From this result: https://factually.co/fact-checks/justice/historical-precedents-releasing-classified-documents-9a78a5 Please give similar examples during Trump era?
Executive summary
A pattern of high-profile disclosures and contested releases of sensitive records occurred during Donald Trump’s presidency and afterward: public sharing of an unusually detailed reconnaissance photo and other alleged informal disclosures (reported by news outlets and court filings), the retention and mishandling of classified-documents-scandal">classified documents recovered from Mar‑a‑Lago that prosecutors described in an indictment, and an administration-level push to declassify and publish historical records such as the JFK files — all of which produced legal fights about what should be public and what should remain protected [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Public social-media disclosure of an intelligence photo that alarmed U.S. officials
Reporting and court filings show that Trump posted a high-resolution surveillance photo on social media that intelligence officials flagged as coming from a classified reconnaissance satellite (the NRO’s USA‑224), and media organizations were told the image remained classified even after the post, with Trump aides later saying public comments alone did not automatically declassify material [1].
2. The Mar‑a‑Lago cache: classified records found in domestic spaces and the ensuing indictment
Federal documents and reporting describe hundreds of items with classification markings recovered from Mar‑a‑Lago — photos in the unsealed indictment depict boxes and a paper marked “SECRET/REL TO USA, FVEY” found in locations like a bathroom and ballroom — and prosecutors charged that Trump stored, showed off, and refused to return such material, alleging improper retention and obstruction [5] [2] [4] [6].
3. Specific alleged informal disclosures cited in the indictment: maps and a “plan of attack”
The unsealed indictment and contemporaneous reporting say prosecutors accused Trump of showing a classified Pentagon “plan of attack” and sharing a classified map related to a military operation, allegations central to the prosecutors’ narrative about mishandling and dissemination of sensitive material [4] [2].
4. Legal consequences and contested release of investigatory reports and evidence
The classified‑documents probe produced criminal charges that were later dismissed by one judge on appointment‑authority grounds, and separately triggered litigation over whether special‑counsel reports and related files should be public — courts, press groups, and the government sparred over release, with at least one judge and multiple news organizations playing visible roles in decisions about public access [7] [8] [9].
5. Administrative declassification and broad release of historical records under Trump
In contrast to allegations of mishandling classified operational material, the Trump White House also pursued large, formal releases of previously classified historical files — for example, an executive order and DNI press release announced the publication of roughly 80,000 pages of JFK‑related records to be released without redactions, illustrating that executive declassification and disclosure can be used selectively and at scale through formal channels [3].
6. The technical context: classification markings, originator controls, and what “release” means
Analysts and specialists emphasized that documents recovered from Mar‑a‑Lago carried a variety of caveats — ORCON (originator control), compartmented HUMINT or FRD markings — meaning that even if a document’s classification stamp exists, the rules governing further sharing are complex and can require originator consent; courts and commentators warned that public posting versus formal declassification are not the same under those handling caveats [10].
7. Competing narratives, motives, and the significance for precedent
Supporters framed the administration’s declassification moves as “maximum transparency,” while critics saw the Mar‑a‑Lago episode and informal disclosures as national‑security risks and failures of custodial safeguards; legal actors (special counsel, judges, media litigants) and political actors (the White House and allies) each advanced different agendas — prosecution, press access, or political defense — making the Trump‑era examples a mixed set of formal declassifications, alleged improper sharing, and litigation over what counts as precedent for releasing sensitive records [3] [2] [8] [9].