Patrick Moynihan: “Last year the number of officials with the authority to classify…”

On the recordMarch 3, 1998

Last year the number of officials with the authority to classify documents originally decreased by 959 to 4,420. Presumably, this should reduce the number of classifications, but the number of classifications increased by nearly two-thirds, over 5.7 million. There cannot be 5.7 million secrets a year which, if revealed, would cause ``damage'' to the national security. To paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart's decision regarding the Pentagon Papers, when everything is secret, nothing is secret.

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Patrick Moynihan

Illinois

Source

govinfo.gov

Editor's note · Context

Discussing the increase in classified documents despite a decrease in officials authorized to classify them.

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Patrick Moynihan: “Last year the number of officials with the authority to classify documents originally decreased by 959 to 4,420.…”

Editor's note · Context