Potential Clash Over Secrets Looms Between Justice Dept. and C.I.A.
'President Trumps order allowing Attorney General William P. Barr to declassify any intelligence that led to the Russia investigation sets up a potential confrontation with the C.I.A. It effectively strips the agency of its most critical power: choosing which secrets it shares and which ones remain hidden.
Mr. Trump said on Friday that he wanted Mr. Barr to get to the bottom of what the intelligence agencies knew about the investigation into his campaign. He promised, Were exposing everything.
The president raised questions about C.I.A. involvement in the origins of the Russia investigation, and other officials said Mr. Barr wanted to learn more about sources in Russia, including a key informant who helped the C.I.A. conclude that President Vladimir V. Putin ordered the intrusion on the 2016 election. Mr. Trump also invoked two close allies, Australia and Britain, telling reporters he wanted the attorney general to examine their roles in sharing intelligence about Russias interference.
The declassification order served as Mr. Trumps counterpunch to the special counsels investigation. Since the release of the Mueller report, the president has been trying to focus attention on his accusations that the F.B.I. and intelligence agencies spied on his campaign. The new order, former officials said, could be intended to give more ammunition to that effort.
The intelligence agencies signaled on Friday that they would not easily give up their secrets. Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, pledged to cooperate with the review but also warned that the secrets of the intelligence community, or I.C., must be protected.
I am confident that the attorney general will work with the I.C. in accordance with the long-established standards to protect highly sensitive classified information that, if publicly released, would put our national security at risk, Mr. Coats said in a statement.
Though the ultimate power to declassify documents rests with the president, Mr. Trumps delegation of that power to Mr. Barr effectively stripped Mr. Coats and the C.I.A. of control of their secrets. The move could endanger the agencies ability to keep the identities of their sources secret, former intelligence officials said.
Mr. Coats and Gina Haspel, the C.I.A. director, will fight hard to ensure that their most valuable secrets the identities of sources are protected, former officials have said. Ms. Haspel has been described as a fierce political infighter, but she has also been careful to cultivate a strong working relationship with Mr. Barr, former officials said.'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/us/politics/trump-barr-declassify-intelligence.html?
dhill926
(16,383 posts)elleng
(131,345 posts)with big and damaging consequences.
Midnight Writer
(21,843 posts)scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)I'd much rather know what's happened since then - especially now that Dan Coats has resigned this week.
ROB-ROX
(767 posts)I had a top secret clearance and "Q" (over 30 years.) The idiot can NOT declassify anything because he ain't QUALIFIED or have the "clearance" to declassify information. The damn TRAITOR does not have any clearance because he is a BIG security risk. This whole CIA release of information is another Russian undercover exposure job. Old bone spurs will do anything for a buck.....
Page 4:
Security clearances are not mandated for the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices, or other constitutional officers. The criteria for election or appointment to these positions are specified in the U.S. Constitution, and except by constitutional amendment, no additional criteria (e.g., holding a security clearance) may be required.18 Further, by tradition and practice, United States officials who hold positions prescribed by the Constitution of the United States are deemed to meet the standards of trustworthiness for eligibility for access to classified information.19
Additionally, as Commander-in-Chief, the President has the authority to establish the standards for access to classified national security information. This authority is typically exercised through the issuance of executive orders. Executive Order 13467, which covers suitability checks and security clearances for federal employees, applicants, and contractors, includes a determination of which executive branch individuals are covered and which are exempted.
It's like when my boss's boss makes a decision that we don't like. "He's got his head up his butt, he can't decide that!" And yet our contracts say he's our boss and that if we don't obey we can be discharged. So the typical response from the person who says that, clearly thinking with their butt, is, "Yes, yes he can, and if you don't like it may I suggest you take the rest of your career off and go o vacation."