Faux conservative and co-host of ABC’s The View, Alyssa Farah Griffin used to work for the Department of Defense and former Vice President Mike Pence during the Trump administration. And on Wednesday, after it was reported that Pence had classified documents at home, Farah Griffin had the spotlight of scrutiny (jokingly) placed on her. But she couldn’t confirm nor deny that she had classified documents there.
The cast wasn’t critical of Pence retaining classified documents in an unsecured location; after all, this helped to provide cover for President Joe Biden and they chalked it up to him having to frantically pack after January 6 and the “hang Mike Pence” chants from the rioters.
“I think it was the chaotic nature of the transition. When I resigned in December, staff was being threatened, don't look for new jobs, don’t pack your offices. Because they were not preparing for a transition,” Farah Griffin recalled.
Farah Griffin assumed the documents ended up with Pence’s personal things as a result of a “staff error” due to “last-minute” packing. This caused co-host Whoopi Goldberg to question if she had documents since she too left so quickly (the December after the 2020 election). But Farah Griffin didn’t have a good answer, she simply nodded, smiled, and laughed:
GOLDBERG: So, should we be concerned about you?
[Laughter]
FARAH GRIFFIN: [Nods, smiles, laughs] To be honest –
HOSTIN: I was going to say, you better check your garage.
GOLDBERG: Do you have boxes in your garage, in your thing?
[Laughter and applause]
Farah Griffin claimed Pence “put the fear of God” in her regarding the handling of classified documents. “As soon as I came on his staff, we did ethics training and we did document retention. I was scared to do anything with classified information,” she explained. “That’s why I'm blown away by just kind of how willy-nilly folks seem to be treating them.”
Clearly, the cast felt the discovery of these new classified documents helped alleviate the pressure on Biden. Goldberg even made a joke about having discovered classified documents herself:
Well, I hate to tell y'all this. But as it turns out, I too have found classified documents in my garage. [LAUGHTER] I called Merrick Garland to come and get them. I don't know what happened. You know, and he said to me, 'you know, Whoop' - because he always calls me Whoop - 'Mike Pence just found some in his garage as well.'
Sunny Hostin, who said Pence should get “a pass” citing the chants as well, was nervous that “now every president and vice president is a suspect.” Her main concern was former President Barack Obama. “And I would hate for President Obama to have some classified documents because they have been looking to tarnish this man's legacy forever,” she worried. Co-host Joy Behar scolded her for giving people ideas, “Why are you putting that out in the atmosphere?”
The View’s excitement of something to cover for President Biden was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Sandals Hotels & Resorts and Vicks. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
January 25, 2023
11:02:12 a.m. asternWHOOPI GOLDBERG: Well, I hate to tell y'all this.
JOY BEHAR: What?
GOLDBERG: But as it turns out, I too have found classified documents in my garage.
[Laughter]
I called Merrick Garland to come and get them. I don't know what happened. You know, and he said to me, you know, Whoop, because he always calls me Whoop, Mike Pence just found some in his garage as well. But that didn't surprise me as much because I figured he was trying to get out of there relatively quickly because they had all of those, you know, hang Mike Pence and --
SUNNY HOSTIN: That's true.
GOLDBERG: So, you know he was packing stuff to get out of that office.
[Laughter]
HOSTIN: That's a very valid point.
(…)
11:04:12 a.m. Eastern
GOLDBERG: Does every ex-president and VP need to check around under their houses right now? Probably. I would check.
HOSTIN: I feel like Pence does get a little bit of a pass because it was the insurrection.
GOLDBERG: Yeah.
HOSTIN: And it was hang Mike Pence, and he was --
GOLDBERG: “Can we go now? Can we go now?”
HOSTIN: He was stuck in the Capitol and he was sneaking around and sneaking out and they had to get out of there quickly. That -- I completely understand that, and I'm not a Pence fan. Although, I –
BEHAR: Are you saying he took the documents that day?
HOSTIN: I think maybe a staffer put them in there.
GOLDBERG: It might have been a box on his desk. Who knows?
HOSTIN: Who knows. But I do feel like now every president and vice president is a suspect. I feel like --
GOLDBERG: Don't call them suspects.
HOSTIN: Are the documents in the conservatory with the wrench?! Are they in the billiards room with the dagger?! Like, that’s how I’m feeling now! And I would hate for President Obama to have some classified documents because they have been looking to tarnish this man's legacy forever.
BEHAR: Why are you putting that out in the atmosphere?
HOSTIN: I'm just saying. I think everybody has to look for documents now because the process is flawed.
(…)
11:07:11 a.m. Eastern
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: So, I, to Sunny’s point, agree. I think it was the chaotic nature of the transition. When I resigned in December, staff was being threatened, don't look for new jobs, don’t pack your offices. Because they were not preparing for a transition.
[A gasp]
HOSTIN: Oh.
FARAH GRIFFIN: So, Mike Pence's West Wing office was right around the corner. I don't suspect at that period – I was gone in the final stretch – that he was packing up boxes and getting ready. So, I'm guessing this was a staff error that, you know, that was a last-minute thing.
GOLDBERG: So, should we be concerned about you?
[Laughter]
FARAH GRIFFIN: [Nods, smiles, laughs] To be honest –
HOSTIN: I was going to say, you better check your garage.
GOLDBERG: Do you have boxes in your garage, in your thing?
[Laughter and applause]
HOSTIN: You better check the billiards room.
FARAH GRIFFIN: You know what? Who put the fear of God in me of classified documents was Mike Pence. As soon as I came on his staff, we did ethics training and we did document retention. I was scared to do anything with classified information. That’s why I'm blown away by just kind of how willy-nilly folks seem to be treating them.
(…)
