Keeping Secrets

In August 2022 the FBI conducted a raid on the home of former President Donald Trump at his Mar a Lago golf resort resulting in the seizure of over 100 documents marked as classified. This event put into the headlines the arcane world of how the US government classifies and protects its most sensitive secrets and the role of the President in its protection. Join us as the Hayden Center explores just how that is done, just how classified material is handled at the White House, and with the President, what exactly was found at Mar a Lago, what potential damage to US national security was incurred, what shortcomings the US system may have, and what remedies may exist. Michael Morell, former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Hayden Center senior fellow, moderates. Joining him are Mary DeRosa, a former legal counsel at the National Security Council and Georgetown University law professor; John Fitzpatrick, formerly the director of the Intelligence Security Oversight Office at the