Loading ...Former National Intelligence Director: Trump Has ‘Ultimate Declassification Authority’
A former director of national intelligence said Aug. 12 that it is “virtually impossible” to prosecute people for mishandling classified documents, and asserted that former President Donald Trump has the “ultimately declassification authority” in terms of such documents.
“The president does have ultimate declassification authority. He can literally declassify—and President Trump had that authority, and could declassify anything you want while he was president,” John Ratcliffe, a Republican congressman before Trump appointed him to be director of national intelligence, said on Fox News.
So, what if he possessed something he didn’t affirmatively declassify?
Presumably, he didn’t declassify everything, before he left office.
And, as I’m reading this, its too late now that he’s out.
They are saying he has a “Standing Order” …that means everything he has in his possession is declassified by definition
If the “standing order” has precedent and it does mean that anything in a former President’s possession is in effect declassified, then it is case closed. I would love to get someone who actually knows the law and past precedent to confirm this. If that is what Ratcliffe is saying and he is correct, then the FBI should have known that as well. Can’t wait to see how it plays out.