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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWilliam Barr's New Authority to Declassify Anything He Wants Is a Threat to National Security
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/trump-william-barr-declassification-national-security-dan-coats-threat.htmlWilliam Barrs New Authority to Declassify Anything He Wants Is a Threat to National Security
By Joshua A. Geltzer and Mary B. McCord
May 28, 2019
11:25 AM
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump suggested that he trusted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to keep his promise to Trump about the countrys nuclear program more than he trusted his own national security officials who have warned him about that program. It was just the latest example of Trump demonstrating disdain for the U.S. intelligence community and broader national security apparatus, but it came on the heels of a perhaps even scarier one. Trumps decision last week to hand over unilateral authority to declassify Americas intelligence secrets to an attorney general who continues to act as if hes Trumps personal lawyer threatens to endanger intelligence sources, frighten our allies, and irreparably harm our national security.
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This is just the latest manifestation of Trumps dismal view of our nations intelligence community. Time and again, he has shown disregard and disrespect for the assessments of intelligence professionals. Recall the presidents Helsinki meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when Trump publicly embraced the position of the Russian leader that no interference had occurred, over the contrary opinions of his own intelligence community. Or remember his bizarre personal letters exchanged with Kim Jong-un. To its credit, the intelligence community has generally stood firm in its views despite Trumps preference for the promises of foreign dictators.
That history underscores what last weeks order reveals about Trumps view of Barr. As a practical matter, the order gives Barr supremacy over the intelligence community by allowing him to declassify its secrets at will. As a conceptual matter, the order may be even more extraordinary by empowering Barr to direct the declassification of the intelligence communitys secrets. Trump is thus making one Cabinet memberBarrsuperior to his fellow Cabinet members on the matters of their own agencies. If this involved the exercise of their statutory authorities, it would be clearly unlawful. However, because this is a delegation of the presidents own authority to classify and declassifyas implemented via earlier executive ordersit may be lawful. But its a terrible and dangerous approach to governance. Trump is rewarding the Cabinet member whos been most political, most loyal, most obedient, by elevating him over other Cabinet members who have been providing nonpartisan intelligence assessments to keep our country safe.
As alarming as last weeks order must have been to the U.S. intelligence community, imagine what our foreign allies must think. On Friday, Trump made clear that he wants Barr to use his review to look at the role British and Australian intelligence services played in the Russia probe, because there was a hoax that was perpetrated on our country. This represents an extraordinary threat to the intelligence these and other countries share with us and often help us to acquire and protect as well as to the people gathering that intelligence. Itquite reasonablyseems certain to decrease their trust in Washingtons will to protect sources, methods, and intelligence; in turn, its likely to decrease how much they share. Ultimately, politically driven declassification and a decrease in intelligence sharing by U.S. partnersand especially the combinationcould endanger the lives of Americans. Although Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats has expressed confidence that the attorney general will work with the IC in accordance with the long-established standards to protect highly-sensitive classified information that, if publicly released, would put our national security at risk, its unclear if those standards will in fact be respected by Barr, given that the order requires him to consult with the intelligence community about declassification only, as noted above, if Barr himself deems it practicable.
To our closest allies, and to the women and men who have risked their livesand in some cases, diedto acquire intelligence to protect our nation, the presidents order says a lot about his view of national security: not as a sacred responsibility of an American president, but as something that can be exploited for political advantage. Thats a terrible price for the rest of us to pay.
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William Barr's New Authority to Declassify Anything He Wants Is a Threat to National Security (Original Post)
babylonsister
May 2019
OP
shraby
(21,946 posts)1. I never thought I'd see the day we'd have a treacherous, traitorous, irresponsible
president who would actively work to lower our safety. He is even proud of what he's doing.
Ptooie!
bigbrother05
(5,995 posts)2. Based on his summary of the Mueller report, he'll cherry pick for Trump
Anything he releases will look like a kidnapper's ransom note with things assembled from random sources to spell out a false narrative.
The GOP is now a rotting carcass being ravaged by a pack of hyenas.