did xlinton/Gore change formats - policy directives are now issued as unsigned memo formats?
No they didn't change formats. This is how a superior always provides direction to a subordinate in a specific instance. Now, if you are thinking about standing ordes, operating procedures and departmental directives, that is a different matter, but that does not generally apply to a specific case like this.
It is not unsigned. There is a formal process for obtaining release authority for something like this, and believe me it would have been done. This was not just some flunky writing a memo and sending it around.