The National Archives is set to hand over 16 records to the Justice Department undercutting former President Donald Trump's claim that documents he took home to Mar-a-Lago were automatically declassified, CNN reports.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he could automatically declassify any documents, even arguing that he had the power to declassify records with his mind. He told a CNN town hall last week that "they become automatically declassified when I took them."
Days after the town hall, acting Archivist Debra Steidel Wall sent a letter to Trump informing him that the agency will turn over records "concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records."
Trump tried to block special counsel Jack Smith from gaining access to the records, citing a privilege claim that was rejected by Wall, who noted in the letter that Smith is "prepared to demonstrate with specificity to a court, why it is likely that the 16 records contain evidence that would be important to the grand jury's investigation."
The records "may provide critical evidence establishing the former president's awareness of the declassification process," CNN reported, and "may also provide insight into Trump's intent and whether he willfully disregarded what he knew to be clearly established protocols."
Trump attorney Jim Trusty claimed in an interview with CNN that Trump "relied on the constitutional authority as commander-in-chief… to effectively declassify and personalize" the documents he took home.
Trump has also claimed there was a "standing order" to declassify documents he took home. But 18 former top Trump administration officials told CNN they were unaware of such an order, calling the claim "ludicrous," "ridiculous" and a "complete fiction."
"It has never been a serious legal claim that Donald Trump could declassify documents whenever he wanted without any process, but reports that prosecutors obtained documents showing Trump and advisors knew well the actual process could be very damaging," warned Noah Bookbinder, a former federal prosecutor and president of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
The report shows "Jack Smith is taking direct aim at Trump's 'declassification by mere thought' defense," tweeted Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor.
"Showing the jury the actual process makes it harder for Trump to use that defense," he wrote.
The National Archives letter said that the agency would turn over the documents by May 24 "unless prohibited by an intervening court order."
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig predicted that Trump would try to challenge the move in court.
"He's very likely to challenge it in court and he's very unlikely to prevail," he said, noting that Trump has repeatedly tried and failed to block testimony and the transfer of documents in court over dubious privilege claims.
"He has lost all of these cases!" Honig said. "His record is, essentially, zero wins on executive privilege, all losses. And if he challenges this, he'll have another one in the loss column."
Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance explained that Trump's account is simply "not how declassification works."
"One suspects if there is a trial in this case, there will be people who will have worked in the intelligence community. They will do a powerful job of explaining to the jury that declassification isn't a privilege that makes the president's life easier," she explained on MSNBC. "That's how Donald Trump seems to treat it. This is a remarkable trust that the public places in the commander in chief, this notion of what information is so important that releasing it to the wrong people could do grave damage to our national security."
"That's the language that underlies this notion of top secret classified information," Vance added. "Trump is so cavalier in his treatment of this. This is the sort of thing that you can see blowing up in his face in a trial setting."
