June 2, 2023
Debunking another false claim that Trump violated national security law
By Andrea Widburg
CNN is very excited: Trump was allegedly captured on a recording talking about how he’s knowingly retained “classified” documents. It seems that “journalists” are incapable of (and definitely unwilling to) understand that the classification system is different for U.S. Presidents. Meanwhile, Joe Biden and Mike Pence, both of whom illegally possessed classified documents, are going to walk away untouched.
As noted, CNN is bursting with the news that Trump practically confessed to the crime of illegally possessing “classified” documents:
Federal prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of a summer 2021 meeting in which former President Donald Trump acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, multiple sources told CNN, undercutting his argument that he declassified everything.
The recording indicates Trump understood he retained classified material after leaving the White House, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. On the recording, Trump’s comments suggest he would like to share the information but he’s aware of limitations on his ability post-presidency to declassify records, two of the sources said.
[skip]
Special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the Justice Department investigation into Trump, has focused on the meeting as part of the criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of national security secrets. Sources describe the recording as an “important” piece of evidence in a possible case against Trump, who has repeatedly asserted he could retain presidential records and “automatically” declassify documents.
Hogwash.
Because it’s important, let me restate the argument I’ve made before about the fact that Trump cannot be found guilty of illegally possessing classified material. In Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518 (1988), the Supreme Court stated that the President has plenary power over document classification and other national security issues:
The President, after all, is the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.” U.S.Const., Art. II, § 2. His authority to classify and control access to information bearing on national security and to determine whether an individual is sufficiently trustworthy to occupy a position in the Executive Branch that will give that person access to such information flows primarily from this constitutional investment of power in the President, and exists quite apart from any explicit congressional grant. See Cafeteria Workers v. McElroy, 367 U. S. 886, 367 U. S. 890 (1961).
more
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/06/debunking_another_false_claim_that_trump_violated_national_security_law.html
