Trump declassified all russiagate files before he left the White House. It has been reported that the Biden DOJ raided maralago to seize those files. Trump should release the files. Publicly. That will be the end of Jack Smith!
If Trump declassified those documents, there will be documentation that he did so: The system of classifying national security documents is largely a bureaucratic process used by the federal government to control how executive branch officials handle information, whose release could cause the country harm. Under the U.S. Constitution, the president as commander in chief is given broad powers to classify and declassify such information, often through use of executive orders. Some secrets, such as information related to nuclear weapons, are handled separately under a specific statutory scheme that Congress has adopted under the Atomic Energy Act. Those secrets cannot be automatically declassified by the president alone and require, by law, extensive consultation with executive branch agencies. In all cases, however, a formal procedure is required so governmental agencies know with certainty what has been declassified and decisions memorialized. A federal appeals court in a 2020 Freedom of Information Act case, New York Times v. CIA, underscored that point: “Declassification cannot occur unless designated officials follow specified procedures,” the court said.
@kbo_coyote @GeorgePapa19 Trump could have declassified them with his mind.
@kbo_coyote @GeorgePapa19 As long as Trump gave the verbal authority to declassify the material, the material still has to go through the bureaucratic process to declassify the material. If that wasn't done, the onus falls on the officials designated to follow those procedures.
@kbo_coyote @GeorgePapa19 Pure nonsense. Its a crystal clear separation of powers matter... All the rest of that fluff.. ONLY applies to subordinates in the executive branch....
@kbo_coyote @GeorgePapa19 The law states all he has to do is say the words while in office doesn't have to be written
@kbo_coyote @GeorgePapa19 Unless you just think about it