POLITICS President Trump: 100+ Mornings After (Term 1 Complete)

I saw my first Biden sign two days ago, and my first Trump sign yesterday.

The Trump sign was not in the city.

I'll be interested to see if a lot of Trump signs get vandalized this year.

 

My buddy works in Maynardville and sent me a pic of a homemade “Black Lives Matter” banner that someone had hung up on the side of their house.

I note this only to give @IP some hope for his old Tennessee home.

 

There have always been a few-- and there also were a few "democrats til I die" types still kicking when I was leaving for college, but they were super conservative and were just hankering for the 1950's and 1960's when the South was deeply blue but the positions of the party were unrecognizable to today... and those folks were still going to vote D by God. I was informed yesterday that the demographics have changed a little, too. Apparently there is even a small Muslim community now in the county. Perhaps my Maynardville of memory is no more. It's a nice place with good people, but poverty has a lot of effects on the human psyche. Also, TVA [uck fay]ed 'em, though almost no one is alive to remember that. The best farm land in the county is under the lake, and the lake front was all imminent domained away with the former property owners left on the sideline as it was later resold.

But I digress.

 

The Silent Majority really isn't much of a thing anyway these days.

 

It's funny how vocal all the spokespersons for the "silent majority" are.

And if they are so silent, how are the mouthpieces hearing about them?

 

So is Trump admitting in advance the stuff in Bolton's book is legitimate?

https://www.the-sun.com/news/987380/trump-john-bolton-book-strong-criminal-problem/

 

My thoughts are on the fact that Bolton refused to testify to the House. If his book comes out and he has a bunch of pertinent stuff to that impeachment inquiry, he pretty much betrayed the American people whether his book stuff is legitimate or not.

 

Seeing as how the National Security Counsel has reviewed the book, I don't know how Trump has a leg to stand on with this.

 

Was he still working for the White House at the time? He may have had no choice in that matter. I cannot remember.

 

He was not IIRC.

They asked him to voluntarily testify. He did not. Dems never went any further with it.

 

If he says its classified, I'm pretty sure it's classified.

Perhaps there is a cleared court that could adjudicate that, but I don't think so.

 

I don't think the president can classify on a whim. Maybe. But that would kind of destroy all transparency, as everything could just be said to be classified.

 

My understanding was that he had ultimate classification authority - but I would think the intelligence committee - or at least the Power 5 - are fully entitled to provide oversight of those things he classifies.

But, maybe my understanding of his classification authority is wrong.

 

I think he can classify whatever he wants, but the declassification of it is up to the agency itself. So he can classify it, and they can turn around and declass it, making the action kinda moot.

 

OK, thanks.

 

POTUS, as CIC, can immediately de-classify / change classification on anything, at any time for any reason. He can get input, and he’s always sought it, but he can de-classify / change on his order, alone.

POTUS is the ultimate authority to de/classify anything.

Link: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/484/518/

 

So he can declassify and no one can counter that - but is he the final authority on whether something is classified? That is more the point of our discussion.

 

There are others who can also class and declass, based on US code and previous EO.

I think that there can be a tug of war, by law. Typically, 10 years to review, but I don't believe that is set in stone in law.

 

From SCOTUS’ ruling in the cited case:

“The President, after all, is the "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States." U.S.Const., Art. II, § 2. His authority to classify and control access to information bearing on national security and to determine whether an individual is sufficiently trustworthy to occupy a position in the Executive Branch that will give that person access to such information flows primarily from this constitutional investment of power in the President, and exists quite apart from any explicit congressional grant.”

(Emphasis mine).

POTUS, as CIC, is the ultimate authority in the classification, declassification and access to information.

He’s not the only authority vested with the ability to de/classify and allow/ deny access to info, but he is the ultimate authority, overall.

Meaning, if everyone in federal government said a document should be Top Secret, POTUS could print it in the newspaper and hand out copies of it at campaign events.

Or, if the entire federal government said that a document should not be Top Secret, and POTUS declared it as such, it would immediately be considered as such, by all.

He is the ultimate authority, in both directions.

 

Absolutely, many others can de/classify information, and must, for the system to have any chance to work.

POTUS can certainly seek and welcome advisement on these matters, and should be under most circumstances, but such is not required, and no tug of war between interests can legally occur.