According to his defense he had a standing order to declassify documents so he could take them for work at Mar-a-Lago. — NOS4A2

He doesn't have the authority to declassify documents that are TS/SCI.

The FBI suspiciously waited until before the midterms to retrieve those documents — NOS4A2

Why is it suspicious? They didn't have enough evidence to obtain a warrant earlier, and even issued a subpoena to have him return them which he defied. And after obtaining a warrant it doesn't make sense to then wait months until after the midterms as the very point is that them being there is a national security threat.

Although I'm not sure what the midterms have to do with anything. Are you suggesting that the FBI did this just so that the midterm elections will be influenced to favour the Democrats? Given that you've previously argued that the very notion of influence is "magical thinking", you refute your own rhetoric.

This user has been deleted and all their posts removed.

According to his defense he had a standing order to declassify documents so he could take them for work at Mar-a-Lago. — NOS4A2

By all accounts, the DOJ was trying execute the warrant as low key as possible. This included waiting for Trump to be away. If Trump hadn't made it public, we wouldn't have known it happened.

It's irrelevant if Trump declassified the documents. The Espionage Act prohibits the possession of documents related to national defense, without regard to their classified status. It's also a violation of the Presidential Records act to have any papers.

There's also the matter of the lie by Trump's attorney who signed a letter indicating there were no additional documents marked as classified in his possession. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. I anticipate Trump will throw the attorney under the bus.

The president can declassify what he wants. He’s the commander in chief.

Yes, I believe it was politically motivated, because they know people such as yourself will spread it uncritically and use it to guide their activity.

It's irrelevant if Trump declassified the documents. — Relativist

Good point.

Laws and Lists in Search Warrant Offer Clues to Trump Document Investigation

Even if it is true that Mr. Trump deemed the files declassified before the end of his presidency, however, none of the three crimes depends on whether the documents are classified.

The first law, Section 793 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, is better known as the Espionage Act. It criminalizes the unauthorized retention or disclosure of information related to national defense that could be used to harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary. Each offense can carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

...

As a result, while these classifications — especially top secret ones — can be good indicators that a document probably meets the standard of being “national defense information” covered by the Espionage Act, charges under that law can be brought against someone who hoarded national security secrets even if they were not deemed classified.

..

The second, Section 1519, is an obstruction law that is part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a broad set of reforms enacted by Congress in 2002 after financial scandals at firms like Enron, Arthur Andersen and WorldCom.

Section 1519 sets a penalty of up to 20 years in prison per offense for the act of destroying or concealing documents or records “with the intent to impede, obstruct or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter” within the jurisdiction of federal departments or agencies.

...

The third law that investigators cite in the warrant, Section 2071, criminalizes the theft or destruction of government documents. It makes it a crime, punishable in part by up to three years in prison per offense, for anyone with custody of any record or document from federal court or public office to willfully and unlawfully conceal, remove, mutilate, falsify or destroy it.

The president can declassify what he wants. — NOS4A2

No he can't.

Not Even the President Can Declassify Nuclear Secrets

The 1988 Supreme Court case Navy v. Egan confirmed that classification authority flows from the president except in specific instances separated from his powers by law.

...

[T]here are certain materials that presidents cannot classify and declassify at will. One such category of material is the identity of spies.

Another is nuclear secrets. The Atomic Energy Acts of 1946 and 1954 produced an even stranger category of classified knowledge. Anything related to the production or use of nuclear weapons and nuclear power is inherently classified.

The TS/SCI documents that were taken might involve the identity of spies or information about nuclear power (as some outlets have reported).

Also, anything that one President declassifies a future President can reclassify. So if Trump wants to play the game that he "had a standing order" that declassifies anything he took home, Biden can play the game that he ordered that anything taken to Mar-a-Lago is reclassified.

An Atlantic article. Nice. Here’s a NYT article.

Can presidents declassify matters directly?
Yes, because it is ultimately their constitutional authority.
…

Do presidents have to obey the usual procedures?
There is no Supreme Court precedent definitively answering that question.
…

What about nuclear secrets?

They are distinct, although for purposes of criminal law there is little substantive difference.

Congress has passed a law, the Atomic Energy Act, that imposes its own legal restrictions on mishandling information about how to build a nuclear bomb or enrich nuclear material. Such information is called “restricted data.” Legally, it is not the same thing as being “classified” under the executive order, although in everyday parlance people often refer to it as classified.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/14/us/politics/trump-classified-documents.html

Can presidents declassify matters directly?
Yes, because it is ultimately their constitutional authority.
…

Do presidents have to obey the usual procedures?
There is no Supreme Court precedent definitively answering that question. — NOS4A2

That's about procedures. Some people say that a President just has to say "it's declassified", others say that it actually has to go through a process where the classification markings are changed and the relevant departments are made aware of this.

Such information is called “restricted data.” Legally, it is not the same thing as being “classified” under the executive order — NOS4A2

So you want to argue over semantics? Regardless of what word you use, Trump broke the law by possessing the documents and by not returning them when subpoenaed. That's why they raided his home. It wasn't a political hit job as per your conspiracy theory.

And on a side note, that he would declassify documents just to take them home shows how incompetent he was and how dangerous it was for him to be President.

None of this has been proven and all of it is without precedent. None of us have seen the affidavit. So your claim he broke the law is without merit, and given a long and poor history of such claims, just another conspiracy in my books.

None of this has been proven and all of it is without precedent. None of us have seen the affidavit. So your claim he broke the law is without merit, and given a long and poor history of such claims, just another conspiracy in my books. — NOS4A2

Possessing those documents is against the law. So are you saying that he didn't possess them? Then what were these non-existent things that he supposedly declassified?

it is without precedent — NOS4A2

Yes. There's never been a President quite as criminal as Trump (although maybe Nixon).

Why is it against the law to posses declassified documents?

Why are you obsessing on the classification status? The 3 laws don't depend on it.

Why is it against the law to posses declassified documents? — NOS4A2

Because Congress passed such a law which was then signed by the President of the time?

See here

National defense. Look up the Espionage Act.

Because it is a public and sensitive matter. It should be in an authority control, not in private hands or businesses.

That they are using the overly-broad world war 1 era law used to justify jailing whistleblowers and critics of the government is enough for me to know that it reeks of politicization of the Department of Justice.

Because it is a public and sensitive matter. It should be in an authority control, not in private hands or businesses.

That’s exactly the line of reasoning used to justify the state persecution of Assange and Snowden. The government’s criminality and murderous barbarism are certainly sensitive to some parties.

Explain how enforcing a law constitutes "politicization".

The material was classified for a reason. What reasonable rationale could Trump have for declassifying them without seeking input from the military, or whatever department classified them in the first place? It's extremely careless, and the law makes such carelessness an enforceable crime.

Trump has not been indicted. The dynamic changes if he is. At this point, the net result is that DOJ has remediate the security risk Trump created. Do you deny that there was a security risk?

Completely agree with you, NOS.

But I think both sides are wrong. Trump possessing sensitive declassified documents and the prosecution against Assange and Snowden are causes of why the citizenship is losing the hope and credibility in democracy.

It’s often used against political opponents and whistleblowers.

It doesn’t matter his rationale.

That's absurd. If he merely did a blanket declassification to avoid criminal liability, it was reckless.

I doubt it was reckless. That the judge who signed off on the warrant defended associates of Epstein is enough for me to know that Trump is scaring all the right people.

I doubt it was reckless. — NOS4A2

Failure to get input from the agencies that classified it in the first place (as is normally done) makes it reckless. Do you think Trump is clairvoyant?

Not when those same agencies are engaged in reckless or criminal behavior.

Not when those same agencies are engaged in reckless or criminal behavior. — NOS4A2

Enlarge on this, because I see no logic in it.

Make 2 assumptions:
1. The documents include information relating to our nuclear capability.
2. There are criminals within the DoD.

How does #2 make it perfectly fine to risk exposing our nuclear secrets?

Not when those same agencies are engaged in reckless or criminal behavior. — NOS4A2

Of course, everyone except Trump is reckless and criminal.

, sorry, a friend, didn't want to put their name on display. Their comment seemed relevant enough.