Trump: I could declassify documents by thinking about it

[Mycroft]

Do you think Trump can declassify documents, just by thinking about it?

Yes or no.

If I had an answer to your question, I wouldn't need to ask my question.

Do you have an answer to my question?

 

[year2late]

Trump says there is no process.

Is that true?

Perhaps you just don't know, eh?

Just stop.

 

[beefheart]

If I had an answer to your question, I wouldn't need to ask my question.

Do you have an answer to my question?

Its a very simple question.

Trump says there is no process, that is not true.

If there is no process, how do we know if something is no longer classified?

I mean, at some point, the document is re-stamped, and its new status is changed in the filing systems and databases.

Come on man, think independently,

 

[CaughtInThe]

wow. i missed this until i saw this tweet...

 

[ElChupacabra]

Trump: I could declassify documents by thinking about it

The former president insisted in an interview with Sean Hannity that the documents at issue in the Mar-a-Lago probe were all declassified. Evidence, he added, isn’t really needed.

www.politico.com

And his Jerry Springer IQ followers will suck this shit down.

The 70s variant of this theme didn't go over well, and neither will this one. If he doesn't understand how this works, I can't say that makes him a good choice to be in charge of anything relating to government.

 

[Mithros]

I'm curious...exactly what IS the process a President must go through to declassify stuff?

For a start a president would have to notify the relevant agencies that the documents were no longer classified. That would be reviewed, and if it was declassified all copies of that document would be marked as declassified.

A president may have tremendous declassification power, but a president cannot declassify one copy of a classified document but not all of the others.

 

[ElChupacabra]

I hereby propose that we pass a federal law that hence forth all telepathic declassifications must be accompanied by some type of audible signal... I am suggesting SHAZAAAMMM! or something similar...

Except that goes against the spirit of his statement, which is about there not having to be a process. The core of his statement is if he's done something wrong, then the measures to hold people accountable shouldn't exist.

 

[Cope]

Oh, for Christ's sake, I just posted it 246783497608934796 times in the few short posts above yours. But, you know, sometimes I don't read things before I post either, so here you go:

Executive Order 13526- Classified National Security Information

obamawhitehouse.archives.gov

I don't think it's as easily explained as you think it is.

Do presidents have 'the ability to declassify anything'?

The blockbuster article in The Washington Post saying President Donald Trump had "revealed highly classified information

www.politifact.com

 

[Mycroft]

It's not true.

Executive Order 13526- Classified National Security Information

obamawhitehouse.archives.gov

I do know. And you've already been told at least once.

Executive Order 13526- Classified National Security Information

obamawhitehouse.archives.gov

I've read that EO. It applies to agencies and individuals within the executive branch, though very little applies directly to the President. Nowhere does it say that a President has to follow any process.

Do you have anything else?

 

[noonereal]

And his Jerry Springer IQ followers will suck this shit down.

Yes, his defense lawyer, Hannity, on FOX last night, let his client, buddy make a complete fool of himself as he nodded in agreement.

How can MAGA not see this? Honest. This is so transparent. So obvious.

BTW, as he claimed the FBI planted them, why did he have to magically declassify them? How can MAGA ignore this contradiction?

 

[Jredbaron96]

I'm curious...exactly what IS the process a President must go through to declassify stuff?

He says it's declassified to someone who can verify he heard him say it.

 

[Slartibartfast]

I've read that EO. It applies to agencies and individuals within the executive branch, though very little applies directly to the President. Nowhere does it say that a President has to follow any process.

Do you have anything else?

There needs to be nothing else, the 11th circuit cited that EO, so it applies.

 

[Credence]

I'm curious...exactly what IS the process a President must go through to declassify stuff?

Note that the declassification process for documents re: national security have to go through the originator in National Intelligence before it can be declassified by POTUS.
They have the right to challenge it. It is clear that TFG did none of those things.

The legal basis for the classification system comes from the president’s constitutional authority as commander in chief. Presidents have established and developed it through a series of executive orders dating to the era encompassing World War II and the early Cold War. The current directive, Executive Order 13526, was issued by President Barack Obama in 2009.

Executive Order 13526- Classified National Security Information​

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; or

(4) officials delegated declassification authority in writing by the agency head or the senior agency official of the originating agency.

(c) The Director of National Intelligence (or, if delegated by the Director of National Intelligence, the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence) may, with respect to the Intelligence Community, after consultation with the head of the originating Intelligence Community element or department, declassify, downgrade, or direct the declassification or downgrading of information or intelligence relating to intelligence sources, methods, or activities.

Read more:

https://archive.ph/JSZJG

Who has the power to classify and declassify information?​

In the normal course of business, certain officials who have been designated as “original classification authorities” in federal departments and agencies can do so. They are considered to be exercising the president’s power over such matters, which has been delegated to them.

Are there formal procedures for declassifying information?​

Yes. The 2009 executive order directs the head of the department or agency that originally deemed information classified to oversee declassification reviews, and it sets some standards for them.

The executive branch has regulations laying out the process that should be followed, such as a requirement to make sure that other agencies and departments with an interest in the secret are consulted. There are also procedures for the removal of classification markings on documents.

https://archive.ph/WB2lb#selection-799.0-827.248​

 

[beefheart]

Trump Floats Nutso Claim FBI Agents Were After Hillary’s Emails During Mar-A-Lago Raid

The former president dropped an astounding new defense on Fox News.

www.thedailybeast.com

 

[beefheart]

I've read that EO. It applies to agencies and individuals within the executive branch, though very little applies directly to the President. Nowhere does it say that a President has to follow any process.

Do you have anything else?

If there is no process, then how do you know if something is declassified? At the very least, the documents would be stamped as declassified.

Plus, if they are declassified as TFG says, how come we can't file a FOIA request to read them?

You really don't want to die on this hill.

 

[Rexedgar]

Yes, his defense lawyer, Hannity, on FOX last night, let his client, buddy make a complete fool of himself as he nodded in agreement.

How can MAGA not see this? Honest. This is so transparent. So obvious.

BTW, as he claimed the FBI planted them, why did he have to magically declassify them? How can MAGA ignore this contradiction?

 

[WorldWatcher]

I think what the 11th was getting at...

Is not that the FPOTUS couldn't declassify documents.

It was that the FPOTUS (a) hasn't made the claim in court filings, and (b) provided any evidence that such declassification actually occurred.

By having the documents. and including their status in court filings, the DOJ has made has submitted prima facie evidence that the information contained in the documents is classified. Therefore, when speaking about classification levels, then the FPOTUS could provide evidence of declassification as an affirmative defense (if classification is an issue). Something the FPOTUS has not done.

[NOTE: None of the three laws used on the search warrant as the crimes justifying probable cause or in later DOJ submission are contingent on the documents being classified, they are contingent upon national defense and government property. National Defense Information =/= Classified.]

WW

 

[Mycroft]

Trump: I could declassify documents by thinking about it

The former president insisted in an interview with Sean Hannity that the documents at issue in the Mar-a-Lago probe were all declassified. Evidence, he added, isn’t really needed.

www.politico.com

And his Jerry Springer IQ followers will suck this shit down.

Okay.

I asked if there is a process that the President must follow to declassify stuff. After a lot of responses that ranged from insults to basically saying "I don't know", Obama's EO was presented. The problem, though, is that the EO doesn't pertain to the President. It is directed at agencies and individuals who work UNDER the President. So, while that EO does provide a process, the President doesn't have to follow it.

Also, your article from Politico left some stuff out that Trump said. The article quoted Trump saying this: “There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” This would be in line with that EO. There's a process, but the President isn't bound by it. But that's not ALL that Trump said to Hannity.

“A president has the power to declassify,” the Fox News host stated. “You have said on Truth Social a number of times you did declassify.”

“I did declassify, yes,” Trump said.

“Is there a process?” Hannity asked. “What was your process?”

“There doesn’t have to be a process as I understand it,” Trump replied. “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying, ‘It’s declassified,’ even by thinking about it because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago or wherever you’re sending it. And there doesn’t have to be a process. There can be a process but there doesn’t have to be. You’re the president. You make that decision. So when you send it, it’s declassified. I declassified everything.”

Trump Claims a President Can Declassify Documents Just 'By Thinking About It'

Donald Trump claimed the president of the United States can declassify government documents simply by declaring them as such, or "even by thinking about it."

www.mediaite.com

So...here's what it all boils down to, so far: Trump is correct. There is a process, but he doesn't have to follow the process. He can declassify stuff just by saying it's declassified and, in the case of moving stuff to another location, the stuff is then declassified.

If anyone disputes this, please provide laws or regulations that apply to the President to support your dispute. Anything else will be summarily dismissed.

btw, Politico...by deliberately leaving out pertinent quotes of what Trump actually said...is doing a disservice to the public. I suggest extreme skepticism when reading anything from them. Try to find out what they DIDN'T tell you.

 

[Jredbaron96]

Okay.

I asked if there is a process that the President must follow to declassify stuff. After a lot of responses that ranged from insults to basically saying "I don't know", Obama's EO was presented. The problem, though, is that the EO doesn't pertain to the President. It is directed at agencies and individuals who work UNDER the President. So, while that EO does provide a process, the President doesn't have to follow it.

Also, your article from Politico left some stuff out that Trump said. The article quoted Trump saying this: “There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” This would be in line with that EO. There's a process, but the President isn't bound by it. But that's not ALL that Trump said to Hannity.

“A president has the power to declassify,” the Fox News host stated. “You have said on Truth Social a number of times you did declassify.”​

​

“I did declassify, yes,” Trump said.​

​

“Is there a process?” Hannity asked. “What was your process?”​

​

“There doesn’t have to be a process as I understand it,” Trump replied. “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying, ‘It’s declassified,’ even by thinking about it because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago or wherever you’re sending it. And there doesn’t have to be a process. There can be a process but there doesn’t have to be. You’re the president. You make that decision. So when you send it, it’s declassified. I declassified everything.”​

Trump Claims a President Can Declassify Documents Just 'By Thinking About It'

Donald Trump claimed the president of the United States can declassify government documents simply by declaring them as such, or "even by thinking about it."

www.mediaite.com

So...here's what it all boils down to, so far: Trump is correct. There is a process, but he doesn't have to follow the process. He can declassify stuff just by saying it's declassified and, in the case of moving stuff to another location, the stuff is then declassified.

If anyone disputes this, please provide laws or regulations that apply to the President to support your dispute. Anything else will be summarily dismissed.

btw, Politico...by deliberately leaving out pertinent quotes of what Trump actually said...is doing a disservice to the public. I suggest extreme skepticism when reading anything from them. Try to find out what they DIDN'T tell you.

So now all he has to do is prove it.

 

[mike2810]

If I had an answer to your question, I wouldn't need to ask my question.

Do you have an answer to my question?

Have you bothered to do any research regarding your question?

Why should someone do your homework for you?

 

[Cope]

So now all he has to do is prove it.

Or at a minimum claim it in court, under oath.

Which is what I have been saying for weeks.

 

[Mycroft]

He says it's declassified to someone who can verify he heard him say it.

Is there a law that says that must happen?

 

[DCCougar]

I do think this is a question that needs answering.

It's a moot point! The documents are classified on their face. Other than Trump lying in public, not under oath, there is no evidence or sworn testimony that the documents are anything other than classified. The 11th Circuit struck down Cannon's order and said of course the DOJ can use the classified documents in its criminal investigation. End of story (well, until there's an indictment). I don't imagine the DOJ really cares that much about the non-classified stuff.

 

[Slyfox696]

I've read that EO. It applies to agencies and individuals within the executive branch, though very little applies directly to the President.

False. And if you've read it, you know what you're saying is false.

So are you posting lies about having read it or posting lies about what it says?

Nowhere does it say that a President has to follow any process.

It outlines the process declassifying information follows. Why are you posting lies?

Do you have anything else?

Small surprise you're looking for anything but the truth.

I don't think it's as easily explained as you think it is.

I didn't say it is easily explained, you asked what the law was and I showed you. Why are you now crafting a dishonest post after getting the answer you specifically requested?

Do presidents have 'the ability to declassify anything'?

The blockbuster article in The Washington Post saying President Donald Trump had "revealed highly classified information

www.politifact.com

A president can decide, but the classified record has to go through the process. There has to be a trail. This is laid out in the EO I linked you too.

Are you so desperate to defend a serial liar you don't actually want answers to the questions you ask?

 

[Mycroft]

There needs to be nothing else, the 11th circuit cited that EO, so it applies.

Did the 11th Circuit say that Trump must comply with that EO?