"...He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly & unknown in the night to undermine..he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist.
A murderer is less to fear". Cicero
Pwn All The Things
@pwnallthethings
Jesus they're 18mo in and still don't know how anything works.
mobile.twitter.com/pwnallthethings/status/1041881208513286147
In the statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump directed the declassification of some documents and public release of others "[a]t the request of a number of committees of Congress, and for reasons of transparency."
Asked for the actual presidential directive or directives referenced in her statement, Sanders told BuzzFeed News, "There isn’t anything else, just the statement."
Despite the lack of any formal directive, a Justice Department spokesperson said Monday evening that government agencies were reviewing the documents for release but did not say when that process would be completed. It was not clear if portions of the documents might still be withheld.
“When the President issues such an order, it triggers a declassification review process that is conducted by various agencies within the intelligence community, in conjunction with the White House Counsel, to seek to ensure the safety of America's national security interests," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are already working with the Director of National Intelligence to comply with the President's order.”
The DOJ "review" language — and the lack of a formal directive from Trump — could be key to what happens next, a lawyer who specializes in national security law told BuzzFeed News.
"A direct order from the President to declassify something doesn't trigger a declassification review, because it doesn't give the agency any authority to not declassify anything, even 'to ensure the safety of America's national security interests.' It would be an order to declassify, not an order to review," Kel McClanahan, executive director of National Security Counselors, wrote. "In essence, DOJ is treating this as a Mandatory Declassification Review request, which anyone in the country can make."
www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/chrisgeidner/trump-orders-declassification-fisa-documents?__twitter_impression=true