Everyone brings work home now and then.
The above is literally Donald Trump’s last, best – perhaps only, defense for possessing some of the United States’ most closely guarded secrets. Trump did some work at home and sort of forgot that he had the files. Yeah, that’s all it was, according to a statement given to noted Trump apologist, liar, and MAGA-tool, John Solomon: [1]
“As we can all relate to, everyone ends up having to bring home their work from time to time. American presidents are no different. President Trump, in order to prepare for work the next day, often took documents including classified documents from the Oval Office to the residence,” Trump admitted [1], even though some of the documents recovered are supposed to remain in a SCIF or “Secure, Compartmentalized Information Facility.”
“He had a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken into the residence were deemed to be declassified,”
Right.
The power to classify and declassify documents rests solely with the President of the United States. The idea that some paper-pushing bureaucrat, with classification authority delegated by the president, needs to approve of declassification is absurd.”
No, the idea that a former president gets to take the nation’s most closely guarded secrets down to his place to sell or deal as he deems fit is what is absurd. As The Atlantic’s Graham Greene wrote [2] just today:
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, and Trump could utter whatever words he pleased yet still be in possession of classified material.
But the fact that Trump is down to his last defense, that he declassified this material in order to “work” on it (Is there anything less believable than Trump taking things home to “work” on?), is not only laughable but still illegal. It is a tacit admission that Trump A) Had the documents in his possession, B) They were critical to national security, and C) This is the best he has, which is nothing.
It will get worse, much worse before it gets better. This will be a rough weekend. “Fight for Trump” rally begins tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. at Mar-a-Lago.”
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[email protected], @JasonMiciak, with Nicole Hickman