Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Claims to Have Read Document on Bribery Allegations Against President Joe Biden
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) raised eyebrows with a claim she made during a TV interview on Thursday evening.
Claiming to Have Read Document in a SCIF
Greene said she read a document inside a SCIF ― a sensitive compartmented information facility ― related to bribery allegations Republicans have made against President Joe Biden but have yet to provide evidence for.
Describing the Document on Fox News
Then, she described that document while speaking to Laura Ingraham on Fox News:
Greene: The FBI is stonewalling us and they would only let us see it in a scif. What I did after reading the document is made notes when I walked out and went to the table. I wrote down everything that I had just read. pic.twitter.com/NLYVM4Tn8z
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 9, 2023
Document Classified as Sensitive Information
Greene said the document was “unclassified,” but a SCIF is typically used only for very sensitive information. Lawmakers generally must check all electronic devices before entering, and cannot take notes while inside. And usually, information revealed in the SCIF can’t be repeated outside of it.
Controversial Actions of Marjorie Taylor Greene
But Greene ―a conspiracy theorist and close ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) who has called for a “national divorce” and spoke last year at a white nationalist event ― said she copied as much as she could once she left the SCIF.
Criticism of Greene
“This is a document that all of America should be able to see, but the FBI is stonewalling us and they would only let us see it in a SCIF,” she said. “Well what I did after reading the document is I made notes when I walked out and I went up to the table.”
Her critics were baffled by what seemed like a confession. Mark Zaid, an attorney who specializes in national security, tweeted:
Hey @FBI, if this information was classified sounds to me like the Congresswoman is admitting to a crime.
Others also chimed in ― and some were even more blunt:
This means her notes have the same classification as the document she read. And those notes are unsecured. She’s now in violation of US law. https://t.co/bWfQCCjizL
— John Aravosis 🇺🇸🇬🇷🏳️🌈 ex-verif’d (@aravosis) June 9, 2023
Illegality of Greene’s Actions
Wait. So if I had Top Secret clearance and saw a doc that showed me the name and SSN of a spy, and I memorized it and then walked out and wrote it down on paper and waved it around on cable TV, my ass wouldn’t be headed to prison for some treason shit? Because it should be. https://t.co/ZD5bGMExKP
— Sean Herrala (@seanherrala) June 9, 2023
A SCIF is a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility: an enclosed area within a building that is used to process sensitive compartmented information types of classified information.
If given documents to be viewed in a SCIF, you CANNOT write the info down & bring it out. https://t.co/vStamTVF5B
— 🄼🄰🅁🅈 🄼🄰🅁🅈 🅀🅄🄸🅃🄴 🄲🄾🄽🅃🅁🄰🅁🅈 (@ImpossiblyBossy) June 9, 2023
I’m not the real Andy Sipowicz, but even I can see this is super illegal
— Det. Andy Sipowicz 👴🏻(parody) (@Sipowicz1042) June 9, 2023
Any other crimes you wanna admit to while being recorded, @RepMTG?
— Michael VanDeMar (@mvandemar) June 9, 2023
