(01-18-2023, 12:49 PM)flsprtsgod Wrote:

(01-18-2023, 10:23 AM)mikesez Wrote: Just food for thought, many high level executive branch officials have the power to change classification status, including the Vice President.  However, none of them can do so unilaterally, and there is always a paper trail when it is done.

In the case of both Biden and Trump, it is possible but not likely that the documents they had were declassified after being printed, and just never got their classified markings removed.  The investigators are able to search for and verify that paper trail, but it's unlikely the public would ever be looped in.

That statement is your opinion and factually applies to everyone who serves under the penultimate classification authority. What litigation we have on this is pretty clear that the power to both classify and declassify resides in the Executive to execute at his/her desire without regard to any other restraint. Until we have litigation that says otherwise then Trump had the authority to do what he wanted however he wanted with classified documents. He could walk out to the podium at a press conference and read classified documents at will and be within his authority to do so. And, the most important part, regardless of what you or I think about this there is simply no absolute authoritative position on this because it's a novel legal concept and there's pretty much no precedent for it anywhere. So any position either of us takes is purely speculative, but, of course, I'm right.

The bolded is true.  It's true for Biden's situation as well as Trump's. The two situations are more similar than they are different and should get similar treatment. 

I don't care if neither is punished for mishandling classified documents.  I would rather that both be punished for it.  But the worst case is punish one without punishing the other.

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