[1/2] Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks following his arraignment on classified document charges, at Trump National Golf Club, in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File PhotoWASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - Even when he was president, Donald Trump lacked the legal authority to declassify a U.S. nuclear weapons-related document that he is charged with illegally possessing, security experts said, contrary to the former U.S. president’s claim. The special status of nuclear-related information further erodes what many legal experts say is a weak defense centered around declassification. “The president is the executive branch and so he can declassify anything that is nuclear information,” he said. And it takes forever,” said Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive.

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Persons: Donald Trump, Amr Alfiky, Trump, ”, Steven Aftergood, David Jonas, Elizabeth Goitein, it’s, Thomas Blanton, Jonathan Landay, Don Durfee, Amy Stevens, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: U.S, Trump National Golf Club, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Atomic Energy, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Federation of Atomic Scientists, Prosecutors, Trump, Republican, Atomic Energy Act, DOE, Pentagon, AEA, U.S . National Nuclear Security Administration, Brennan Center for Justice, Constitution, DOD, National Security, Thomson Locations: Bedminster , New Jersey, U.S, declassify, declassification, United States, Florida