Official US Government policies on declassifying classified documents (re: Trump doing so)

[steve2470]

http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=365986&p=2473120

Introduction.

For the most part, individual federal agencies decide whether to classify or declassify information they create. They do so on the basis of Executive Order 12958, 60 Fed. Reg. 19,825 (as amended by Exec. Order 13292, 3 C.F.R. 197 (2004)) and guidance issued by the Information Security Oversight Office of the National Archives and Records Administration (ISOO). Appeals of classification decisions are decided by the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel.

Information Security Oversight Office [http://www.archives.gov/isoo/].

In addition to issuing guidance to other agencies on classification matters, the ISOO also gathers and analyzes statistics on other agencies' classification programs, and provides program and administrative support for the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (see VIII.c., below).

The primary bases of the ISOO's authority are the following statutes and executive orders:

50 U.S.C. §§ 435-438 provide the procedural outlines for the classification of information and the safeguarding of classified information.

Executive Order 12958, 60 Fed. Reg. 19,825 (as amended by Exec. Order 13292, 3 C.F.R. 197 (2004)), http://www.archives.gov/isoo/policy-documents/eo-12958-amendment.html, prescribes a uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information. It also establishes a monitoring system to enhance its effectiveness.

I would quote a lot more but obeying DU's copyright rule.

Any lawyers wanna weigh in on whether Trump can de-classify on the fly ? My guess is that he can, but that's only a guess.

[steve2470]

1. "Does the president have 'the ability to declassify anything at any time'?"

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/may/16/james-risch/does-president-have-ability-declassify-anything-an/

Risch said, "The minute the president speaks about it to someone, he has the ability to declassify anything at any time without any process."

We found broad agreement that a president, using powers granted by the Constitution, is able to declassify essentially anything. However, experts added that Risch’s comment was not entirely on point for the particular situation involving Trump.

In this case, it appears Trump didn’t actually use his declassification power before talking to the Russian officials, and just because Trump’s actions were legal doesn’t necessarily mean they were wise. These caveats add nuance to analyses of what Trump did.

The statement is accurate but needs clarification and additional information, so we rate it Mostly True.


So, that saves everyone work. Unless Politifact is wrong.