President Donald Trump has for weeks been talking about declassifying information pertaining to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Now, he is making good on his word, and Democrats are assuming a defensive posture.
President Trump has granted Attorney General William Barr the authority to “declassify, downgrade, or direct the declassification or downgrading of information or intelligence that relates to the Attorney General’s review.”
The order has been given
The president delegated the declassification power to Barr in a memorandum he issued on Thursday, May 23.
Addressed to the agency-secretaries of the State, Treasury, Energy, Defense, and Homeland Security, to the Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Intelligence, and to Attorney General Barr (and the Federal Bureau of Investigation by extension), the subject line reads, “Agency Cooperation with Attorney General’s Review of Intelligence Activities Relating to the 2016 Presidential Campaigns.”
Barr, along with the help of U.S. Attorney John Durham, is currently looking into the origins of the investigation into Trump-Russia collusion. This memo will allow him to make previously classified information public.
The decision would seem to give Democrats exactly what they have been asking for — transparency. But, in a sudden twist, they are now attacking the move.
Democrats respond
A key Democrat voice throughout the entire Russia investigation has been Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), head of the House Intelligence Committee. He believes the president’s declassification decision is all part of a “cover-up” Trump is carrying out with the assistance of the attorney general.
“While Trump stonewalls the public from learning the truth about his obstruction of justice, Trump and Barr conspire to weaponize law enforcement and classified information against their political enemies,” Schiff tweeted. “The coverup has entered a new and dangerous phase. This is un-American.”
Exactly how this declassification is supposedly part of a coverup was articulated by Sen. Mark Warner, the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “The President has granted sweeping declassification powers to an Attorney General who has already shown that he has no problem selectively releasing information in order to mislead the American people,” he said.
Warner’s reference was clearly to Barr’s summary of the Mueller report, which stated that the special counsel found no evidence of collusion and that there was no evidence of obstruction. Democrats, of course, claimed otherwise, and in doing so have tried to make Barr look like a Trump parti, san.
Meanwhile, the New York Times and Washington Post have both published articles arguing that the declassification poses risks to the intelligence agencies and members who were involved in the investigation. James Clapper, controversial former director of national intelligence and known Trump foe, asserted that additional declassification of the sort contemplated by Trump “might risk jeopardizing sources and methods.”
Transparency matters
President Trump issued a statement explaining his decision to declassify the information through White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.
“Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election, it read. “Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions.”
Is that not what the Democrats have been asking for all along? Why the sudden change? Were they every really after the truth? Are they hiding something? Time will surely tell.
No comments: