Ex-DOJ Director Explains Why Trump’s Russia Declassification Order May Put Him in Legal Jeopardy: ‘There’s No Exception’ for the President

Ex-DOJ Director Explains Why Trump’s Russia Declassification Order May Put Him in Legal Jeopardy: ‘There’s No Exception’ for the President
Elizabeth Preza
and
AlterNet
September 18, 2018Trump

With Donald Trump’s decision on Monday to release texts from former FBI Director James Comes and 20 portions of a surveillance application on former campaign adviser Carter Page, Dan Metcalfe, there former co-director of Justice's Office of Information and Privacy, warns the president may be putting himself in legal jeopardy.

The order, which Trump announced Monday, includes a demand for 20 pages of the Page surveillance application. 

“In addition, President Donald J. Trump has directed the Department of Justice (including the FBI) to publicly release all text messages relating to the Russia investigation, without redaction, of James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Bruce Ohr,” an announcement from the White House declared Monday.

As legal experts told Politico, Trump’s order to release unreacted text messages from Comey and others has “he potential to violate the Privacy Act, a federal law protecting against disclosure of personal information in government files.”

Metcalfe said while he’s “amazed to see” what Trump’s declassification order says, “there is no exception” to the Privacy Act—not even for the president.

"Public interest is not an exception,” Metcalfe told Politico.

Report typos and corrections to: feedback@alternet.org.

Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

Understand the importance of honest news ?

So do we.

The past year has been the most arduous of our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be catastrophic not only to our health - mental and physical - but also to the stability of millions of people. For all of us independent news organizations, it’s no exception.

We’ve covered everything thrown at us this past year and will continue to do so with your support. We’ve always understood the importance of calling out corruption, regardless of political affiliation.

We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, no matter the amount, makes a difference in allowing our newsroom to bring you the stories that matter, at a time when being informed is more important than ever. Invest with us.

Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.

Click to donate by check.

DonateDonate by credit card
Donate by Paypal
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}
@2022 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com.