WASHINGTON — Donald Trump, Joe Biden and now Mike Pence join a long line of U.S. officials investigated for mishandling classified material. A look at dozens of similar cases over decades shows that the Justice Department’s decision to press charges is rarely as simple as it might seem.
With national security at stake, even the most clear cut cases can suddenly become murky when it comes time to apply consequences. Prosecutors look at factors far beyond whether the offenders simply took documents they shouldn’t have.
Who the people are, what they took, why they took it and whether they cooperated all play a role in determining how aggressively to respond, along with the risk that pursuing prosecutions could expose more state secrets at trial. Punishment has varied from prison to fines to losing security clearance to practically nothing at all beyond the public comeuppance.
