US State Department documents containing sensitive information were found on a public printer at an Alaska hotel two hours before President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit. The papers were discovered at Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, about 20 minutes from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where the two leaders met on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Eight pages were recovered, including a schedule, contact numbers for government employees, a seating chart and a luncheon menu. Seven of the pages were produced by the Office of the Chief of Protocol, part of the State Department. The documents also revealed a planned gift for President Putin: an "American Bald Eagle Desk Statue." The lunch, which would have featured filet mignon or halibut Olympia, was later cancelled.
Three guests found the documents at around 9am, two hours before the summit began. A White House spokesperson said the incident was not considered a security breach. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said NPR was "trying to make a story out of a lunch menu," calling it "ridiculous." White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly similarly dismissed the discovery.
The incident drew criticism from Democrats and security experts. Florida Congressman Darren Soto asked on X how many more "incompetent security breaches" the administration would have. Jon Michaels, a UCLA law professor specialising in national security law, said the incident showed "sloppiness" and "incompetence," adding: "You just don't leave things in printers. It's that simple." The discovery follows the earlier "Signalgate" controversy, in which Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive military plans on the Signal messaging app.
