Just think about it. Donald Trump claimed on Fox News that US presidents can declassify sensitive documents simply by “thinking about it.”
The former US president backtracked on the document declassification process nearly two months after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. On this occasion, the police department had seized several boxes of confidential documents that the Republican had not returned after leaving the White House, despite multiple requests.
Federal investigators suspect that Donald Trump violated a US espionage law that very strictly regulates the detention of these classified documents. For his part, the defendant had assured that these documents had been declassified.
“There doesn’t have to be a process”
As Sean Hannity asks him to explain the process that allowed him to do this, Donald Trump explains that “if you understand correctly,” “there doesn’t need to be a process.”
“If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify it just by saying ‘it’s declassified’ or even thinking about it. […] it doesn’t have to be a process. There may be one, but it is not necessary. You are the president, you make this decision”, he declares before adding: “I have declassified everything”.
The US president has the possibility to declassify documents, according to the New York Times. But more often than not, the ministries to which the sensitive information relates are consulted before declassification takes place. In addition, the American newspaper cites a 2020 court ruling that “declassification, including by the president, must follow established procedures.”
Source: BFM TV
