Trump tells acting DNI to declassify “whatever you want”

US President Donald Trump said on July 1 that he had instructed acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte to declassify virtually any information he considered appropriate during his time in office.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said: “Bill (Pulte) is there just for a fairly short period of time. But while he’s there, I said you can declassify whatever you want,” Caliber.Az reports, citing CNN.

“I think that Bill will declassify. I told him you can declassify whatever you want,” he noted.

Trump's remarks followed an NBC News report that a White House task force is preparing to declassify intelligence documents in an effort to support the president's claims regarding previous US elections.

CNN has also reported that Trump views the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as having a key role in matters related to election security, both historical and current.

According to earlier reporting, Trump selected Pulte as acting intelligence chief last month with the expectation that he would declassify materials of particular interest to the president, including documents related to the 2020 presidential election and Trump's unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud.

Trump also noted that Pulte's appointment is temporary and that he will remain in the position only until his nominee, Jay Clayton, currently the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, completes the Senate confirmation process.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov