Thanks to past Court case rulings on National Archives documents and materials, it appears President Trump has every right to decide, just as he has stated all along, what is classified and what is to be declassified!
According to the Bill Clinton “Sock Drawer” case, where audio tapes were found filed between socks, it’s all personal property. Case 1:10-cv-01834-ABJ Document 13 Filed 03/01/12, JUDICIAL WATCH, INC., Plaintiff, v NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION, Defendent.
So it appears that once the President uses executive privilige to declassify a document, or any material such as audio tapes, the Court has Ruled that once declassified, it becomes the personal property of the President. So any documents President Trump had in his possession or in Melania’s wardrobe, is his own personal property, as well as anywhere on his person or property.
It appears the FBI is in some serious doo doo right now. They should know these protocols. That is their job and the protocols for present and former presidents is available on line so the FBI, should have looked at all of that first and it is obvious they either didn’t, or did and chose to ignore it all. After all, fake news is above the law and they must have been relying on the wrap up smear to have some magical effect.
It was Judicial Watch who went to court to demand the tapes be given to the National Archives and Records Administration, so the American people could hear them. In his case titled Judicial Watch v. National Archives and Records Administration, it involved an effort by the conservative watchdog to compel the Archives to forcibly seize hours of audio recordings that Clinton made during his presidency with historian Taylor Branch.
It was U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington D.C. who presided the case and rejected Judicial Watch’s suit by concluding there was no provision in the Presidential Records Act to force the National Archives to seize records from a former president.
Hello? Let’s say that again…”There is no provision in the Presidential Records Act to force the National Archives to seize records from a former president!”
Jackson’s ruling — and the court case itself, gave credence to many breeches the FBI made in their decision to raid Mar-a-Lago and seize anything they wanted, even passports and hand written notes. This was a huge violation of civil rights and a huge violation of personal property of a former president, let alone it was not done with protocols with secret service agents who are there to guard and protect the President. There are specific protocols for FBI to follow that deal directly with Secret Service who are provided for life to protect the former president. The biggest screw up of the FBI was ignoring the fact that it is at the president’s discretion on what are personal vs. official records and that decision is to be upheld and it is solely his.
Besides Judge Jackson’s decision she referred to the rules and protocols of a President’s Executive Privliges as they are stated in the government protocols and archives.
In Judge Jackson’s decision from the 2012 Clinton Case, she stated, “Since the President is completely entrusted with the management and even the disposal of Presidential records during his time in office, it would be difficult for this Court to conclude that Congress intended that he would have less authority to do what he pleases with what he considers to be his personal records,” she added.
So there you have it… Trump’s personal records are what they were looking for and now that they have them… the FBI is not looking so good, and neither is Garland, the snake who ordered it to be done, nor is Biden looking any better and who knows whose bright idea this was beyond pudding head Joey? Whoever is making the Joe clone walk, drool, and mumble…that one very much miscalculated.
The judge noted a president could destroy any record he wanted during his tenure and his only responsibility was to inform the Archives.
You can read the full ruling here: File: memorandum opinion.pdf
That defendant was the same Justice Department that authorized the raid on Trump’s estate. You can read their arguments a decade earlier from the hearing transcript here: Hearing Transcript.pdf
JUST THE NEWS SAID that Kevin Brock, former assistant FBI director for intelligence, that the bureau’s search warrant was overly broad and went beyond what the FBI manual for agents recommended. “Specificity is important in order to protect fourth amendment rights from exuberant government overreach designed to find whatever they can.” He also said he did not believe DOJ and FBI had authority to criminalize the retention of presidential records.
Brock said, “The warrant “apparently makes a novel legal assertion that any presidential record kept by a former president is against the law. You have to wonder what the other living former presidents think about that. They have the right and, apparently, clear desire to remain silent.”
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch who lost the Clinton sock drawer case, said he believes Jackson’s ruling could have a profound impact on the coming legal battles over the Trump search. Fitton stated, “The government, the lawyer for the Archives, said, ‘You know what? If documents are in the former President’s hands, where they’re presumptively personal, we just, you know, we presume they’re personal.'”
Fitton also added, “The Justice Department previously had told us in response to a question about Bill Clinton: ‘Tough luck, it’s his.’ But they changed their mind for Donald Trump? The law and court decision suggests that Trump is right. And frankly, based on this analysis, Trump should get every single document they took from him back. It’s all personal records.”
So, YES, the president can declassify documents, and there isn’t a set protocol they have to follow…
The U.S. classification system has three levels: top secret, secret and confidential.
“That is based on the level of damage that its release would cause to the national security of the United States,” Kel McClanahan, executive director of the National Security Counselors, said. “When you classify a document, that means that only people with a security clearance equal to the classification or higher can read it.”
The president “doesn’t have to give any reason for declassifying” information. He can just say, ‘I decide that this should be declassified,’ and it’s declassified. Read: How US presidents can declassify documents | khou.com
Also Read National Archives: The President Executive Order 13526 | National Archives
KEEP ON PRESSING INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. PRESS, PRESS, PRESS!
DIANNE
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In the past 71 years of my life I can only remember four years which were really fantastic and that was under President Trump where everything he did was for the good of the citizens of the United States of America over all others on the planet. Even greater than Ronald Reagan. Four years out of 71. That’s pathetic! When will our politicians have the interests of We the People over there over it and blatant power grabs? All at our expense I might add. Dragging us into never ending wars. Except for Trump! No new wars under that administration. Then along comes Brandon. Look how far this country has fallen. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. That’s not what our founders envisioned.
I can only assume that Trump made copies of his video surveillance of the nine hours the FBI raided Mar A Lago. Just in case he is ordered to turn them over to the corrupt system demanding them.
Trump is staying a step ahead them, he’s a very smart man and No Way would he let them get out in front of him! He’s just playing along with this movie until the Appointed Time, so we just need to trust that what the enemy meant for bad God will be turning it to our Good, because it will. God’s timing is Perfect and it will be the Icing On The Cake! Patience is a Virtue, wait/watch 🇺🇸💥💥💥💥💥💥 popcorn 🍿 Please
If what Trump declassifies and has at his home is his personal property, that then holds true for Obama, et.al. The FBI cannot go into his home and take documents he removed. O’Bummer!
I guess my main concern is … does the truth make any difference? These crooks will justify everything they do and no one is stopping them… no one stops them from doing as much damage as they can before they are voted out of office… so what about the horrendous bills/executive orders that Biden has been signing since day one … who is going to reverse all that … or will they even try … I’m getting to the point I don’t trust the GOP any more than I do the Dirty Dems…..a lot of talk but yet nothing is done….
Keep peeling this rotten onion, Dianne!
It’s stinks to high heavens the deeper you go!
I wake up and think I wonder if I have any money in the bank that isn’t frozen. Do I have any food to eat? The gov has taken our freedom away as we know it.
crooked wht house, political corruption. I feel like I’m in a third world country. When they go after a good president with no reason but to rob and steel his property, even if he gets it back who’s to know if it’s all there. The crime rate is so high, it doesn’t feel safe to go to the store an back. And this is just the United States. If I didn’t have God I would not want to live here anymore. Come Lord Jesus!!!!!!!
Dianne,
Thank you for clarifying this and providing the backup. I know we are lied to all the time but it is amazing to have it laid out so clearly in this case. You do a great job of keeping us informed. The truth is on Trump’s side once again.
Elizabeth
Thank you Elizabeth. Get the truth and keep going. So much moving in all directions… keep moving and praising God as we flow along. Smile.
Amen. Smile.
From the way I read it all, with my understanding…the only thing that cannot be given out is nuclear code information or nuclear info. That is the pretense they are now making… but that will not save them…even if they try to plant something…it will explode in their faces as I am sure Trump had things documented and archived with witnesses to avoid this type of thing. He’s playing 5D chess and the others are merely marching in circles trying to tear down lego sets builders are making. They are brutes and no greater than street thugs.
The brutes are used to getting their way by intimidating people and ganging up on them. When you stand up to them quietly and the truth is on your side, they really do melt like the wicked witch.
One of the best things that President Trump has done is teach us how to stand up together and deal with them like the spoiled brats they are. We were doing a lot of that individually, but he took them on in public, head on and they couldn’t handle it at all.
We began to realize that we are not alone. There are millions of us in agreement that enough is enough. We are taking our country and our dignity back. We are One Nation Under God. MAGA.
So true and this is a very important lesson to learn so that this never happens again. Trump is the one who opened my eyes. I was very asleep (aka deceived).
They have to gang up and intimidate because they are NOT intelligent enough to pull off their shenanigans in a legal manner, because most of their shenanigans are NOT in accordance with the Law!! They can’t win fairly, so they are forced to cheat, steal, lie and hide in the shadows while doing it, and usually behind mountains of paperwork hardly anyone ever reads!!
They are like the school bully, (but a gang of them)!! Once you stand up to a bully and Give them a few punches till their nose is bleeding, they find out they’re not so tuff!! We have A LOT of bullies in Business, Government and Military who need that proverbial punch in the nose to be knocked off their high horse to humble their spirit of narcissism!!
The PUNCHES in this case are metaphorical: Exposure, confiscate their wealth and imprisonment will take their power away!! I believe this process began about 6 years ago, but they are entrenched deeper than we ever imagined so it’s more difficult than the good guys were able to foresee!! 💥💥 The Swamp is DEEP and Muddy💥💥
Amen, Elizabeth!!!