Podcast
The Rachel Maddow Show
The book's author, a former CIA intelligence officer, was interviewed about the process of handling top-secret and classified information, particularly in the context of the Mar-a-Lago search and the handling of classified materials by former President Trump.
The President cannot retroactively declassify something from when he was president.
— Episode: Unsealed warrant sheds light on reason f...
Episode: Unsealed warrant sheds light on reason for Mar-a-L...
The book's author, a former CIA intelligence officer, was interviewed about the process of handling top-secret and classified information, particularly in the context of the Mar-a-Lago search and the handling of classified materials by former President Trump.
The President cannot retroactively declassify something from when he was president.
If the argument is, well, I declassified these while I was president and I just didn't tell anyone, that does not hold up.
Plus when that happens, those documents no longer have those huge markings on them. Those are crossed out and there's a declassification stamp put on the actual document so that there will be no confusion about it whatsoever.
It states when it was declassified so that it can be seen publicly.
It's not just the president waving a magic wand when he feels like it and suddenly secrets aren't secrets anymore. It doesn't work that way.