History Behind News Program

S3E23: Classified Docs - Espionage Act, Executive Orders & the Constitution


Listen Later

A former U.S. president has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents, including the willful retention of classified information and obstruction.

The 49-page indictment of Mr. Donald Trump can be accessed via the following journals: NYTimes & WSJ.


Did you know that the definition of classified information is largely dependent on presidential executive orders? And did you know that President Richard Nixon's executive order on classified information, is the model that many look to for clear examples of what type of disclosures may cause damage to our national security and, hence, should be protected as classified information?


In this episode, Professor Heidi Kitrosser speaks to us about the willful retention of national defense information, and the legal implications of such conduct under the Espionage Act. She will also directly address Mr. Trump's retention of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago. In addition, she'll tell us about the history of classified information, e.g., what constitutes classified information? Who can designate information as classified? Who has access to them? And how all of this plays out in our system of separation of powers? With regards to this last point, Prof. Kitrosser points out something interesting - that U.S. courts and Congress may be intentionally skirting the responsibility of defining and categorizing classified information. She explains why this may be to their political benefit.


Ms. Kitrosser is a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. She is an expert on the constitutional law of federal government secrecy, and on separation of powers and free speech law more broadly. She is the author of the following book: Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution, which was awarded the 2014 Chicago-Kent College of Law / Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize. She is on the steering committee of a new initiative – the Free Expression Legal Network (FELN) spearheaded by Yale’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic and the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press. To learn more about Professor Kitrosser, you can visit her academic homepage, the link for which is provided in the detailed caption of this episode.


I spoke with Prof. Kitrosser back in October, when the investigation into former President Trump's documents in Mar-a-Lago and its coverage in the news media started to really intensify. As you will note, that earlier conversation is highly relevant to our current news.

You may also be interested in an earlier episode, in which, my guest, Prof. Michael Gerhardt, answers the following question: can Mr. Trump be disqualified from running for president? Prof. Gerhardt and I also talked about Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland and Richard Nixon, who were all struggled to reach or return to the White House in one way or another, and we compared them to Mr. Trump. Click here to listen: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E41

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music
  2. promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.

  4. ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    History Behind News ProgramBy Adel Aali, History Behind News

    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    76 ratings


    More shows like History Behind News Program

    View all
    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

    38,635 Listeners

    The Moth by The Moth

    The Moth

    27,292 Listeners

    The Bill Simmons Podcast by The Ringer

    The Bill Simmons Podcast

    30,072 Listeners

    Pod Save America by Crooked Media

    Pod Save America

    86,520 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    111,441 Listeners

    Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

    Stay Tuned with Preet

    32,392 Listeners

    Today, Explained by Vox

    Today, Explained

    10,107 Listeners

    Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend by Team Coco & Earwolf

    Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

    59,259 Listeners

    The Bulwark Podcast by The Bulwark

    The Bulwark Podcast

    11,610 Listeners

    Strict Scrutiny by Crooked Media

    Strict Scrutiny

    5,601 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    15,216 Listeners

    The Lincoln Project by The Lincoln Project

    The Lincoln Project

    8,953 Listeners

    Main Justice by MSNBC

    Main Justice

    7,058 Listeners

    Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson

    Letters from an American

    5,158 Listeners