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Trump Walks Back Plan to Declassify Probe Documents

September 21, 2018 at 11:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “walked back his order earlier this week to declassify information in the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, saying Justice Department officials and others had persuaded him not to do so for the time being,” the Washington Post reports.

“The retreat from his declassification decree issued just four days ago underscores the ongoing tensions between the White House and the Justice Department over the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller III, who is examining whether any Trump associates may have conspired with the Kremlin to interfere in the election.”

First Read notes Trump hinted at this move last night: “We are moving along, we’re working along. We are also dealing with foreign countries that do have a problem. I must tell you. I got called today from two very good allies saying ‘Please, can we talk.’ It is not as simple as all of that. We do have to respect their wishes. But it will all come out.”

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Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Russia


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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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