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Okay, MAGoids, I'ma Say This Once [1]

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Date: 2022-08-13

Today’s spaghetti against the MAGA wall is best summed up by Alia Shoaib for Yahoo News:

Trump's latest defense for Mar-a-Lago documents is everyone 'brings home their work from time to time' and the files were automatically declassified "As we can all relate to, everyone ends up having to bring home their work from time to time. American presidents are no different," said the statement from Trump's office on Friday night read out on Fox News. Trump further claimed that he had a "standing order" to declassify documents "the moment" they left the Oval Office. "President Trump, in order to prepare for work the next day, often took documents, including classified documents, from the Oval Office to the residence. He had a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken into the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them," the statement said.

Um…

In case any of y’all are unfortunately burdened with FOX or “Truth” addicts among your social media or IRL circles, CBS News (among others) has assembled a handy guide to How US Government Documents are Actually Fucking Declassified for MAGA Morons. (They may have used a slightly different headline.)

The basics: De-classifying documents is a long-standing process. While anyone (even you!) can request government information be declassified, and while, yes, the president can order declassification, that is the beginning of the process, not the end.

Your request to see cool secret stuff will be reviewed by the agency that classified the document (and others). The president’s requests as well. But when the POTUS orders it, the process goes forward. And that process, while simple, can’t be bypassed.

The president’s written order is received and logged by the classifying agency, the old classification status is crossed through, and the new classification status is stamped and dated on the document.

There is no such thing as a “standing order” to declassify documents when a president takes them out of the Oval Office and, even if there were, information is not declassified when that is ordered, but when it is noted on the information.

There is no wand or Chief Executive incantation. No Jedi mind trick. It’s just bureaucracy. And law.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/13/2116326/-Okay-MAGoids-I-ma-Say-This-Once

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