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

[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.