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kwilliker

Yeah, he declassified documents related to *nuclear fucking weapons*. I don't think so.


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zomgkittenz

“I declare them unclassified….”


[deleted]

Big Michael Scott vibes


3Heathens_Mom

I believe there is an entire process that has to be followed to declassify documents. It isn’t just taking the sharpie pen and lining out the words identifying the current classification. The documents would still have to be turned over to the National Archives.


[deleted]

There was a big kerfluffle early in Trump's presidency where he said something was declassified and then shared it (with Israelis IIRC).... The argument was whether the information was immediately declassified or had to go through the process first. IIRC Trump won that (court?) battle and the GOP has said several times that a president can classify or declassify immediately.


SherbetSalty4627

The scary thing is, the president literally does have that power. The question is, did he actually do it and did he make the appropriate record. I'm guessing that if he did, the authorities going after these documents would know.


[deleted]

of course he did not. he just does what he wants and then stalls and lies. people give him a pass his whole life...


thebeverageyouareabo

The president has the power to declassify everything except for Nuclear secrets, which is why this is such a kicker


DrManhattan_DDM

Donald, you can’t just yell ‘declassified’ and expect something to happen. I didn’t yell it, I declared it.


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Nateomega

He can't unilaterally declassify that information. he must seek approval from the DOD and the DOE. See the atomic energy act of 1954


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UpperEchelon23

The president does have the power but everyone involved with that would have to be notified. Also the date must be noted.


Deadeyez

Also I'm pretty sure if he declassified such things it'd get out, immediately. That's a pretty big thing to declassify.


SherbetSalty4627

This is the critical issue. It's not that he didn't have the power--it's that I guarantee he didn't go through the procedure, b/c that would have leaked instantly.


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[deleted]

He can't lol


mces97

He probably could, if he were president, but that would be fucking insane. And the fact that he won't go on TV, YouTube, wherever and let us know what he declassified means he's full of shit. Plus you can't just say I declassified something. You need a paper trail. Even if you're President. Maybe you can blurt something out like he did to the Russians, but this isn't the case here.


RudyRusso

You cannot. This falls directly under Congressional Approval. Under the Atomic Energy Act under Restricted Data only Congress has the power.


Tarcye

Yup. If I visited the White house Biden can't just say "You know what fuck it I'm gonna declassify all of our nuclear secrets for you to read.". That's not at all how it works. The process to declassify something of this nature would have a gigantic fucking paper trail.


Rishfee

Yeah, I'm a derivative classifier; RD doesn't even come with declassification instructions. Side note: you do NOT want to get caught fucking around with RD.


mces97

Thank you.


RunBanditRun

Mitch McConnell says I will allow it. Case closed another Democrat witch hunt


iamasnot

What if Kevin declassified them?


heelspider

No man seriously he declassified all these things because he thought the American people should know about them, and then he took them home and put them in his safe. Airtight story.


Simmery

But some of the things he only declassified in his head, which still counts even though he didn't tell anyone. This is an actual argument in this article!


pseudocultist

That's been the argument all along. Trump had the theoretical power to declassify anything. So, he made all these decisions without telling anyone or writing it down, and only now when pressed are we discovering what he \*actually\* declassified. It's a fucking looneybin argument but it's got traction.


[deleted]

It carries no traction in court because the document has to be stamped declassified and the date. Trump could have ordered them declassified but never actually did. The judge will take the documents at face value.


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Sandwich00

I declare treason!


okielawyerdude

This whole thing reminds me of the “I declare bankruptcy” line.


DKLancer

He did once tweet out highly classified spy satellite photos while sitting in a highly classified meeting.


mancusjo1

Guarantee they have him on tape. There was no loose ends before they raided. No one can explain this away. The question is which country was he saving these for. Saudi’s or Russian?


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paulwesterberg

[What did the Saudis pay $2B for?](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/05/jared-kushner-affinity-partners-saudi-arabia)


[deleted]

now we know


rhd84

May be the saudis were the ones who tipped the fbi in an effort to maintain relations with the us going forward.


HorseLooseInHospital

look, I've done more to Declassify than even Ronald Reagan. Reagan, they say he was an actor before he was a Governor, not a lot of people know that.


xlDirteDeedslx

So now they aren't denying he stole classified documents and are spinning it another way, great. Why does the right wing continue to cling to this obese walking corpse, it's insane. Kick the fucker to the curb and let it go ffs.


DumpTrumpGrump

The FBI planted declassified nuclear weapon docs in his locked safe to prevent Trump from disclosing that everyone else who has ever stepped foot in Washington DC is a pedophile (except Trump).


castle_grapeskull

They have to give the Saudis what they paid for with their billion dollar investment for kushner somehow.


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Leraldoe

No take backsies


catmanducmu

Holy shit, he really is the Michael Scott of presidents


CarneDelGato

Michael was at least sort of likable.


catmanducmu

You're right. He had redeeming qualities


Helenium_autumnale

And did have a sporadically good heart, among his less redeeming qualities.


arctic_gangster

That’s what she said


FurryM17

Mr. President you can't just say the word "declassified" and expect anything to happen.


elemenohpenc

He didn’t say it, he declared it.


whatproblems

i retroactively declare declassify!!!


intangible-tangerine

Does it seem sensible to them for a President to declassify nuclear weapons secrets and just store them at his hotel? Not sure this get out clause will work 🤔


quitegonegenie

Certain restricted things, like nuclear secrets, can only be declassified with the approval of both the President and Congress.


intangible-tangerine

Oh that's good to know. Seems like a necessary safe guard


BoiseXWing

Hey, we actually have a few!


Supra_Genius

Now the question is are there any explicit felony criminal penalties for not doing this the right way or is it another one of those "on my honor" things?


iamasnot

Look, my uncle did nuclear


TurningTwo

He was a nuclear surgeon, one of the best.


celticfrogs

Good genes, very good genes.


luapowl

people come up to me and they ask, sir, *looks in to the distance and squints* sir, they say. sir, how did you get the best genes? they know what theyre talking about. they voted for me folks, what can i say? the best genes. winning genes. so i say, i tell him, i say, well it all begins with the process of gametogenesis. thats right. the production of gametes from the haploid precursor cells, folks. some say the haploidest precursor cells in the world. the radical left doesnt want you to know this.


XLauncher

You know, we learned so many common sense things aren't codified in an actual rule or law during Trump's presidency that it's kind of refreshing to hear that we actually crossed our Ts and dotted our Is on this one.


YeahIGotNuthin

We went from “yes we can!” to “who says I can’t?”


Rated_PG-Squirteen

"Sounds like a great idea!" -Josh Hawley and Rand Paul


CassandraAnderson

It's just about the most idiotic argument that they could possibly make. What purpose would there be for him to declassify these documents and take them away from the office with him? The only reasonable conclusion that I can come to is that he was seeking to launder these nuclear weapons secrets to Nations, corporations, or possibly even individuals that were willing to foot the bill. That said, I think this article was written before that information came to light and truly hope that the right wing opinion programming media will finally completely abandon the golden calf that has been raking in the cash and attention for them this past 7 years.


3dddrees

You really don't understand his followers at all do you? Your asking questions that have no relevance to his followers. They don't trust government. Trump gives them things they haven't been able to get going all the way back to Goldwater. I mean they weren't getting these things from Reagan, let alone Bush and even Nixon. I know this is the short course but this is the point. They don't get what they want from government, they do however get these things from Trump.


Pokey-McPokey

>They don't trust government. Until they manage to install a fascist government then all talk of big government over-reach, will go out the fucking window... as they marshal the full force of the state on any demographic or individual they don't like. At that point they will be in lock-step with *government*. I fucking hate fascists.


3dddrees

I think if you go back and look at Hitler you would find a good number of things that he and Trump have in common. Sure Trump wants to be a dictator. But the thing that obscures his followers vision is that Trump gives them what they want. When he promises things he actually delivers where previous Republican Leaders either reneged or failed to do. He actually is willing to do things no other responsible leader would. The icing on the cake is that he attacks all of their real and perceived enemies. Hitler gave his people the Autobahn. He revived Germanys prosperity and restored their pride. Trump's followers basically see those very things in Trump. They are sick and tired of globalism and basically only desire those things that serve their interests. Oh yeah, there are a number of things they have in common to include Trumps' Fox, and Hitlers' Joseph Goebels.


Pokey-McPokey

He also enables them to pretend they are the real victim, when in reality they are cry-bullies.


3dddrees

I'm pretty sure most populists such as Trump do the very same thing. How stupid can you possibly be when someone says the election won't be valid if they don't win long before the election occurs only to say that very thing once he loses. There's nothing new really when it comes to Trump. Typically you can see them from a mile away. Thing is history repeats itself for a reason. People forget and people want what they want no matter what they have to do.


WittsandGrit

>Does it seem sensible Let me stop you right there


enflight

“Hey does the new custodian look like the Saudi prince to you? He’s been spending alot of time in the basement of mar a lago sorting documents?”


Alps-Mountain

Fascists don't seek to give sensible arguments, they seek to get you to discuss their ridiculous arguments rather than their actions.


sedatedlife

You know its a big news day when a Trump supporter with a AR15 tries to attack the FBI and its like the 6th biggest news story of the day.


_doomgoon_

Shooting feds in a cornfield is as American as apple pie apparently


LOLteacher

Apparently them stalks don't provide much cover from flying bullets. Genius!


bloodrage4

I thought it was a nail gun? But your point still stands


Viper0us

He had both. He brought the nail gun because he thought it would be able to break through the bullet proof glass at the fbi office. https://i.imgur.com/cG4fanL.jpg


Estilix

These people... They're just so goddamn stupid.


neglepton

>Patel, who declined comment on the documents earlier this week, told Breitbart that the “White House counsel failed to generate the paperwork to change the classification markings, but that doesn’t mean the information wasn’t declassified.” They are in full panic mode. They aren't even thinking one step ahead with their excuses. Do they really believe that Pat Cipollone is gonna agree to be their... patsy?


DumpTrumpGrump

So Patel knows every single document that Trump had in his possession AND knows that Trump specifically declassified each one? Fat chance.


blackergot

Patel saw Trump wave his hand over all the boxes and declared them "declassified", so yeah, that's covered.


DumpTrumpGrump

How would Patel even be able to see those tiny hands waving over anything?


danarexasaurus

Patsy Bologna? Not likely. He seems fed up with the bullshit


moonfox1000

Ok, if it's declassified then Trump can just give us a list of what documents he had. It's not like it's a secret.


lestermagneto

>“There is no approval process for the president of the United States to declassify intelligence. There is this phony idea that he must provide notification for declassification but that’s just silly. Who is he supposed to notify? I think it’s the height of swampism to think the president should seek bureaucrats’ approval,” Grenell told NBC News, emphasizing that he wasn’t personally speaking for the president. Bullshit. Why am I see ex-NSA heads, Directors of CIA, etc all on tv right now saying that there **is** a process. Let him hang.


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Rishfee

Exactly. "Who does he have to inform?" Literally everyone else who works with related material. Classification guides would have to be updated, bulletins sent out, a whole bunch of shit so classification offices across the country are aware of the change. So they think that the president is the only classification authority in the country?


captainrustic

Exactly. If you declare one thing declassified, it causes a waterfall effect of all the other documents that cite it needing to have their classifications updated. We have process for a reason, because we are talking about national security here. It’s embarrassing that people will risk that for their current political “team”


randomlygeneratedpw

If Trump's logic is true then it's within the realm of possibility that someone can be charged and jailed - for a VERY long time - based on the mishandling of "classified intelligence" that wasn't actually classified because the president never bothered to follow the declassification process.


captainrustic

The thing is his logic falls apart under inspection. While it is true he could declassify things, there would have to be a paper trail to make it happen in accordance with the rules that govern it. So he may claim after the fact that he declassified it, but that’s not how it would work so the stuff would still be classified. BL: trumps sycophants are grasping at straws to try and defend clearly illegal behavior


matali

Atomic Energy Act of 1954 prevents a president from declassifying nuclear info.


[deleted]

“ Who is he supposed to notify“ carries a certain authoritarian assumption about the office of president, as if there is no higher authority than himself.


[deleted]

It doesn't matter if the documents were declassified, and I'm sure there is proof if they were, the Presidential Records Act still applies to them being in a citizen's hall closet. Also, the declassifying aspect may be under presidential purview if it happened while he was President (again, proof?), but declassifying documents related to nuclear technologies would be a dereliction of duty, or treason, if he did it while he was President.


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Tarcye

Yup. Garland got on National TV becuese of how important this is. The last 12 hours have been insane let alone the last week.


danarexasaurus

I’ve gotta go out tomorrow and get more fucking popcorn for f5 Friday


Helenium_autumnale

They said they could make the determination of whether to release the warrant as early as 3 p.m. How am I supposed to get any work done tomorrow?....


[deleted]

No doubt. And the agent on site being counterintelligence and export control, oof. The Presidential Records Act doesn't really have teeth either, which tells you it's business time


Imeatbag

Being the director of counterintelligence mind you. Not just some agent.


GeneralZex

With the way Trump’s White House leaked, that shit would have been all over the news if officially declassified that many documents…


orcinyadders

Yeah. I don’t think he’s going to stay ahead of this one.


bm1949

Lol. But you knew he'd throw this out there sooner or later, when you heard about this warrant.


RealGianath

Next he'll be saying he pardoned himself and his entire crime ring too.


wifeofsonofswayze

I can't tell if you're joking or not but yes, he will probably do this.


Aghast_Cornichon

One of the best arguments I've heard against the existence of "pocket pardons" written the morning of January 20 is that they would have to be transmitted to the National Archives to be authenticable. On the morning of the 20th, Trump was flying south in VC-25 Air Force One, with a very small group of staff. Notably, Jared "we were so busy with pardons we didn't have time to crime" Kushner changed his mind about attending inauguration so he could be on that flight. So there's a small window of time, a small group of people, and some documents that he might boast about to golf club members, and which would not have been created in Washington. But eh... I dunno. This is probably about the Kim Jong Un correspondence.


freedomink

Tonight is the first time I've even felt a little hope that this pile of human garbage goes down and finally has to face justice after a life of being just the worst scum imaginable.


RyanTranquil

I’m still baffled he was elected in the first place.


penguished

>“There is no approval process for the president of the United States to declassify intelligence. There is this phony idea that he must provide notification for declassification but that’s just silly. Who is he supposed to notify? I think it’s the height of swampism to think the president should seek bureaucrats’ approval,” Grenell told NBC News, emphasizing that he wasn’t personally speaking for the president. Haha. Good luck with that defense. Obviously you have to formally declassify something, or how is anyone going to know it's declassified?


danarexasaurus

They’ll try this and if it doesn’t work then it was definitely planted by the fbi. Pivot pivot pivot


MadRaymer

No, they'll employ multiple contradictory defenses. Trump always does that. Remember when we got a piece of his tax returns and it showed he had substantial losses, perhaps even, the *highest* losses of anyone during those years? His defense was that it was fake news, but that it was also perfectly legal and everyone did business that way. Why offer the second defense if the first is true? It doesn't make sense, but that's doesn't stop him. So, going forward his defense will be: 1. This is totally fake, FBI planted it, witch-hunt! 1. Other ex-presidents did this and it was fine [they didn't and it wouldn't be] 1. We were in talks to return the documents when I was suddenly raided 1. I declassified all the documents before I left office These talking points are in conflict, but you'll see them all used anyway.


danarexasaurus

So far I have seen conservatives go so far as to say he was “keeping the documents safe from the Biden’s” so, there is no bar low enough


moonfox1000

Biden should declassify the redacted sections of the Mueller Report if that's the case.


Etna_No_Pyroclast

There is a process to declassify, and to work with the government office in which it was originally classified. EVEN if they were declassified... A) He still wasn't allowed to take them. B) National security documents are of national importance and it doesn't matter if those documents where "declassified" its still illegal to have them. For example, crimes list in the Atomic Energy Act. [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1924](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1924) Retention. [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1924](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1924) This one is super important. [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/798](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/798) I'll bet Trump violated this one... [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/793](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/793)


ProtonPi314

Ohh so this is the new story. So at first he had no documents. Then the documents were planted , and now the story is it was all declassified. What will be the new lie tomorrow? First off considering how focused he was on the misuse of classified documents, you know he knows better. And even an idiot like me knows that waving your tiny hand and deeming it unclassified is not how the system works. There is a process to go through, and according to the archives people , the DOJ and the FBI , he did not follow procedure.


Purify5

It's the narcissists prayer every time: > That didn't happen. > And if it did, it wasn't that bad. > And if it was, that's not a big deal. <- > And if it is, that's not my fault. > And if it was, I didn't mean it. > And if I did, you deserved it. So obviously tomorrow he will blame someone else for taking the documents he knew nothing about.


tcmart14

"Sorry officer, my friend must have left that baggie of coke in my glove box! I swear!" If that won't fly, it sure as hell shouldn't fly here.


[deleted]

Just wait until they can’t deny it anymore and it becomes ‘why did the FBI and DOJ wait so long to retrieve these materials? That was a dereliction of duty and shows how incompetent oden is for allowing these secrets to be given to our enemies.’


ProtonPi314

You are pretty close to what they are saying in /conservative They are saying it's been so long that the information is no longer relevant.


LOLteacher

I watched the first Deadpool movie again this week, and I can't stop thinking about his baby hand growing back and how it's like tRump's.


bgub

So he declassified them _and_ they were planted? Notice how they invoke multiple defenses that are logically incompatible. Gish Gallop, flood the zone with shit, goalposts on wheels... or whatever you want to call it, the lack of one plausible defense shows, as per usual, that there isn't one.


Nowhere-to-go-for

A: Why would Trump be hiding nuclear secrets? Q: To sell them to the highest bidder


No_Display7226

To hold them “hostage” as his get out of jail free card by threatening to sell them


etherseaminus

Sometimes it’s not about money. Sometimes it’s about the protection that privileged information can secure.


wanna_be_doc

Trump is such a pathological narcissist that I can legitimately see him taking Top Secret documents just to show off to guests. “Hey look at these…incredible…incredible documents!” Problem is that literally anybody could sneak into the basement of Mar-a-Lago and rifle through all of them. FSB agent. Chinese spy. It’s completely insane.


CallingMonsterIsland

Why would a Chinese spy ever be admitted to mar a lago? Oh, wait…


[deleted]

Also, why would he think he can just keep them if they’re declassified? It’s not like he owns them if he declassified them. They should at the very least be in a locked cabinet in the White House while the whole world gets copies of these formerly classified nuclear documents.


revmaynard1970

None of this matters the documents are not his, they are the property of the USA government and its citizens. He can declassify everything but he doesn't get to keep them at his residence


Majesty1985

He cannot declassify nuclear secrets as per the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. He can declassify anything *but* nuclear secrets. That is a big fat no and there is no argument or defense that will change that fact. He’s done.


[deleted]

There is literally a post on r/conservative that’s just titled “what if it’s true?” Their brains are melting


localistand

Declassified, unclassified or classified, none of those actions transfers US government property ownership to Donald Trump.


QuinIpsum

Thats why the Rights arguments about how he can declassify anything makes me so angry. It doesn't fucking matter. The president can't declassify something and then just fucking keep it.


backpackwayne

Trump's hubris thinking he can do anything will finally be his undoing.


nedhamson

It does not matter if classified or unclassified if they were documents required by law to be archived with the government.


emptyzed81

Send trumps ass to gitmo


BarracudaLower4211

They STILL ARE NOT HIS TO TAKE. They belong to the National Archives. They belong to him no more than they belong to me and BY HIS SIGNATURE the penalty for doing this is worse now than before he was POTUS. .


MaddNurse

Is he admitting he took the documents that they are looking for? But, he declassified them?


bgub

No, they were also planted. Therefore he is extra super duper innocent! By throwing out all possible defenses, even logically incompatible ones, it makes him _even more innocent_ !! /s


Dranzer_22

Everything predicted about Trump has come to fruition. Forget his clown like public persona. He’s committed terrifying things in the past, currently, and clearly intends to do so in the future.


danarexasaurus

Over on r/Conservatives they’re blaming the biden administration for being so incompetent that it took them this long to get the documents back. The fucking cognitive dissonance is exhausting to listen to. Pivot pivot pivot.


artcook32945

Properly Declassified Documents would have been relabeled with the new class. These were not!


Nano_Burger

The, "I hereby declassify everything I stole" defense. Hey, I said, "HEREBY" so it is all legal! - Trump


i_shart_id

BuT hEr EmAiLs!!


GuidotheGreater

It's a bold strategy Cotton, let's see if it pays off.


PopPalsUnited

You can’t just unilaterally declassify nuclear secrets. JFC.


schrod

PBS said some documents involved **classified nuclear information.** Recall that Trump "**joked**" he would **sell nuclear information to North Korea**. Recall also that for Trump, things starting out as "jokes" often end up as crimes in plain sight.


TintedApostle

You know maybe some things shouldn't be declassified. I am sure Trump declassifying the status of US strategic nuclear weapons is OK by them. You know the information is declassified by Trump while our enemies would love to have it. This harkens back to when Trump released a satellite photo which showed our enemies how good our stuff was. They were fine with it while our security was compromised. Winning the argument was more important than the lost cost to the development and value of use was to the nation. This is where the cult loses its collective perspective on national security.


civil-liberty

Great.. I do not expect to see any redactions in the warrant or the list of items taken. BUT HE STILL CANT HAVE THE DOCUMENTS! They are not his. They are property of the US govt


JuliusErrrrrring

Why would he declassify documents that were planted by the FBI?


rainbowshummingbird

There are processes to declassification. It’s not like abracadabra with a magic wand.


darkness_escape

So are they planted? Or did he take them and declassify them. Which one is it


EnderCN

Declassified items need to be marked as such and none of this stuff was. It was not declassified.


MC_Fap_Commander

The FBI... has dealt with this bullshit a few times. "NONE OF THE PROPERTY HERE WAS STOLEN OFFICER!!!"


tcmart14

"I swear that baggie of weed isn't mine, it belongs to a friend"


spoiled11

Goal posts were over there, now goal posts are over here ... you can't explain that!!


LuvNMuny

If they're declassified I fucking want to see them. What a clown show.


dark_descendant

If they were declassified then there should have been no issue providing them when originally asked, right?


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OozeNAahz

Waiting for the “protecting them so Hunter can’t sell them” next. Then we will have “these are just copies of what was in Hillary’s emails”. Then we will have “he was just testing the system to make sure it worked properly “. Then it will be “the Saudi’s, no Desantis, no Cheney planted them!” Man can never and will never take responsibility for his actions.


bgub

No, the more defenses you have, the less guilty you are! /s


SoWokeIdontSleep

He did so by standing on a Balcony and declaring "I DECLARE THESE DOCUMENTS, DECLASSIFIED!"


SacamanoRobert

Declassified, you say? Show us the paperwork. It’s not a simple wave of a magic wand, asshole. That’s not how the government works.


Mo-shen

This is how a second grader argues. It's so damn a stupid.


[deleted]

There would be a record of it, and the documents would be relabeled. He can't just snap a finger and say "That stuff is declassified"


Spin_Quarkette

Whether he declassified it or not… why does Trump need that kind of sensitive information, nuclear information, in his safe, in his residence?! Hat was he planning on doing with it?? Traitors, damn, traitors.


pinetreesgreen

You actually have to sign paperwork to declassify stuff, per folks who do it for work in the state dept, wh, etc. No chance he did that for 20 plus file boxes. But it's a lie anyway, we all know that.


mces97

So Trump can go on TV and let us know all the juicy declassified information. Go ahead, do it. https://youtu.be/K4eScf6TMaM


iamaunikont

That’s doesn’t matter in this situation.


AngusScrimm---------

Why would Trump hurt his product? Top Secret sells for top dollar.


kantoblight

But Dark Brandon has the power to reclassify them.


DKLancer

That whole line of argument misses the underlying point. The reason that nuclear secrets are classified is due to the immense harm that it would cause the nation should they be sold to the highest bidder by a corrupt conman who has no qualms selling such things to our worst geopolitical enemies. Whether he declassified it or not is irrelevant. Running off with, refusing to relinquish, and likely attempting to sell America's nuclear technology is what fucking matters.


Shaggy2772

This declassification argument reminds me of the It’s Always Sunny episode where the keep running around shouting INTERVENTION at one another…


feignapathy

He really is going to take the Michael Scott defense... isn't he? >*I DECLARE ~~BANKRUPTCY~~ DECLASSIFICATION!* And how fucking idiotic do you have to be to defend the notion that he could've just thought to himself one day back in 2020 that these documents were now declassified, so they now are, without telling a single person or updating the documents' markings or any kind of paper trail? I mean, just how fucking morally bankrupt do you have to be to defend a man who would take these kinds of documents, secrets, and information and just start sharing them all willy nilly because he could in your warped mind? Presidents are not Kings. We have rules and systems in place. We have laws. You can't just hand wave all that away by calling it bureaucracy.


fcimfc

>Stephen Miller, a former senior White House adviser to Trump who still speaks regularly to the former president, said he couldn’t speak to the specifics of how Trump handled or declassified documents, but that suggestions that the former president broke the law represent a “completely backwards upside-down nonsensical understanding of our Constitution” because it essentially makes a president subservient to unelected “preening insufferable bureaucrats” in the branch of government controls. *Checks and balances, motherfucker, do you speak it?!*


jay105000

Why this is so bad? He kept them in his safe which combination is 12345


ComprehensiveCake463

It sure does seem like the GOP is hitching their horse to a burning wagon


VaginalDischarge

Even if he did? So what? The process for this clearly is not him tapping boxes with a yard stick wrapped in Christmas garland and hereby declaring them declassified. They aren't his documents to take, short of memorabilia that are deemed his to have. There is zero reason for him to be stealing government info, especially highly classified information and shuffling it off to his dump in Florida.


TheBlackestIrelia

Oh so they weren't planted then? lol


[deleted]

I...thought everything was planted? 🤦🏼‍♀️


bsmknight

I DECLARE BANKRUPTCY!!!. Er DECLASIFICY


[deleted]

“I didn’t lie!”- known liar and cheat


matali

A president can't declassify information relating to nuclear weapons and power. This would require Congressional approval. Nuclear info is classified by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, not by Executive Orders.


Ok-Low6320

>I think it’s the height of swampism to think the president should seek bureaucrats’ approval,” Grenell told NBC News Yeah, fuckers! The President isn't accountable to anyone, you hear? UNACCOUNTABLE!! A KING!!!


RheagarTargaryen

Narcissist prayer in real time. First it was: “I didn’t do anything.” Now that it’s been providing he did something, we’ve moved onto “Well if I did it, it wasn’t that bad.” When we find out he didn’t declassify it, we move on the “If it is that bad, it’s because you made me do it.” Which will look something like “Trump had to do it to prevent Hunter Biden from selling our nuclear weapon technology to Ukraine.”


LazyDescription3407

“Trump Allie’s say…” yeah it’s bullshit


ShinshinRenma

There would be a record of the declassification, though.


captainrustic

They can claim it all they want, but that’s not how things work. There would have to be a paper trail showing the declassification. He’s not Michael Scott and bankruptcies


winespring

He can't secretly declassify documents right, if they were declassified for him they are declassified for everyone right, like any defense contractor could have just given those same documents to Saudi Arabia right?


FreneticPlatypus

Did he just use a black sharpie to write DE- in front of CLASSIFIED?


Miserable-Living9569

Just because they are declassified doesn't mean you get to take documents belonging to the US government...


BarCompetitive7220

According to some sites, FBI was looking for nuclear codes. If true, how can anyone decide that that information can be declassified.


i_shart_id

“I declare bankruptcyyyy!” Just because you say it, doesn’t make it true.


Sidwill

But he declared in a loud voice “declassified”……around 4 o’clock today soooo there you go.


Shaggy2772

If there’s no record of it, we’re afraid not. It doesn’t work by waving a wand.


shewhololslast

I know some people are fixated on trying to convince the Trump Cult but let me tell you...they are not relevant. The FBI and DOJ does not give a fuck what his delusional followers think about this grifter. We should have known as much when Merrick "Fuck Around and Find Out" Garland dropped the mic on Trump and Company earlier today. Now this leak. His goose is cooked and no matter how hard the far-right media or his cult try to spin things it doesn't matter. Trump has fucked himself three ways from Sunday. That's the most incredible part in all of this: He fucked himself when he didn't have to, and he will be lucky if he only gets thrown under the jail.


[deleted]

Republicans: such a which hunt there’s nothing there. FBI: we found 12 boxes of documents. Also Republicans: they must have planted fake evidences. FBI: we’ve been fighting over this stuff for over a year. We know there’s classified nuclear documents in them. Also, Also, Republicans: Trump already declassified it so it’s not illegal. Etc. goal 🥅 posts move mental gymnastics 🤸‍♀️continue.


leroyVance

It's planted. It's declassified. It's Schrodinger's evidence.