Trump

Ex-president tells Sean Hannity: 'Because you're sending it to Mar-a-Lago or wherever … There doesn't have to be a process'

There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. There doesn’t have to be a process. Does that change its status?’ are so speculative that their practical meaning is negligible. Trump also told Hannity “there was nothing that was hiding” when boxes were packed to be taken to Mar-a-Lago from the White House in Washington. Some were labeled top secret. [Speaking](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/21/trump-i-could-declassify-documents-by-thinking-about-it-00058212) to Sean Hannity of Fox News in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, the former US president said: “Different people say different things but as I understand it, if you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it.

During an appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show, Donald Trump provided no evidence that he had declassified documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago ...

[Trump issued a “standing order”](https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1558261235883311106) while in office that documents taken to his residence would instantly be declassified. His lawyers have resisted doing so in front of [special master](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/09/06/special-master-trump-documents/?itid=lk_inline_manual_18) Raymond Dearie, the U.S. A GSA spokesperson disputed that, saying while the office assisted with shipping boxes to Florida, it did not pack any. The task was mostly performed by General Services Administration employees, he said, referring to the office that plays a prominent role in presidential transitions. On Hannity’s program, Trump called the lawsuit part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” that has been brewing since he first ran for office. His appearance also followed an announcement earlier in the day that New York Attorney General Letitia James was filing a lawsuit accusing him and his three children of manipulating property values to deceive lenders, insurance brokers and tax officials.

Donald Trump now claims he has the power to declassify secrets "by thinking about it." It'd be funnier if this weren't such a serious mess.

There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. He said he “declassified everything,” but his own team said he didn’t, his lawyers refuse to argue it, and even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. “That question, according to specialists in the law of government secrecy, is borderline incoherent,” the Times concluded. So even if we assumed that Plaintiff did declassify some or all of the documents, that would not explain why he has a personal interest in them.” He said he can declassify “by thinking about it,” but he can’t. And there doesn’t have to be a process. “There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it.... Trump is no longer denying that he took classified materials to his glorified country club. The New York Times recently published The Republican’s own lawyers [carefully avoided](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-lawyers-still-refuse-echo-claims-mar-lago-case-rcna47257) repeating their client’s assertions — in large part because they knew he was lying. [a court-approved search warrant at Mar-a-Lago](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-setback-mar-lago-case-happens-now-rcna48898), Donald Trump introduced a new claim neither he nor anyone on his team had ever floated before. Indeed, people probably should laugh because this is deeply foolish, even by Trump standards.