Should Trump go to jail for mishandling classified information?

[2aguy]

TOP SECRET Documents

Not if he declassified them.......it doesn't matter what the folder says if he, as President, said, "I declassify thee....."

 

[blackhawk]

No.

 

[Stann]

Actually, no, it wasn't, since Trump, as the actual President of the United States, had the sole power to declassify any information at will..........she didn't have that power and broke the law.....

Unfortunately now he is the ex-president and has no right to top secret information like that. And if he declassified it where is the paper trail that shows, proves that he did. Nothing in government happens because you say it happens it happens because of documentation.

 

[Stann]

Not if he declassified them.......it doesn't matter what the folder says if he, as President, said, "I declassify thee....."

Too bad he didn't do his homework as usual. Laziness is definitely one of his strongest adversaries.

 

[Stann]

And Trump as president is the one person allowed to have them. These people are ******* loons.

Perhaps you didn't get the memo, trump hasn't been present for a long time.

 

[2aguy]

Unfortunately now he is the ex-president and has no right to top secret information like that. And if he declassified it where is the paper trail that shows, proves that he did. Nothing in government happens because you say it happens it happens because of documentation.

No, that isn't true....as a former President, he maintains his security clearence, and a SCIFF, and his property is protected 24/7 by the Secret Service.....and, again, if he declassified the information, it isn't top secret anymore......

And, if you had actually researched the topic....he doesn't need a paper trail......he was President, so all he had to say was, this is declassified....even if he brought up top secret information in a conversation with a foreign leader, it is not illegal and is no longer declassified.....

Here.....

"The President, after all, is the ‘Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States’" according to Article II of the Constitution, the court’s majority wrote. "His authority to classify and control access to information bearing on national security ... flows primarily from this constitutional investment of power in the President, and exists quite apart from any explicit congressional grant."

Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, said that such authority gives the president the authority to "classify and declassify at will."

In fact, Robert F. Turner, associate director of the University of Virginia's Center for National Security Law, said that "if Congress were to enact a statute seeking to limit the president’s authority to classify or declassify national security information, or to prohibit him from sharing certain kinds of information with Russia, it would raise serious separation of powers constitutional issues."

The official documents governing classification and declassification stem from executive orders. But even these executive orders aren’t necessarily binding on the president.

The president is not "obliged to follow any procedures other than those that he himself has prescribed," Aftergood said. "And he can change those."
------
Turner noted, however, that this isn’t necessarily a big distinction, since the president is ultimately the decider of what is classified and not. If his appointees disagree with his actions, "he can overrule their decisions," Turner said. "Within the Executive Branch the president is the boss."


PolitiFact - Does the president have 'the ability to declassify anything at any time'?

 

[Stann]

The courts do their jobs. And I am not aware of any circumstances that are impeding that.

What insanity? The crap being perpetrated by the Democrats? How does America get past that deliberately insane crap? It’s not as though the Dims are suddenly going to admit that they’re full of shit and start behaving like mature and responsible people.

Most Americans do not agree with your line of thought. You sound like one of the people who are in The cult following of trump. It's a cancer it's a disease affecting the whole country. It was born in hatred and lies. What else could you expect but hatred and violence.

 

[2aguy]

Most Americans do not agree with your line of thought. You sound like one of the people who are in The cult following of trump. It's a cancer it's a disease affecting the whole country. It was born in hatred and lies. What else could you expect but hatred and violence.

No.....we are telling you how it actually works.....and you are denying it........you guys spent 7 months looting, burning and killing in black neighborhoods to hurt Trump.....violence is what you are, now who we are...

 

[Kondor3]

What was in them? Was there ever anything in them? We should put those folders on a lie detector.

If I heard various news commentators correctly earlier today... each folder has a Control No. which is cross-referenced for content in a Gubmint database.

If true, then the Feds probably ALREADY know what was in those folders... now it's more a matter of (a) prioritizing their retrieval and (b) figuring-out where the contents are.

 

[Stann]

No, that isn't true....as a former President, he maintains his security clearence, and a SCIFF, and his property is protected 24/7 by the Secret Service.....and, again, if he declassified the information, it isn't top secret anymore......

And, if you had actually researched the topic....he doesn't need a paper trail......he was President, so all he had to say was, this is declassified....even if he brought up top secret information in a conversation with a foreign leader, it is not illegal and is no longer declassified.....

Here.....

"The President, after all, is the ‘Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States’" according to Article II of the Constitution, the court’s majority wrote. "His authority to classify and control access to information bearing on national security ... flows primarily from this constitutional investment of power in the President, and exists quite apart from any explicit congressional grant."

Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, said that such authority gives the president the authority to "classify and declassify at will."

In fact, Robert F. Turner, associate director of the University of Virginia's Center for National Security Law, said that "if Congress were to enact a statute seeking to limit the president’s authority to classify or declassify national security information, or to prohibit him from sharing certain kinds of information with Russia, it would raise serious separation of powers constitutional issues."

The official documents governing classification and declassification stem from executive orders. But even these executive orders aren’t necessarily binding on the president.

The president is not "obliged to follow any procedures other than those that he himself has prescribed," Aftergood said. "And he can change those."
------
Turner noted, however, that this isn’t necessarily a big distinction, since the president is ultimately the decider of what is classified and not. If his appointees disagree with his actions, "he can overrule their decisions," Turner said. "Within the Executive Branch the president is the boss."


PolitiFact - Does the president have 'the ability to declassify anything at any time'?

Your opinion is really noted. As is your attempt to try to prove it all. Like I said all along, this needs to be settled in the courts. We all have our own opinions on it. None of them truly represent the 100 % of the truth, hopefully the court findings will.

 

[Stann]

No.....we are telling you how it actually works.....and you are denying it........you guys spent 7 months looting, burning and killing in black neighborhoods to hurt Trump.....violence is what you are, now who we are...

You're talking about social injustice and trying to label it as political that is sick that is part of the problem. After civil rights were enacted back in the sixties we had hope we never see anything like this again but the problem is systemic systemic racism it doesn't belong to Democrats it doesn't belong to Republicans is a serious problem that undermines the productivity and successfulness of this nation it needs to be addressed.

 

[Kondor3]

...No person has ever been or will ever be charged with “High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” ..

That phrase was utilized as a placeholder-label for "The Serious Criminal $hit" that your Orange Albatross is probably facing.

And as a dog-whistle to imply that whatever that "Serious Criminal $hit" turns out to be, it will almost certainly constitute the "high crimes and misdemeanors" that the US Constitution stipulates as a bar to holding office in the United States.

Unfortunate for you that you did not pick up on that... I guess I've gotta dumb that stuff down a bit... my bad... sorry...

...But it’s still all bullshit. And you’re too sadly stupid to even grasp why.

Oh, hell, boy... I can be as dumb as a box-o-rox from time-to-time... but I can see from your latest that I'm in good company.

 

[Stann]

That phrase was utilized as a placeholder-label for "The Serious Criminal $hit" that your Orange Albatross is probably facing.

And as a dog-whistle to imply that whatever that "Serious Criminal $hit" turns out to be, it will almost certainly constitute the "high crimes and misdemeanors" that the US Constitution stipulates as a bar to holding office in the United States.

Unfortunate for you that you did not pick up on that... I guess I've gotta dumb that stuff down a bit... my bad... sorry...


Oh, hell, boy... I can be as dumb as a box-o-rox from time-to-time... but I can see from your latest that I'm in good company.

We're all only human. Everyone needs to realize it and stop considering the other side of the enemy. That is something that only extremists do and extremists do not help this nation at all.

 

[rightwinger]

Not if he declassified them.......it doesn't matter what the folder says if he, as President, said, "I declassify thee....."

 

[BackAgain]

Most Americans do not agree with your line of thought.

I don’t imagine you’re the voice of “most Americans” and I suspect you’re off base.

You sound like one of the people who are in The cult following of trump.

No. I don’t. That’s just you reacting to being disagreed with. It’s not a cult, first off. That’s just an ignorant talking point meaningless buzz word.

It's a cancer it's a disease affecting the whole country.

You sound quite silly at this point.

It was born in hatred and lies.

And really, you’re sounding lame.

What else could you expect but hatred and violence.

You’ve lost the thread of whatever the **** it was you were trying to say.

 

[JimH52]

Trump says he should……

Donald Trump has repeatedly called for lengthy jail sentences for those who he claimed mishandled classified information

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the lengthy jailing of opponents of his who he claimed mishandled classified materials.

www.cnn.com

In my administration, I'm going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law."

"One of the first things we must do is to enforce all classification rules and to enforce all laws relating to the handling of classified information," he said in September 2016.
Speaking in July of that year, Trump said Clinton's mishandling "disqualifies" her from public service.

"Any government employee who engaged in this kind of behavior would be barred from handling classified information," Trump said. "Again, that alone disqualifies her

If he doesn't...the DOJ has set a dangerous precedent.

 

[BackAgain]

That phrase was utilized as a placeholder-label for "The Serious Criminal $hit" that your Orange Albatross is probably facing.

I don’t have any orange albatross. And the term you used wasn’t a place holder. It was just your ignorance on full display.

And as a dog-whistle to imply that whatever that "Serious Criminal $hit" turns out to be, it will almost certainly constitute the "high crimes and misdemeanors" that the US Constitution stipulates as a bar to holding office in the United States.

The US Constitution doesn’t say any such thing. And you still don’t grasp what that term means. An impeachment for some alleged “high crimes and misdemeanors” could lead to a Senate conviction which would yield the removal from office. But you can’t impeach Trump for anything now allegedly done while he wasn’t President.

Unfortunate for you that you did not pick up on that...

Nope. Unfortunate for you that you’re still too stupid to see how meaningless your gibberish is.

I guess I've gotta dumb that stuff down a bit... my bad... sorry...

You couldn’t. You’re already dumber than most living breathing mollusks.

Oh, hell, boy... I can be as dumb as a box-o-rox from time-to-time... but I can see from your latest that I'm in good company.

It’s not just from “time to time.” It’s perpetual. You can’t undo your lobotomy.

 

[ranfunck]

******* moron

 

[Stann]

This discussion is about Trump, if you can't keep on subject please don't post it's that simple.

 

[Stann]

I don’t imagine you’re the voice of “most Americans” and I suspect you’re off base.

No. I don’t. That’s just you reacting to being disagreed with. It’s not a cult, first off. That’s just an ignorant talking point meaningless buzz word.

You sound quite silly at this point.

And really, you’re sounding lame.

You’ve lost the thread of whatever the **** it was you were trying to say.

I'm here more and more crazy ideas from the far right on this site. Some are totally unrelated to Trump and his shenanigans. Deflecting to other issues seems to be a tactic that they like to go to since they can't honestly defend what trump has done. When what he's done violates his own words on the subject, it becomes blatantly obvious that we are dealing with a fool. Maybe a brilliant fool, but still a fool.