SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - US Politics Thread 2021-24

Dowly · 08-13-22, 04:44 PM

So, Trump has finally figured out his defense: "I declassified them".

There's just one fairly large problem with that. The recipe lists documents with various levels of classifications. That wouldn't be the case if they were declassified.

While the POTUS does have the power to declassify nearly everything, he can't simply say something is declassified and it is so. There's a process to it. The request for declassification needs to be recorded, the change of classification needs to be recorded and the document itself needs to be changed to reflect its new classification. If it says "Classified" on the document then that is what that document is classified as.

And naturally, if there are no records then Trump is going to have a hard time trying to prove his defense.

08-13-22, 04:44 PM	#3938
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,005 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	So, Trump has finally figured out his defense: "I declassified them". There's just one fairly large problem with that. The recipe lists documents with various levels of classifications. That wouldn't be the case if they were declassified. While the POTUS does have the power to declassify nearly everything, he can't simply say something is declassified and it is so. There's a process to it. The request for declassification needs to be recorded, the change of classification needs to be recorded and the document itself needs to be changed to reflect its new classification. If it says "Classified" on the document then that is what that document is classified as. And naturally, if there are no records then Trump is going to have a hard time trying to prove his defense.