BURN-BAG NOUN (POLITICS)

In the jargon of US intelligence, a container into which classified (or incriminating) material is put before being destroyed by burning. Also sometimes known as a burn-basket. Etymology: Formed by compounding: a bag or basket for what is to be burned. History and Usage: The word has been used in US intelligence circles since at least the sixties, but did not come to public notice until the political scandals of later decades: first Watergate (1972) and then the Iran-contra affair (1986: see contra). In relation to these two incidents it was used especially to refer to the means which allowed prominent politicians to dispose of incriminating documents allegedly linking them with the scandal; the chairmen of relevant inquiries could not then require them to be produced. 'I frankly didn't see any need for it at the time,' he [John Poindexter] said of the document, known as an intelligence finding. 'I thought it was politically embarrassing. And so I decided to tear it up, and I tore it up, put it in the burn basket behind my desk. New York Times 16 July 1987, section A, p. 10