You're almost there. You're admitting that even though Air Force One is owned by the Executive Branch, the President still does not have ultimate authority over it. There are many many LAWS that regulate the Executive Branch org FAA, etc, which outline who can fly Air Force One, and where/how they can fly it. You mentioned Trump ordering someone to fly it inappropriately, but that would apply to Trump himself wanting to fly it, without meeting the laws for pilot qualifications, as well. Simply being President and Chief of the Executive Branch does not supersede those laws that govern the plane and its flight.
Likewise, these documents in question are owned by the Executive Branch, but once again there are pesky laws that have been put in place to help prevent that property from being misused. Laws that took the involvement of the Legislative Branch in order to be codified, not just the Executive Branch. As President, Trump would have to right to use, modify, and even change the classification level of the documents, but only within the confines of the existing laws that protect them. At least legally.
the powers of the President can never be subordinate to the authority of those agencies.
He would be and is subject to the laws that govern Executive Branch property. Laws are not purely an Executive Branch construct, the are a joint construct of both the Legislative Branch, and Executive Branch, to govern all members of both parties, where applicable.
Admittedly there are laws regarding special powers of the President to declassify, but there are legal processes within that authority that must be executed. Again back to the Air Force One example, the President has special authority over AF1, but he does not have ultimate authority to do anything he wants to with that piece of property, legally, if those desires are outside the laws that govern it.
I read this as a potential scenario in which the documents in question are part of the trove of materials that were “re-classified” by Joe Biden after Trump left office.
We'll have to see when more reports come out, but my understanding is the interviewer was digging into a disagreement between Trump and Milley, after Trump had left office, and Trump said something along the lines of "I have a classified document at my home that proves Milley is lying, but I can't show it to you because it's *STILL* classified."
I'll admit, until I hear the audio, I'm not assuming that is what is on the tape, as the media has been proven to be more than willing to lie. My only point is if that is what he said, it undermines the current defense he's put forth in the press, significantly. Thanks.
There’s no basis in constitutional law to prosecute a President for failing to follow the legal requirements of an executive order that is subject to his own plenary authority under the U.S. Constitution.
This matter was examined and discussed at length in 2017 when Democrats — and even some Republicans — routinely claimed that President Trump could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice over his firing of DOJ officials like the U.S. Attorney General or the FBI Director. That is utter nonsense, as these executive branch positions were explicitly established by statute to operate under the authority of the President.