Former President Donald Trump was indicted on 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents. Oddly enough, the president can unilaterally declassify documents – so Trump could have followed specific procedures to declassify the documents in question and we wouldn’t be talking about any of this.
Yet, Trump seems to have failed to declassify the documents in question and now we’re sorting through a political firestorm. The question is: in failing to follow procedure, did Trump destroy himself? No, I don’t think he did. Rather the incident emphasizes how desperately liberals have been trying to get Trump on something, anything. And the incident serves as a rallying point for a GOP that was finally showing signs of a willingness to explore alternatives to Trump.
Classified documents explained
The classified system is an administrative system that allows the federal government to oversee the manner in which the executive branch handles sensitive information. Information can be classified according to its sensitivity as either confidential, secret, or top secret. Classified information – like most of the documents recovered at Mar-a-Lago – has restricted access, meaning only officials with the appropriate security clearances can access the information and there are limitations on how the information can be transported or stored.
By and large, criminal law is not used to enforce the classification system. Like I said, the classification system is an administrative system. “For the most part, the classification system is about bureaucratic controls,” The New York Times reported. “The main punishment for disobedience is administrative: officials can be admonished, lose their security clearances and be fired.”
Now, the president can absolutely declassify information – “because it is ultimately their constitutional authority.” The president can direct subordinates to declassify material. Or, presidents can just declassify material directly.
Donald Trump: Busted on a technicality
So Trump could have declassified the documents recovered at Mar-a-Lago. He could have basically waved a wand, snapped his fingers, and the documents would have been his to do whatever he liked with. That he didn’t was a lazy oversight – but it was hardly egregious. And now liberals and the DOJ are treating the documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago like some sort of sacred text straight from Mount Sinai.
Getting Trump on a failure to follow the procedures to declassify documents is hall monitor stuff. It means Democrats were just sitting and waiting and watching for Trump to do anything – anything – that could be framed as illegal. Democrats are getting Trump here for parking in a no-parking zone, or for jaywalking. Democrats are getting Trump here for what, 999 times out of 1,000, results in just an administrative slap on the wrist. It’s a zealous overstep and it sets a dangerous precedent. Is this really the standard that we want to hold government officials to for handling classified documents?
Criminal indictments on 37 charges for mishandling classified information? Do Democrats really want that standard in place when Republicans inevitably resume control of the Department of Justice? I don’t think so. And to make the situation, somehow, more partisan and birdbrained, remember that President Joe Biden had classified documents recovered from his office. Remember that Hillary Clinton sent thousands of emails, as Secretary of State, over her private email server. Personally, I don’t care to vigorously investigate or prosecute Biden or Clinton for their missteps. But if you’re going to hold Trump to account, you’ve got to apply that standard universally. Otherwise, we’d have a corrupt system.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
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