Posted on 06/08/2023 5:44:40 PM PDT by tarpit
Trump added to the confusion when he said in an interview with Fox personality Sean Hannity, “There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it. ... If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified. Even by thinking about it.”
Most national security legal experts dismissed the former president’s suggestion that he could declassify documents simply by thinking about it. But as an ABA Legal Fact Check posted Oct. 17 explains, legal guidelines support his contention that presidents have broad authority to formally declassify most documents that are not statutorily protected, while they are in office.
The system of classifying national security documents is largely a bureaucratic process used by the federal government to control how executive branch officials handle information, whose release could cause the country harm. The government has, however, prosecuted cases for both mistaken and deliberate mishandling of information. Under the U.S. Constitution, the president as commander in chief is given broad powers to classify and declassify such information, often through use of executive orders.
Some secrets, such as information related to nuclear weapons, are handled separately under a specific statutory scheme that Congress has adopted under the Atomic Energy Act. Those secrets cannot be automatically declassified by the president alone and require, by law, extensive consultation with executive branch agencies.
In all cases, however, a formal procedure is required so governmental agencies know with certainty what has been declassified and decisions memorialized. A federal appeals court in a 2020 Freedom of Information Act case, New York Times v. CIA, underscored that point: “Declassification cannot occur unless designated officials follow specified procedures,” the court said.
As the new ABA Legal Fact Check notes, the extent of a president’s legal authority to unilaterally declassify materials — without following formal procedures — has yet to be challenged in court.
EXACTLY
Funny (not) how no had a problem with Carter blurting out about our Stealth technology in a speech to bolster his appearance as strong on defense. Dems can declassify something simply by thought but Pubs can’t??
“In all cases, however, a formal procedure is required so governmental agencies know with certainty what has been declassified and decisions memorialized. ”
Outright lies
But the ABA was started as and remains a communist organization
IIRC——GENERAL SERVICES PACKED UP BOXES & MOVED THEM TO MAR A LAGO.
TRUMP DIDN’T HANDLE ANY OF THAT.
“PART 2000—ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES [RESERVED]
PART 2001—CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION”
Because of the “[RESERVED]” I’m not sure if this is operational law.
Oh c’mon. We need to act like our hair is on fire.
Yes the deep state is really starting to unravel. And everything they do falls apart. This is all part of the plan to show the public how utterly corrupt the entire government is. Its starting to work. Things keep moving faster every week now.
Yes, designated by the Originating Authority, the PRESIDENT. That ruling applied to everyone else except him.
Thank you. I was just looking for that. The big pa of the case will center on “intention” and timing. Was the intent to declassify and was that intention before or after he left office. In the later he was no longer president and such protection is irrelevant. Was the intention to deceive? Despite the conjecture and postering of everybody who thinks they know, we simply have to wait and see what the case is really about, what evidence the prosecutor thinks they can prove, and then watch as it all unfolds.
“According to initial media reports, the DOJ has filed an indictment consisting of seven counts.”
“Model Prosecution” memo analyzes those six federal crimes in depth [1]:
Retention of National Defense Information (18 U.S.C. § 793(e))
Concealing Government Records (18 U.S.C. § 2071)
Conversion of Government Property (18 U.S.C. § 641)
Obstruction of Justice (18 U.S.C. § 1519)
Criminal Contempt (18 U.S.C. § 402)
False Statements to Federal Investigators (18 U.S.C. § 1001)
Other violations maybe:
7.Dissemination (18 U.S.C. §§ 798 and 793(e))
8.Unlawfully removed classified documents from the White House (18 U.S.C. § 1924)
[1] Model Prosecution Memo for Trump Classified Documents (justsecurity.org)
Every other person in office has to abide by those laws, but not the president.
“ABA Legal Fact Check notes”??
The ABA does NOT MAKE LAW! Nor Interpret Law!
The ABA is collection, with many Leftist Layers.
They are a part of the DC Establishment.
Many Lawyers are not members of the ABA (like the AMA, for doctors).
Again the charges are filed in Miami where the alleged crime occurred. The distinction may center on was he president or was he an ex-president. But again, everything is conjecture until we learn what the prosecutor is alleging to have occurred.
“In all cases, however, a formal procedure is required so governmental agencies know with certainty what has been declassified and decisions memorialized. A federal appeals court in a 2020 Freedom of Information Act case, New York Times v. CIA, underscored that point: “Declassification cannot occur unless designated officials follow specified procedures,” the court said.”
Even though President Trump had the power as president to declassify whatever, should he do that without going through the process? How will involved departments know how to move forward if they don’t even know what is declassified? How would assets know if they need to watch out if their involvement is no longer protected?
I don’t know that saying he can declassify with his mind does him any good. President Trump would be better served to show that he went through the appropriate steps in order to safeguard the country’s secrets, which even some msm have admitted he did.
“In all cases, however, a formal procedure is required so governmental agencies know with certainty what has been declassified and decisions memorialized. ”
If a defense contractor is working on a top secret program it may be inadvisable to notify the contractor that a secret document has been declassified.
Do we trust the ultra leftists at the ABA?
He doesn’t even need to make an executive order because it is for himself. He has no need or requirement to order himself. Now, if he wanted to change it for others, he certainly can do that, but generally executive orders instruct an organization to come up with a process within some given criteria of the executive order. (Large organizations of all types really suck when it comes to getting simple stuff done. When an entity within the Executive Branch writes policy and procedures it often quotes the power that authorizes them to do so. To me that’s almost anti-American since it lacks all autonomy and individualism, as in rugged individualism. Government employees are neither rugged or individualistic. They are piece of chit pussies incapable of making it in the private sector on their own.)
“Despite the conjecture and postering of everybody who thinks they know, we simply have to wait and see what the case is really about, what evidence the prosecutor thinks they can prove, and then watch as it all unfolds.”
Exactly. We don’t even know the charges.
Duhhh!
Hillary was NEVER PRESIDENT.
“CFR” means Code of Federal Regulations. Regulations, not law. For law, you need to look at United States Code (USC).
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