Trump

Prosecutors scrutinizing Donald Trump for possible mishandling of classified information will have to do so without a key legal and factual element that has long been a staple of such cases, according to intelligence experts. That's because, unlike the vast majority of federal workers who access secret information, presidents are not made to sign paperwork on classified documents as part of their joining or leaving the government. Typically, when a person gets access to restricted information, they are "read in" — a process that includes signing documents at the outset, in which they acknowledge the legal requirements to not share information on sensitive programs with unauthorized people or keep classified documents in unauthorized places. When they leave such jobs, they are "read out," again acknowledging in writing their legal responsibilities and declaring that they do not have any classified documents in their possession. David Priess, a former CIA officer who is publisher of Lawfare, a national security website and podcast producer, said presidents are not read out of classified programs when they leave office. That, he said, "is because presidents are not formally read in." Said Priess: "There's a myth out there that presidents have a formal security clearance. They don't." The "commander in chief has the ability to classify or declassify documents," Priess said, by virtue of having been elected president by the American people. "A former president might receive access to limited classified material after leaving office to assist with writing memoirs or at the discretion of the current president, but a formal security clearance isn't involved."

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2022-08-25/trump-myth-presidential-security-clearance-7102154.html
Source - Stars and Stripes

Stripes - Prosecutors scrutinizing Donald Trump for possible mishandling of classified information will have to do so without a key legal and factual element that has long been a staple of such cases, according to intelligence experts. That's because, unlike the vast majority of federal workers who access secret information, presidents are not made to sign paperwork on classified documents as part of their joining or leaving the government. Typically, when a person gets access to restricted information, they are "read in" — a process that includes signing documents at the outset, in which they acknowledge the legal requirements to not share information on sensitive programs with unauthorized people or keep classified documents in unauthorized places. When they leave such jobs, they are "read out," again acknowledging in writing their legal responsibilities and declaring that they do not have any classified documents in their possession. David Priess, a former CIA officer who is publisher of Lawfare, a national security website and podcast producer, said presidents are not read out of classified programs when they leave office. That, he said, "is because presidents are not formally read in." Said Priess: "There's a myth out there that presidents have a formal security clearance. They don't." The "commander in chief has the ability to classify or declassify documents," Priess said, by virtue of having been elected president by the American people. "A former president might receive access to limited classified material after leaving office to assist with writing memoirs or at the discretion of the current president, but a formal security clearance isn't involved."

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2022-08-25/trump-myth-presidential-security-clearance-7102154.html
Source - Stars and Stripes