If the President could arbitrarily declassify any classified information, why would it be necessary to refer it back to the originating agency or establish a procedure for them to appeal the declassification?
Does it make sense that any President can divulge sensitive, classified information to a foreign power and can escape prosecution because he can automatically declassify it? No man is above the law, even the President.
Just came back from a run...
He can amend, rescind, or write another EO to cover his actions making it legal - dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's so to speak.
The distinction is between what should be political suicide and what is legal.
Lets use our "favorite" president Clinton as an example:
Clinton loosened the security in Energy Department where our nuclear secret where most likely stolen by Red China. Clinton exported missile technology to Red China via Bernard Schwartz & Loral Space by letting the Commerce Department decide what is and what is not sensitive, national security technology which can be exported to foreign powers. All legal but what I consider is treasonous action by the president - and all legal.
During Clinton's impeachment Ken Starr should have included charges to Congress that Clinton directly put the US in the future danger by nuclear strike. As we know, impeachment is not a criminal proceeding but an attempt to remove a sitting president because the impeachers believe he has committed acts that Congress disagrees with.
There may be a political price to pay for declassifying info, but it's legal for the president.
Like to stay and chat but I've got to go ...until this evening. :)