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A CNN employee found sensitive Super Bowl LII security documents — Department of Homeland Security reports that were supposed to be locked up after business hours and shredded before disposal — sitting in the seatback pocket of a commercial plane.

 that its employee had found the reports weeks before Super Bowl Sunday, but waited to publish until after the game because "government officials voiced concerns that publishing it prior to the game could jeopardize security for the event."

Among the documents the CNN worker found draft "after-action" reports that were critical of how crews responded to a simulated anthrax attack. 

The "areas for improvement" in those reports were addressed before the Super Bowl, a DHS official told CNN.

It appeared that the documents belonged to a scientist for BioWatch, the DHS program tasked with anthrax drills ahead of Super Bowl LII.

The big game went off without any major security incidents, which is in line with reports late last week that there was no "

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The TV network reported that the documents, which were "important for national security," critiqued how security responded to a simulated anthrax attack.

A view of U.S. Bank Stadium prior to kickoff.

CNN: Secret Super Bowl anthrax security documents were left on a commercial plane

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