US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the acting director of the intelligence apparatus has broad authority to declassify records, including those that may be related to the 2020 elections, even though his close ally will lead the intelligence agency for only a short period.
Trump appointed Bill Bولت as acting Director of National Intelligence last month, promoting a political loyalist with no national security experience at a time of wars and tension on the global stage.
Following a fierce political backlash to the choice, Trump later nominated Jay Clayton, the Manhattan US Attorney, but then abruptly postponed Clayton's confirmation hearing in an attempt to pressure Congress into passing a strict voter identification bill. Trump told reporters as he departed Joint Base Andrews for an event in North Dakota: "Bill is there, you know, maybe for a month or two or something like that. But while he's there, I told him, 'You can declassify anything you want.'"
When asked whether that included records related to the 2020 elections, Trump added: "I told him you can do that, it's a fair thing. You have to ask him."
Trump, who won a second term in the White House in the 2024 election after losing in 2020, has repeatedly and falsely claimed that widespread fraud occurred in US elections.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the office of Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.