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Former President Donald Trump said that the very fact he shipped documents to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving the White House automatically meant they were declassified.
In an interview that aired Wednesday evening, Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity asked Mr. Trump to describe the declassification process he went through for the papers in dispute, and he brushed the premise aside.
“There doesn’t have to be a process as I understand it,” Mr. Trump said.
“If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify, just by saying ‘it’s declassified,’ even by thinking about it,” the ex-president said.
He elaborated that sending documents from the White House is declassifying them.
“You’re sending it to Mar-A-Lago or to wherever you’re sending it. There doesn’t have to be a process. There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. You’re the president, you make that decision, When you send it, it’s declassified. I declassified everything,” he said, stressing the last word for emphasis.
