: Even when he was president, Donald Trump lacked the legal authority to declassify a U.S. nuclear weapons-related document that he is charged with illegally possessing, security experts said, contrary to the former U.S. president’s claim.
“The claim that he could have declassified it is not relevant in the case of the nuclear weapons information because it was not classified by executive order but by law,“ said Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert with the Federation of Atomic Scientists. Document No. 19 is marked “FRD,“ or Formerly Restricted Data, a classification given to secret information involving the military use of nuclear weapons. The indictment described it as undated and “concerning nuclear weaponry of the United States.”Trump, who pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, has said he declassified while still in office the more than 100 secret documents he took to his Florida resort home, Mar-a-Lago, a contention echoed by Republican lawmakers and other supporters.
The most sensitive nuclear weapons information is classified as “RD,“ for Restricted Data, and covers warhead designs and uranium and plutonium production, according to a DOE guide entitled “Understanding Classification.” FRD information only can be declassified through a process governed by the AEA in which the secretaries of energy and defense determine that the designation “may be removed,“ according to a Justice Department FAQ sheet.David Jonas, who served for 10 years as general counsel for the U.S.