Declassification Specs
On Thursday night PDJT issued a memo which gave AG Barr specific powers and marching orders relating to declassifying matters relevant to the Russia investigation and its origins. What exactly is the authority that PDJT has delegated to AG Barr?
To understand this one first has to understand what the President’s authority is on classification and declassification. The President has the power to classify and declassify anything. This makes sense since he is the commander-in-chief. Independent experts as well as experts on both sides of the aisle agree concerning this legal power of the president. Whether such actions are wise or not is another story.
Normal classification and declassification duties are usually performed by people lower in the food chain so to speak. This is because they have been delegated to do so, usually by an appointee chosen by the President. These kinds of activities take place in many different departments within the federal government.