Wyoming GOP Senator Admits Trump Can't Declassify Docs By Just Thinking About It

Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso acknowledged that former President Donald Trump cannot declassify documents simply by declaring it so or "even by thinking about it," as Trump has suggested he could, Meghan MacPherson reported for ABC News.

Photo Insert: Barasso, who also said that he isn't versed in the rules of declassification, wants to get a briefing from the DOJ on the investigation, but has also acknowledged: "I don't think a president can declassify documents by saying so, by thinking about it."

During an exclusive interview on ABC's "This Week," Barrasso was asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos about Trump's handling of classified material, which is under federal investigation as Trump denies wrongdoing.

Stephanopoulos asked if Barrasso agreed with how Trump described the president's declassification power.

Barrasso said that he had not heard about such a claim and pivoted to criticizing the Department of Justice's court-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago. He said that he had "never seen anything like that before" and that it had "become political."

Stephanopoulos pushed back: "That was a rhetorical question. You know that a president can't declassify documents by thinking about it."

He asked, "Why can't you say so?"

The senator, who also said that he isn't versed in the rules of declassification, wants to get a briefing from the DOJ on the investigation, then agreed with Stephanopoulos. He said: "I don't think a president can declassify documents by saying so, by thinking about it."

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