#Espionage definition dictionary for free#

Key takeaway from both is: Yes, the President has the power to make decisions about the classification of information. He had a standing order … that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them.” īoth make similar points with slightly different emphases and are worth reading. Solomon: “President Trump, in order to prepare the work for the next day, often took documents, including classified documents, to the residence. In both cases, the authors are reacting to a claim that John Solomon made last Friday defending Trump’s possession of the documents: The other, by Philip Bump is available behind the Washington Post paywall.

One, by, former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, is freely available to all at Lawfare. Getting to the specifics of (de)classification, in addition to the New York Times article listed above, tease out some important complexities around Presidential presidential powers and processes.

#Espionage definition dictionary for free#

Īside: If you are ever interested in reading a Times article and do not have a subscription, you can sign up for free 3-day access via the San Francisco Public Library. It makes no reference to classification status, and prosecutors in an Espionage Act case do not need to prove that anything was deemed classified. He Espionage Act of 1917 - one of the laws cited in the search warrant - protects secrets that it defines as defense-related information that could harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary. (BTW: I look forward to hearing from some of our commenters like Andy who have direct experience with these systems).įirst, before getting to the discussion, I think it’s important to restate that the alleged crimes listed in the FBI Mar A Lago search warrant do not have to hang on the classification status of documents, as Charlie Savage notes in a useful primer published by the New York Times:

Here are selections from two recent essays that I think bring up some useful points for non-experts like myself to understand things a little more clearly. Over the last week or so, this is a topic that has received a lot of analysis. James kicked us off this morning with a discussion about sitting Presidents’ power to regulate state secrets.