Trump: I could declassify documents by thinking about it

[Slyfox696]

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.

He doesn't care. Not everyone posts in good faith.

 

[Questerr]

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

At a bare minimum, he actually has to inform other people. He can’t just do it in his head and not tell anyone.

 

[Slyfox696]

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.

This is a lie. The EO outlines the process a classified record must go through to be declassified. Nothing in the EO exempts the President from the process.

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.

Please point me to where the EO governing declassification exempts the President from following the process. We'll all wait.

But we won't hold your breath because everyone here, including you, knows that you don't believe what you're saying.

 

[Mycroft]

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​

There is nothing in that EO that says the President is bound by the EO. That EO is solely directed at agencies and individuals who are subordinate to the President.

So...as I've already said, yes...there is a process, but no...the President is not bound by that process. And that is exactly what Trump said.

 

[Slyfox696]

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

Which is what I have been saying for weeks.

It doesn't matter...whether they were declassified or not is irrelevant. He still stole documents that were not his and then lied about it.

 

[Slyfox696]

There is nothing in that EO that says the President is bound by the EO.

There is nothing in the EO that exempts the President from the EO.

We can play this game all day long. But only you are doing so knowing what you're saying is false.

 

[beefheart]

There is nothing in that EO that says the President is bound by the EO. That EO is solely directed at agencies and individuals who are subordinate to the President.

If they are declassified, then where is the proof that they are?

If they are declassified, then why can't someone or the press file an FOIA to read them?

You are grasping at straws.

 

[mike2810]

Those defending Trump.
Why don't you provide links to the laws and regulation that allow a President to change a classified/declassified record to a personal record.

Is that not what Trump is saying when he says he "declassified" them? I "declassified" the documents, therefore they are mine."

 

[Mycroft]

So now all he has to do is prove it.

And I suspect he is waiting for someone to formally dispute his ability to declassify stuff before he proves it.

 

[yankintx]

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.

I made a joke of Trump doing a Carnac (for you Carson fans) to declassify.

I didn't think he would actually use it as a defense lol

The clown car has gone off the cliff

The man is so guilty, and a complete moron.

 

[Slyfox696]

And I suspect he is waiting for someone to file charges that demand he proves it.

 

[Mycroft]

Have you bothered to do any research regarding your question?

Why should someone do your homework for you?

shrug...

If you don't like it, don't respond.

 

[JH Oldoc]

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.

Just by thinking about it also explains how he won the 2020 election....maybe.

 

[Questerr]

Is he correct? If not, why not?

He’s not. For the same reason you can’t engage in a legally binding contract with someone who isn’t aware the contract exists.

 

[Credence]

There is nothing in that EO that says the President is bound by the EO. That EO is solely directed at agencies and individuals who are subordinate to the President.

So...as I've already said, yes...there is a process, but no...the President is not bound by that process. And that is exactly what Trump said.

Oh for goodness sakes. POTUS most definitely would have to confer with National Intelligence to declassify a top secret document.

Not sure what you are reading. If POTUS "declassifies" a document there has to be a paper trail or who would know it was declassified?
This is why he can't prove it to Judge Drearie. He never declassified those documents

Common sense

Also from the article:

Can a president secretly declassify information without leaving a written record or telling anyone?​

That question, according to specialists in the law of government secrecy, is borderline incoherent.

If there is no directive memorializing a decision to declassify information and conveying it to the rest of the government, the action would essentially have no consequence, as departments and agencies would continue to consider that information classified and so would continue to restrict access to documents containing it.

“Hypothetical questions like ‘What if a president thinks to himself that something is declassified? Does that change its status?’ are so speculative that their practical meaning is negligible,” said Steven Aftergood, a secrecy specialist with the Federation of American Scientists.

He added: “It’s a logical mess. The system is not meant to be deployed in such an arbitrary fashion.”

 

[Mycroft]

Those defending Trump.
Why don't you provide links to the laws and regulation that allow a President to change a classified/declassified record to a personal record.

Is that not what Trump is saying when he says he "declassified" them? I "declassified" the documents, therefore they are mine."

There doesn't have to be a law to give a President a power. If there is no law against doing something, it can legally be done.

 

[Liberal7360]

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

If you honestly wanted to know the answer to that question you would have done a search on it.

Like I did.

It only took a few seconds to find the answer.

You can do that too if you honestly wanted to know the answer.

Stop relying on other people for information. If you want to know something, find out for yourself. You have the world's greatest source of information literally at your fingertips. It's simple and only takes a matter of a few seconds.

 

[Mycroft]

He’s not. For the same reason you can’t engage in a legally binding contract with someone who isn’t aware the contract exists.

???

This subject has nothing to do with contracts.

 

[Slyfox696]

If you honestly wanted to know the answer to that question

I assume you knew at this moment the rest of your post was fairly inconsequential to your targeted audience.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Is there a law that says that must happen?

Since the DOJ can present evidence that he documents are currently marked classified, that the documents are treated as classified by the US Government, that even the FPOTUS team has treated them as classified...

That is prima facie evidence that the documents are classified.

It would be up to the FPOTUS then, as part of an affirmative defense, that he didn't in fact declassify them through oral instructions to subordinates or written documentation. If through verbal instructions, then the DOJ will be able to interview them under oath with penalty of perjury to verify the FPOTUS claim.

I'm perfectly fine with the FPOTUS staff being brought in for questioning and possible future testimony in court under oath as the the veracity of the FPOTUS claims.

You?

WW

 

[Callen]

The Judge (SM) ruled he will consider the documents classified unless Trump can prove they aren't. Case closed. Put up or shut up in the courtroom Trump. I really, really want to watch you tell the Judge you can just "think" them classified!

That aside the 11th Court has ruled unanimously that the classified documents can be used in the investigation and pointed out how flawed Cannon's ruling was.

I'm going with Garland, the 11th Court of Appeals and Judge Dearie........not Trump or his loyal defenders!

 

[yankintx]

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.

Naaa MAGAS are not naive enough to fall for that...

Our they?

 

[Credence]

I assume you knew at this moment the rest of your post was fairly inconsequential to your targeted audience.

Appears that way to me too ......... won't waste my time going forward when someone really doesn't want an answer

 

[Mycroft]

This is a lie. The EO outlines the process a classified record must go through to be declassified. Nothing in the EO exempts the President from the process.

Please point me to where the EO governing declassification exempts the President from following the process. We'll all wait.

But we won't hold your breath because everyone here, including you, knows that you don't believe what you're saying.

Everything in the EO refers directly to agencies and individuals. Nothing in the EO refers directly to the President...except the statement that the President has classification authority.

 

[Slyfox696]

Since the DOJ can present evidence that he documents are currently marked classified, that the documents are treated as classified by the US Government, that even the FPOTUS team has treated them as classified...

That is prima facie evidence that the documents are classified.

This is also important...because if Trump says documents can be declassified "with a thought", then they can also be reclassified "with a thought". And since the entire US government "thought" these records classified, they are classified.