With all due respect, I've spent my entire career in this area. I don't need to copy & paste other people's editorializing. It's abuse of power, because he didn't consult with anyone. It would literally be treason for anyone else; for him it's technically not absolute treason, but still a treasonous act.
Whether or not you agree with his agenda (and I challenge anyone to tell me what that is), you can't deny that he acts without thought. Why else would he fire the guy leading an investigation against him?
(i know inflection can be hard to interpret in print sometimes so just know that if any of this appears sarcastic or combative i swear that is not my intent.)
ok so this is your area of expertise, that's neat because i've had fun pondering how exactly this presidential power works over the past couple hours and have some questions.
why is it a treasonous act? if the president has the authority to declassify just about anything he wants then doesn't the simple fact that he holds that office exempt him from the law that applies to everyone else? yes i agree (if this actually happened) he likely didn't consult with anyone and it just came out during conversation. why does that matter? my assumption is that this power to declassify material doesn't come with the caveat that he needs to discuss it with others first. yes that would be the professional thing to do, and i agree with meme that he probably just spilled it cause he is a blabbermouth, but that is the president's prerogative.
also, how does it work for the rest of the president's staff in the room? once the president shared this info is it then declassified for everyone or is it just declassified when the president says it but remains classified for everyone else? i wonder this because the wapo source shared this classified(?) info with the paper. they decided not to print the details but wasn't the source committing treason by telling the paper?
i truly find it fascinating to think about. lets say we are in the same room and you are the president and i am a member of your staff. if i speak first and say this classified info i am committing treason but then if you say the exact same thing right after me you are doing nothing wrong at all because the law says that's your right at POTUS.
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