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Donald Trump's handling of government documents |
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Donald Trump's handling of United States government records, especially those containing classified information, during his tenure as the 45th U.S. president has come under scrutiny. A number of incidents in which the president disclosed classified information to foreign powers and private individuals have become publicly known, sometimes with distinct national security and diplomatic consequences.[1]
Notably, on May 10, 2017, Trump disclosed classified information to
Other questionable behaviors during his presidency have included Trump's sharing of national defense information on social media and private disclosures, both known and unknown. During Trump's tenure as president, lax security at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago was a cause of concern because of the uncontrolled flow of guests and events at the resort—a concern that endured post-presidency, because Trump retained classified documents after leaving office.
Background
Handling, storage, and disposition of U.S. government records
The Presidential Records Act establishes that presidential records belong to the United States and must be surrendered to the Archivist of the United States at the end of a president's term of office (or second term of office, if consecutive).[3][4]
The law governs the retention and management of records "created or received" by the president, the vice president, their staffs, and certain other parts of the administration. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the agency responsible for the execution of provisions of the law, as well as other laws related to records management.[5]
Classified material
Policies governing the handling of classified records throughout the executive branch have been codified in a series of executive orders, with the most recent being Barack Obama's Executive Order 13526.[6]
Several statutes are also in play. The disclosure of information of national security interest is unlawful under the Espionage Act of 1917, even though that act makes no reference to the classification system, having predated its creation.[7] Information related to nuclear security is governed by the Atomic Energy Act, which deems nuclear information to have been "born secret".[8]
Unauthorized removal and retention of
Handling and destruction of records during presidency
Although under the
Not all materials have been recovered. Trump White House staffers used "burn bags" frequently to destroy documents rather than retain them for handling in accordance with the law.[10] On at least two occasions, Trump apparently flushed documents down the toilet at the White House Residence.[13][14]
Handling and declassifications of classified material
During his four years as U.S. president, Trump took a cavalier attitude toward U.S. classified information.
Trump's erratic behavior led to mistrust from the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, who were also alarmed by Trump's mixing with guests during his frequent trips to Mar-a-Lago, viewing the practice as "ripe to be exploited by a foreign spy service eager for access to the epicenter of American power".
Stephanie Grisham, who was White House press secretary from July 2019 to April 2020 and was the First Lady's press secretary before and after that, later said: "I watched him show documents to people at Mar-a-Lago on the dining room patio. So, he has no respect for classified information, never did."[22]
In October 2020, Trump said on Twitter that he had "fully authorized the total declassification" of all documents related to what he called "the Russia hoax" and the Hillary Clinton email controversy. However, news organizations were told that these documents were still classified, and Trump's then-chief of staff Mark Meadows, in a sworn federal court filing, said that Trump had told him that Trump's "statements on Twitter were not self-executing declassification orders and do not require the declassification or release of any particular documents".[23]
In January 2021, Meadows sought to declassify unreleased
When Trump left office, President Joe Biden barred him from receiving the intelligence briefings traditionally given to former presidents, citing Trump's "erratic behavior".[15][25]
2017 Oval Office incident with Russia
It was later reported that
The report was described as "shocking" and "horrifying" by some commentators and former U.S. intelligence officials.[39] According to current and former U.S. officials interviewed by ABC News, Trump's disclosure endangered the life of a spy placed by Israel in ISIL-held territory in Syria.[40] The classified information Trump shared came from a source described as the most valuable of any current sources on any current external plotting, according to The Wall Street Journal.[41]
Reporting
On May 15, 2017,
Immediately after Trump's disclosure, "which one of the officials described as spontaneous",
The incident was seen as a pivot away from traditional American allies, and towards closer relations with Russia,[43][44] and raised questions on Trump's respect for the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing agreement.[45]
Several commentators stated that by releasing classified information to Russia, Trump jeopardized American and allied intelligence sources, breached the trust relationship with America's foreign partners, threatened the long-term national security of the country, and violated his oath of office through "gross negligence". All of these actions are possible legal grounds towards efforts to impeach Donald Trump.[46][47][48] Aides privately defended the President, stating that Trump did not have sufficient interest or knowledge of the intelligence gathering process to leak specific sources or methods of intelligence gathering; National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster publicly maintained that Trump had not been briefed on the origins of the intelligence in question and therefore could not have compromised the source.[49]
According to conservative commentator Erick Erickson, multiple sources have stated that Trump's actions were far worse than what had been reported, and that one of the Post's sources was a strong supporter of Trump who believed it was necessary to publicly disclose the story because of Trump's inability to accept criticism.[50]
White House response
White House staff initially denied the veracity of the report during the evening of May 15. In a press briefing on the same day, McMaster denied The Washington Post report, saying, "At no time, at no time, were intelligence sources or methods discussed. And the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known. Two other senior officials who were present, including the secretary of state, remember the meeting the same way and have said so. And their on-the-record accounts should outweigh those of anonymous sources." He concluded by saying, "I was in the room, it didn't happen."[51] McMaster said that "it was wholly appropriate to share" the information because of a similar ISIL plot two years earlier.[40]
On May 16, Trump implicitly confirmed a disclosure in a tweet, claiming that, "As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining ... to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism."[32][54]
Origin of intelligence
The May 15 The Washington Post article[28] reported that the intelligence came from an unnamed Middle Eastern ally.[27] On May 16, The New York Times named the relevant ally and source of the intelligence as Israel, saying that as a consequence, Trump's boasts to the Russian envoys could damage America's relationship with Israel and endanger Israel's security if Russia passes the intelligence on to Iran, Israel's main threat in the Middle East.[33] The intelligence was so sensitive that it hadn't even been shared among key U.S. allies.[55]
Israeli intelligence officials were reportedly horrified by the disclosure.
On May 22, while visiting Israel, Trump appeared to confirm both the disclosure and the identity of Israel as the source, telling the press "Folks, folks, just so you understand, just so you understand, I never mentioned the word or the name Israel during that conversation."[60] It had been widely reported before May 22 that Israel was the source.[61][62]
Reactions
U.S. Congress
Speaker of the House Republican Paul Ryan said through a spokesman that he "hopes for a full explanation of the facts from the administration".[27]
Senator
Foreign countries
Reaction from foreign countries was generally negative. A top European intelligence official said that sharing of intelligence with the United States would cease if the country confirms that Trump did indeed share classified information with Russia, because sharing intel with Americans while Trump is president could put their sources at risk.[65]
Burkhard Lischka, a member of the German Bundestag's intelligence oversight committee, said that if Trump "passes this information to other governments at will, then Trump becomes a security risk for the entire western world".[66]
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied the U.S. media reports.[67]
Academics
Several professors of law, political science, and international relations, as well as intelligence experts, were alarmed by Trump's disclosure.
Intelligence expert Amy Zegart of Stanford University noted that Trump revealed code word intelligence, which is the highest layer of classification, even higher than the "top secret" classification. Such information, if revealed, could reasonably be expected to cause "exceptionally grave damage" to the national security of the United States.[68] She wrote, "so just how bad is the damage? On a scale of 1 to 10—and I'm just ball parking here—it's about a billion."[68]
Counterterrorism expert Daniel Byman of Georgetown University said that disclosures such as Trump's could jeopardize intelligence sharing relationships, which "perhaps more than any other policy instrument ... play a vital role in counterterrorism against global terrorist groups like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda."[69] The effects could be "disastrous".[69]
Professor
Harvard Law emeritus professor Alan Dershowitz called the incident "the most serious charge ever made against a sitting president"[71] and said that it was "devastating", with "very serious political, diplomatic, and international implications".[72]
Aftermath
Leaking of sensitive information by the U.S. has led to the review of intelligence sharing arrangements by key allies,[73] and also a review by the Department of Justice regarding the leaks from the United States.[74]
Soon after the Oval Office meeting, intelligence officials reportedly became concerned about the safety of a high-level CIA source within the
2019 tweet revealing spy-satellite capabilities
On August 30, 2019, Trump tweeted a classified image of recent damage to
Intelligence officials were astonished by Trump's public release of a surveillance photo with exceptionally high resolution, revealing highly classified U.S. surveillance capabilities.
In 2023, John Bolton, who had been Trump's national security adviser, said of the tweet: "There's utterly no excuse for that. There's no conceivable reason for that, except it made him feel good to be able to do it."[19]
Other disclosures of intelligence
Disclosures while president
In an April 29, 2017, phone call, Trump told Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte that the U.S. had positioned two nuclear submarines off the coast of North Korea. This was during a time when Trump was warning of a possible "major, major conflict" with North Korea.[80] The locations of nuclear submarines are a closely guarded secret, even from the Navy command itself: "As a matter of national security, only the captains and crew of the submarines know for sure where they're located."[81]
On May 24, 2017, Britain strongly objected to the United States leaking to the press information about the Manchester Arena bombing, including the identity of the attacker and a picture of the bomb, before it had been publicly disclosed, jeopardizing the investigation.[82] British Prime Minister Theresa May issued a public rebuke, and British police temporarily stopped passing information to U.S. counterparts.[83]
In July 2017, after a private meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 2017 G20 Hamburg summit, Trump took the unusual step of confiscating and keeping his interpreter's notes. This led U.S. intelligence officials to express concern that Trump "may have improperly discussed classified intelligence with Russia."[2]
On Christmas 2018, Trump and First Lady
In a December 2019 interview with Bob Woodward, Trump stated, "I have built a nuclear — a weapons system that nobody's ever had in this country before," adding, "We have stuff that Putin and Xi have never heard about before. There's nobody. What we have is incredible."[86]
Later disclosures
In 2021, Trump reportedly told close associates that he regarded some presidential documents, such as correspondence with the North Korean leader
In April 2021, Anthony Pratt, an Australian billionaire, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Trump allegedly told him about U.S. nuclear submarines, and Pratt communicated the information to journalists and over a dozen foreign officials. In 2023, US. federal prosecutors and FBI agents interviewed Pratt twice.[88] Trump allegedly also told Pratt about private calls with the leaders of Ukraine and Iraq.[89]
End of presidency and beyond
Last weeks of presidency
Trump's presidential term ended at noon on January 20, 2021.[90] His departure from the White House was "rushed and chaotic" because he spent his final days in office attempting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 United States presidential election, his false allegations of voter fraud having led to the January 6 United States Capitol attack and his second impeachment. In the last weeks of the Trump presidency, White House staff quit and aides resigned, leaving a small number of assistants in place who would have been able to properly preserve records. A former Trump aide said they were "30 days behind what a typical administration would be".[91] White House staff secretary Derek Lyons attempted to maintain an orderly preservation of records in the West Wing, but he departed the administration in late December, and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump took little interest in doing so, leaving the task to others.[91] The Wall Street Journal quoted a former aide as saying: "If you only start packing with two days left to go, you're just running low on time. And if he's the one just throwing things in boxes, who knows what could happen?"[92]
Archival of presidential records
The day before he left office, in a letter sent to
After Trump left the White House in 2021, NARA began an effort to retrieve documents covered under the Presidential Records Act that Trump had retained. This eventually turned into the FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents after NARA discovered classified documents in the initial batch of 15 boxes they retrieved from Trump. After Trump certified he was returning all remaining government documents in accordance with a grand jury subpoena, the FBI obtained evidence that Trump still possessed documents and had intentionally hid them from his lawyers and the FBI. This led to a search by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022, and found thousands of documents including classified and national security related documents. As of August 2022, the FBI has retrieved hundreds of documents marked with some level of classification both before and as a result of the search warrant. In November 2022, the FBI investigation was taken over by the Smith special counsel investigation.
In December 2023, CNN reported that "a binder containing highly classified information related to Russian election interference went missing at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, raising alarms among intelligence officials that some of the most closely guarded national security secrets from the US and its allies could be exposed [...] In the two-plus years since Trump left office, the missing intelligence does not appear to have been found. The binder contained raw intelligence the US and its NATO allies collected on Russians and Russian agents, including sources and methods that informed the US government’s assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help Trump win the 2016 election. [...]" According to the report, in the final days of his presidency, Donald Trump intended to declassify and release publicly multiple documents related to the FBI's Russian investigation. Several copies of the binder, with varying levels of redactions ended up in the Justice Department and the National Archives, but an unredacted version went missing.[95][96][97]
Indictment
On June 8, 2023, Trump was federally indicted on 37 charges related to documents he retained after leaving office. This was the first time a former U.S. president faced federal charges.
See also
- 2017 electronics ban
- Agent handling
- FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents
- Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (January–June 2017)
- Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (July–December 2017)
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We had a photo and I released it, which I have the absolute right to do.
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