By The Financial District
May 29, 20232 min
The National Archives has informed former president Donald Trump that it is set to hand over to special counsel Jack Smith 16 records which show Trump and his top advisers had knowledge of the correct declassification process while he was president, several sources told Jamie Gangel, Zachary Cohen, Evan Perez and Paula Reid of CNN.
Photo Insert: The 16 presidential records, which were subpoenaed earlier this year, may provide critical evidence establishing the former president’s awareness of the declassification process.
In a May 16 letter obtained by CNN, acting Archivist Debra Steidel Wall writes to Trump: “The 16 records in question all reflect communications involving close presidential advisers, some of them directed to you personally, concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records.”
The 16 presidential records, which were subpoenaed earlier this year, may provide critical evidence establishing the former president’s awareness of the declassification process, a key part of the criminal investigation into Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
The records may also provide insight into Trump’s intent and whether he willfully disregarded what he knew to be clearly established protocols, a source familiar with recent testimony provided to the grand jury by former top Trump officials said.
Trump and his allies have insisted that as president, Trump did not have to follow a specific process to declassify documents. At a CNN town hall last week Trump repeated the claim that simply by removing classified documents from the White House he had declassified them.
“And, by the way, they become automatically declassified when I took them,” Trump said.
Reporting for Raw Story, Sarah K. Burris said former Republican Ethics Czar for George W. Bush, Richard Painter, explained that it's an example of Trump lying to the federal government, a breach of 18 USC 1001.
"Yet another felony." National security lawyer Mark Zaid said that Trump's "awareness" of the classification process goes to Trump's state of mind, "which is what criminal cases are generally about."