How to fix the US government's classified information problem with Jane Harman

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

Politics, News, Foreign Policy, News Commentary, Government, Geopolitics, International Relations, Ian Bremmer, Trump, Global Economy, Gzero World

4.7 • 830 Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2023

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Maintaining secrecy can be invigorating, whether you're a child with hidden treasures or a CIA agent safeguarding classified information. However, the more secrets you bear, the heavier the burden becomes. This week’s guest, Jane Harman, who served nine terms in Congress and was a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee after 9/11, understands the weight of secrecy firsthand. While there are valid justifications for classifying information, Harman asserts that the US government has grappled with an issue of excessive classification for decades. "A bad reason to classify is to protect your turf—you don't want other people to know what you know in order to protect yourself from embarrassment." The 9/11 Commission revealed that inadequate information-sharing between agencies like the CIA, FBI, and NSA hindered the government's ability to prevent the tragic terrorist attacks. One significant factor contributing to this failure was the over-classification of information. Each year, approximately 50 million documents are estimated to be classified, though the exact count remains elusive—not due to classification, but because the government struggles to effectively manage the vast volume. In the words of former US Solicitor General Erwin Griswold, some “secrets are not worth keeping.” Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

Transcript

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0:00.0	We still have the problem of over-classification in the government, which does not excuse anybody
0:05.2	from taking documents marked, classified, to put in boxes or, you know, show to friends.
0:13.8	Hello and welcome to the G-Zero World Podcast.
0:16.9	This is where you'll find extended versions of my interviews on public television.
0:20.8	I'm Ian Bremmer, and today we are talking about America's secrets.
0:25.1	Critics of the U.S. government's classification system from Daniel Ellsberg to my guest today
0:30.2	warn of big dangers to come if we don't fix the system and soon.
0:35.4	Here to discuss all things classified, including those documents in Biden's
0:39.7	garage, not to mention those in Trump's bathroom, is former congresswoman Jane Harmon. She's served
0:45.5	in Congress for nine terms and was the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee
0:49.7	after 9-11. In other words, Jane knows a secret or two. Here's our conversation.
1:01.0	The G0 World podcast is brought to you by our lead sponsor, Prologis. Prologis helps businesses
1:08.1	across the globe scale their supply chains with an expansive portfolio of logistics real estate,
1:13.9	and the only end-to-end solutions platform addressing the critical initiatives of global logistics today.
1:20.0	Learn more at Prologist.com.
1:31.3	Jane Harmon, welcome back to GZERA World. Happy to be back.
1:33.3	So I want to talk about classification.
1:35.3	There's so much in the news about all these people, including the former president, doing things that may well be illegal.
1:43.3	But you've been involved with this topic for a long time.
1:45.5	I wanted to ask you first, go back to 9-11. And you were very concerned about information sharing
1:54.2	in the government coming off of the 9-11 commission. Tell me what it was that you found so alarming. Well, if we could just back up
2:02.8	a little more, when I became a member of Congress in the 90s, like every other member of Congress,
	...

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