor.