Trump was a powerful man. As such, Trump says whatever he wants to say, and the truth doesn't matter to him.
The
Times reports, "At least one lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump signed a written statement in June asserting that all material marked as classified and held in boxes in a storage area at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and club had been returned to the government."
Insider reports, "The FBI recovered
11 sets of classified records from Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, some of which were
marked top secret and meant to be stored in special government facilities because of their sensitive nature, according to the inventory of seized items."
Of course, we know the lawyer's statement was false. So, why did Trump say it? Because, under the circumstances, in his mind, the fantasy would clear him of wrongdoing.
So, he said it. The fact that it was pure fantasy didn't bother Trump one bit.
Trump has another fantasy designed to protect him from legal complications. He says now that
he had a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them."
Actually, that fantasy is rather humorous. Trump really is a dunderhead. Of course, his loyal followers will believe him. They always do.
The procedure by the President to declassify documents is a bit more complicated than that. Rep. Jim Hines explains.
"Of course, he's going to say that because it creates a little bit of confusion and throws a bit of mud into the water. But I can tell you as someone who also sees the most sensitive information this country has, that's utter baloney," Hines said.
Himes told
MSNBC that while the President is a declassifying authority, there is a "really elaborate documented process for declassification," which can often take months.
The
Times elaborates, "Apart from the fact there is no evidence that such an order actually existed, the notion has been greeted with disdain by national security legal specialists. Glenn S. Gerstell, the top lawyer for the National Security Agency from 2015 to 2020, pronounced the idea that whatever Mr. Trump happened to take upstairs each evening automatically became declassified — without logging what it was and notifying the agencies that used that information — “preposterous.”
This astonishing jump in falsehoods is the story of Trump’s tumultuous reign. By the end of his term, Trump had accumulated 30,573 untruths during his presidency — averaging about 21 erroneous claims a day.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/
Trump's devoted followers aside, is there any reason in the world why Americans should believe anything Trump says? Proof of his willingness to create fantasies was presented here