Posted on 09/21/2022 9:31:12 PM PDT by fluorescence
A federal appeals court on Wednesday granted a request from the Justice Department to allow its investigators to regain access to the roughly 100 documents bearing classification markings that were seized by the FBI during its search at former President Donald Trump's Florida residence.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit agreed to put on hold a lower court's order that kept the subset of sensitive records off-limits for the Justice Department to use for investigative purposes, pending the review of the materials by an independent arbiter known as a special master.
In its 29-page opinion, the panel said it agreed with the Justice Department that the federal district court in South Florida likely erred in blocking investigators' use of the classified records and then requiring them to submit the sensitive documents to the outside arbiter for review.
"For our part, we cannot discern why[Trump] would have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings," Judges Robin Rosenbaum, Britt Grant and Andrew Brasher said. "Classified documents are marked to show they are classified, for instance, with their classification level."
The former president, the judges continued, "has not even attempted to show that he has a need to know the information contained in the classified documents." The judges also said there is no evidence in the record before them that the roughly 100 documents at issue were declassified.
"In any event, at least for these purposes, the declassification argument is a red herring because declassifying an official document would not change its content or render it personal," the three-judge panel wrote. "So even if we assumed that [Trump] did declassify some or all of the documents, that would not explain why he has a personal interest in them."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
And the railroad job picks up steam.
Try bumping it up to the USSC.
The three judge panel at the 11th Circuit only included two Trump appointments. All three should have been at least Republicans.
Trump should of said the documents showing I de-classified all those files is in the 11,000 documents seized by the FBI. Ask the FBI/DOJ for those documents. If they cannot turn them over, then the FBI must of destroyed them. After all it would not be the first the the FBI lied to the court.... 🤣🤣🤣
It seems pretty clear according the constitution, the laws, supreme court rulings, precedent, etc, that the president is the ultimate decider of what is classified and declassified. The courts have ruled, there is no formal process. He can have the codes to the nuclear football, say they are declassified, and hand them over to the Russians. Impeachable yes, illegal clearly no.
Even Obama’s executive order in 2009 (still in effect) reiterates all of this.
I know that Trump declassified all the so called crossfire hurricane/russia collusion stuff because the letter of 1/19/21 has been widely circulated. (I’ve read it) He also has said (and tweeted) numerous times going back to 2018, that he declassified certain things... but he doesnt need any so called evidence, other than his word.. because that is all it takes.. others in government need to follow processes to declassify things, but NOT the president.
In addition, the presidential records act carries no criminal penalities.... its an administrative tool. which clearly says the president can have access to any of his documents, and declassify them and take them with him/her. Obama took 33 million with him, and 7 years later is still going back and forth with national archives about them. (of course the DOJ is never going to raid his house)....
He will be charged and probably convicted unless SCOTUS steps in and stops the madness...
And in the end, who knows if any of the 100 “documents with classified markings” were every really classified. and Trump says they were all declassified, so they all were according to the law and his word.
I’m well past the point of being tired of losing ...
Given that they both voted to overturn the lower court order, what would that accomplish?
By order of his most exalted excellency Barack Obama:
“Sec. 1.7. Classification Prohibitions and Limitations.
(a) In no case shall information be classified,
continue to be maintained as classified,
or fail to be declassified in order to:
(1) conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error;
(2) prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency;
(3) restrain competition; or
(4) prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of the national security.”
“Part 3 - Declassification and Downgrading
Sec. 3.1. Authority for Declassification.
(a) Information shall be declassified as soon as it no longer meets the standards for classification under this order.
(b) Information shall be declassified or downgraded by:
(1) the official who authorized the original classification, if that official is still serving in the same position and has original classification authority;
(2) the originator’s current successor in function, if that individual has original classification authority;
(3) a supervisory official of either the originator or his or her successor in function, if the supervisory official has original classification authority;”
“Sec. 3.2. Transferred Records.
(a) In the case of classified records transferred in conjunction with a transfer of functions, and not merely for storage purposes, the receiving agency shall be deemed to be the originating agency for purposes of this order.”
“Part 4 - Safeguarding
Sec. 4.1. General Restrictions on Access.
(a) A person may have access to classified information provided that:
(1) a favorable determination of eligibility for access has been made by an agency head or the agency head’s designee;
(2) the person has signed an approved nondisclosure agreement; and
(3) the person has a need to know the information
....
(d) Classified information may not be removed from official premises without proper authorization.
(e) Persons authorized to disseminate classified information outside the executive branch shall ensure the protection of the information in a manner equivalent to that provided within the executive branch.”
“Sec. 4.2 Distribution Controls.
(a) The head of each agency shall establish procedures in accordance with applicable law and consistent with directives issued pursuant to this order to ensure that classified information is accessible to the maximum extent possible by individuals who meet the criteria set forth in section 4.1(a) of this order.”
https://www.archives.gov/isoo/policy-documents/cnsi-eo.html
…the presidential records act carries no criminal penalities...
The problem for Trump is the DOJ isn’t relying on classification or the PRA for the potential charges they laid out in the warrant.
Arguably indeed.
I think Trump is on the losing end of this battle in part because of the way he's playing his hand. The classified documents (even if they were declassified) still bear classification markings, and the rule of thumb is assume the markings are correct. Trump didn't make things easier on himself by refusing to testify or enter into evidence a memo or sworn statement of declassification while he was POTUS.
Maybe this is a cagey move, maybe it's dumb, but to me it's like getting caught by a mall cop with a jacket that still has the security tag on it and refusing to show the receipt that you purchased it. To the mall cop, you shoplifted. To the constitutional lawyer, it is the mall cop's obligation to prove you shoplifted, and the whole time there's a receipt in your pocket that you are stubbornly refusing to show because innocent until proven guilty.
I think President Trump can request that the decision be made by the whole court...all eleven of them, just not three.
Your stupidity is epic!!!
Stop trying to deploy your limited intellect...on these very simple political rulings.
You can’t understand why political hacks make politically motivated rulings....
That’s ok, but just stop embarrassing yourself by trying to convince others that maybe there is some validity to the hack judges thinking...
You just show that your stupidity...
“we cannot discern why[Trump] would have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings”
Trump sent warriors into battle.
Some were killed.
Some of these warriors killed people.
Trump needs to retain proof that his orders were correct.
Politics is a vicious business.
You can’t reasonably use as a basis of an argument that there is no document describing his declassification order and then promptly say he doesn’t need to retain documents.
Rules for thee but not for me.
It is also my understanding that Trump, during his last week in office, de-classified numerous Russia Hoax records, and ordered the DOJ, by written directive, to publicly release them.
Unfortunately, I never hear Trump or his lawyers even mention the Russia Hoax connection when the Mar-a-Lago Raid is being discussed in the news.
What the heck is going on?
Is there anywhere that one can read a untainted accounting of what TF the illegitimate government is doing to President Trump?
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