Former Trump officials say his claim of 'standing order' to declassify is nonsense

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There was no standing order to declassify documents

Link to tweet

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/18/politics/trump-claim-standing-order-declassify-nonsense-patently-false-former-officials/index.html

In the days since the FBI seized classified and top secret documents from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, the former President and his allies have claimed that Trump had a "standing order" to declassify documents he took from the Oval Office to the White House residence.

But 18 former top Trump administration officials tell CNN they never heard any such order issued during their time working for Trump, and that they believe the claim to be patently false.

Several officials laughed at the notion. One senior administration official called it "bullsh*t." Two of Trump's former chiefs of staff went on the record to knock down the claim.

"Nothing approaching an order that foolish was ever given," said John Kelly, who served as Trump's chief of staff for 17 months from 2017 to 2019. "And I can't imagine anyone that worked at the White House after me that would have simply shrugged their shoulders and allowed that order to go forward without dying in the ditch trying to stop.....

Multiple sources said they believed that Trump's claim the documents were declassified was nothing more than a transparent attempt to try to defend himself for taking the documents to Mar-a-Lago.

"There is a process to declassify, the president can't just wave a magic wand," a former senior Trump White House official said.

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1. CNN reached out to 18 former top Trump administration officials

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2. Trump's Own Chief Of Staff Debunked 'Declassification' Tweets In 2020 Court Filing

Link to tweet

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mark-meadows-donald-trump-kash-patel-declassified_n_63042417e4b035629bfd8747

Trump did indeed tweet on Oct. 6, 2020: “I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!”

But later that month, Meadows conceded in a sworn declaration to a federal court that Trump’s tweet was not an order to declassify or release those records.

“The president indicated to me that his statements on Twitter were no self-executing declassification orders, and do not required the declassification or release of any particular documents,” Meadows wrote in his sworn statement.

He added that the tweets “related to authority” the president had delegated to Attorney General William Barr concerning records.

Meadows provided the statement after a judge demanded clarification on why the Trump tweets appeared to be in direct opposition to the White House’s position not to declassify the Russia records. Meadows and the White House had indicated earlier that month that no more records needed to or would be released.