Trump lacked power to declassify secret nuclear weapons document, experts say
- Donald Trump last week pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges related to mishandling of classified documents
- The documents included details about US nuclear weapons, which Trump claimed he declassified
Even when he was president, Donald Trump lacked the legal authority to declassify a US nuclear weapons-related document that he is charged with illegally possessing, security experts said, contrary to the former US president’s claim.
The secret document, listed as No 19 in the indictment charging Trump with endangering national security, can under the Atomic Energy Act only be declassified through a process that by the statute involves the Department of Energy and the Department of Defence.
For that reason, the experts said, the nuclear document is unique among the 31 in the indictment because the declassification of the others is governed by executive order.
“The claim that he (Trump) could have declassified it is not relevant in the case of the nuclear weapons information because it was not classified by executive order but by law,” said Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert with the Federation of American Scientists.
The special status of nuclear-related information further erodes what many legal experts say is a weak defence centred around declassification. Without providing evidence, Trump has claimed he declassified the documents before removing them from the White House.
Prosecutors likely will argue that declassification is irrelevant because Trump was charged under the Espionage Act, which predates classification and criminalises the unauthorised retention of “national defence information”, a broad term covering any secrets that could be helpful to the nation’s enemies.