In Hannity interview, Trump claims he can declassify documents ‘even by thinking about it’ – By Merdie Nzanga (USA Today) / Sept 22, 2022
Former President Donald Trump said in a broadcast interview Wednesday that he can declassify documents “even by thinking about it.”
“There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, after Hannity pressed him on which process he took to declassify the documents.
He continued, “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it.”
Presidents are considered to be ultimately responsible for classifying and declassifying material, and there is a process for doing so. But there is still “exceedingly sensitive information that is required by law to be protected from unauthorized disclosure,” J. William Leonard, the former head of the U.S. National Archives’ Information Security Oversight Office, told USA TODAY.
