Presidential Privilege
17th September 2023
The entire premise of the “Documents Case” against President Donald Trump is illegitimate and a direct assault on the Constitution and the separation of powers doctrine. In pursuing 41 felony counts against the president for possessing classified information, prosecutor Jack Smith is engaged in a work of legal abuse without parallel in American history.
A thorough review of the facts, the law, and the Constitution itself indicates that Donald Trump, as President of the United States, had the right to know every secret contained in the executive branch during his time in office. Moreover, as president, Donald Trump had every right to declassify and make public whatever documents or state secrets he chose while in office. In addition, the correct understanding of the separation of powers doctrine makes clear that Congress does not have the right to proscribe how the president is to conduct purely executive branch business either during or after his term. From these premises we can assert that the Presidential Records Act of 1978 is unconstitutional and that any documents discovered in President Trump’s possession after his presidency are presumptively legal for him to possess and dispose of as he sees fit.