“As president, I have the right to declassify documents, and the process is automatic. If I take them with me, it’s automatic. Declassified.”
Donald Trump
president. A speech after his indictment. Claim dated 4 Apr 2023.
PolitiFact rated thisThe courts disagree
What PolitiFact found
Presidents do have an unusual degree of authority to declassify documents, but formal follow-through is required.
Their words, from the summary they publish with the rating.
In short
Donald Trump (president) made this claim around 4 April 2023. PolitiFact (United States) looked into it and published its finding on 5 April 2023, 1 day later. Its rating was “The courts disagree”.
Donald Trump has 1,168 checked claims in this archive. Fact-checking organisations rated 663 of them false or fake, 375 misleading or mixed and 13 true.
This check was done by PolitiFact, not by DoesItStand. We list it so you can find it. Their full evidence and reasoning are in their article.