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Trump was widely mocked for saying, in terms of the documents at Mar-a-Lago, that he could have declassified documents just by thinking, without going through the formal process of paperwork.
Someone made this cute point that should have been obvious, as a Letter to the Editor.
Trump’s ‘Magical Powers’ of Declassification
Donald Trump claims that as president he declassified hundreds of documents by thinking about it. Perhaps unbeknown to him, President Biden has reclassified all those documents the same way.
Michael Katten
El Cerrito, Calif. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/o...ification.html
Trump was widely mocked for saying, in terms of the documents at Mar-a-Lago, that he could have declassified documents just by thinking, without going through the formal process of paperwork.
Someone made this cute point that should have been obvious, as a Letter to the Editor.
Trump’s ‘Magical Powers’ of Declassification
Donald Trump claims that as president he declassified hundreds of documents by thinking about it. Perhaps unbeknown to him, President Biden has reclassified all those documents the same way.
Michael Katten
El Cerrito, Calif. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/o...ification.html
First, the notion that de-classifying documents involves magical powers is silly. The President simply de-classifies anything he wants, any time he wants, any way he wants, whether by thought, word, or deed. Nothing magical about that.
Second, the classification scheme doesn't apply to anyone outside the executive branch, so"re-classification" would have no effect on Trump or his right to keep documents he had de-classified.
My problem is if any government document is declassified it would be made available to all of us. How am I to know what's declassified so I can file a FOIA? Did TFG publish a list somewhere? Did he inform the agency that produced the document?
Even if they were declassified, he still stole them.
My problem is if any government document is declassified it would be made available to all of us. How am I to know what's declassified so I can file a FOIA? Did TFG publish a list somewhere? Did he inform the agency that produced the document?
Even if they were declassified, he still stole them.
And once they prove that in a court of law, I expect he'll go to jail. Of course, this is just another in a long list of ridiculous failed attempts to 'get him'.
If nothing else, the presidency of Dnald Trump has proven that the American people can't 'handle the truth' as it applies to the workings of government.
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All I know is if I mishandled classified documents during my time in the military I would be in prison. I highly doubt that any one person can declassify a Top Secret/SBI file that has been classified by multiple agencies, they may be allowed access but each agency has a say on why it was classified so high.
Trump was widely mocked for saying, in terms of the documents at Mar-a-Lago, that he could have declassified documents just by thinking, without going through the formal process of paperwork.
Someone made this cute point that should have been obvious, as a Letter to the Editor.
Trump’s ‘Magical Powers’ of Declassification
Donald Trump claims that as president he declassified hundreds of documents by thinking about it. Perhaps unbeknown to him, President Biden has reclassified all those documents the same way.
Michael Katten
El Cerrito, Calif. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/o...ification.html
Biden could have done so in theory (but, let's be clear, Biden's brain is mush, so I doubt there was any thinking about this or anything else going on in there), but Biden would have had to known about the papers to do so. You can't wish something classified or declassified if you don't know about them. There's nothing "cute" about this point
All I know is if I mishandled classified documents during my time in the military I would be in prison. I highly doubt that any one person can declassify a Top Secret/SBI file that has been classified by multiple agencies, they may be allowed access but each agency has a say on why it was classified so high.
The president can. The Supreme Court has ruled that the power over classification is one that belongs to the president, alone, due to his role as commander in chief. It's not something that Congress can limit or change. Rules concerning classification and declassification are found via Executive Order, issued by the president. From my view, it's nonsensical to claim that the rules issued by the president bind the president. If they did, every single day that classified information was at Mar-a-Lago while Trump was president would have been illegal as Mar-a-Lago isn't a SCIF. But not even the Biden administration is claiming that. The president needs access to classified information wherever he is as a part of doing his job. Nobody disputes that Trump took those papers with him to Mar-a-Lago while he was still president (remember, he didn't even attend Biden's inauguration). Only question is whether he declassified them before leaving office. I've explained in previous posts why things appear to be in his favor on this point.
My problem is if any government document is declassified it would be made available to all of us. How am I to know what's declassified so I can file a FOIA? Did TFG publish a list somewhere? Did he inform the agency that produced the document?
Even if they were declassified, he still stole them.
No, any government declassified information is not inherently publicly available to "we" the people for FOIA purposes. This is so because "we" the people don't know about every piece of declassified information and there is no requirement for the government to place declassified information into some easily accessible database for public review.
And as presidents can and do store personal papers from their time in office, no, this wouldn't be stealing anything.
The president can. The Supreme Court has ruled that the power over classification is one that belongs to the president, alone, due to his role as commander in chief. It's not something that Congress can limit or change. Rules concerning classification and declassification are found via Executive Order, issued by the president. From my view, it's nonsensical to claim that the rules issued by the president bind the president. If they did, every single day that classified information was at Mar-a-Lago while Trump was president would have been illegal as Mar-a-Lago isn't a SCIF. But not even the Biden administration is claiming that. The president needs access to classified information wherever he is as a part of doing his job. Nobody disputes that Trump took those papers with him to Mar-a-Lago while he was still president (remember, he didn't even attend Biden's inauguration). Only question is whether he declassified them before leaving office. I've explained in previous posts why things appear to be in his favor on this point.
First the Biden administration is not claiming anything one way or another. The DOJ and the FBI are handling the case. Yes, the rules issued by the President most certainly do apply to the President unless you are saying they are above the law. Please cite a link or article where it says Trump had these papers at MAL from when he was president and just did not return them. Everything I have read states that they were moved there after he left office, not during. Lastly, whether they were classified or not has no bearing on the case since the charges being investigated do not relate to classified information.
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