A lot of discussion in the press about
#CodeWord
-level security clearance & whether Presidential phonecalls with foreign leaders should receive it.
A brief thread, to help clear up some inaccurate reporting (and some *very* inaccurate White House messaging: <1/8>
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#CodeWord
clearance is a subset of
#TopSecret
clearance:
-It does *not* require a special codeword to access. That's just what it is called. It is more formally called
#SCI
, for Sensitive Compartmented Information.
<2/8>
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#CodeWord
/SCI-level clearance is held by many people throughout the Executive Branch, Congress, & outside contractors.
There are a number of sub-compartments within SCI, some of which are more tightly held than others.
I am not allowed to tell you what they are.
<3/8>
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(Why can't I tell you what the sub-categories of
#CodeWord
/SCI clearance are?
Because I-- unlike certain people in the Executive Branch-- follow the rules).
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Why are presidential conversations w/foreign leaders typically *not* classified at Codeword?
-Classification is (or should be) based on need: Is the info derived from sensitive collection methods? A presidential phonecall is not (unless SCI info is discussed on the call).<5/8>
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Presidential conversations w/foreign leaders generally *need* to be shared across govt: That's the only way for US officials to know how to carry out what the leaders have decided. Slapping a
#Codeword
designation on a call is not normal: It defeats the whole purpose
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Even in (rare) cases where
#CodeWord
/SCI-level intel is discussed on a presidential phonecall, the normal procedure would be to redact these portions, and keep as much of the read-out as possible at low classification: That's how bureaucracy can follow up on action items. <7/8>
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Bottom line:
1. There is no legitimate rationale for classifying the
#Ukraine
phonecall at
#CodeWord
/SCI level. Same may be true for calls w/leaders of
#Russia
&
#SaudiArabia
.
2. Classification is meant to protect the secrets of the nation. Not those of the President.
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@JonahBlank
@chrislhayes
“ in accurate White House messaging”, there any other kind from this White House? 🤷🏻♀️
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@JonahBlank
@chrislhayes
Over classifying documents or calls is just as bad as not classifying them. Trump is abusing his power & position to hide politically damaging calls. Improper use of classifications. Those involved must be held accountable.
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@JonahBlank
Thank you for explaining. Good thing it isn't a code word. We all know Trump's is
"Ivanka". 😌😌
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@JonahBlank
@chrislhayes
Thank you for this very informative thread, Jonah! It is very useful for those of us who didn’t really know how the process works.
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@JonahBlank
Seems it would not be a “secret of the nation” almost by definition if the person on the other end of the line was a foreign leader.
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