# Is there anything the President can't know? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948 "2002-05-26T20:01:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Netbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@Netbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Netbrian)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/1 "2002-05-26T20:01:44Z")
After reading a bit about the federal government, I eventually begun to wonder if there’s anything within the parts of the federal government or agencies of the US that the President of the United States would not be classified to find out? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Anubis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Anubis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anubis)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/2 "2002-05-26T20:29:36Z")
Well, the fact that there is an extraterristrial(sp?) study lab in the southwestern US, of course. Haven’t you ever seen _Independence Day_? Yeesh. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/3 "2002-05-26T20:42:46Z")
IIRC, FDR was briefly removed from the list of those who could see MAGIC intercepts just prior to WWII. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/4 "2002-05-26T20:44:26Z")
You mean as a matter of law? No. The President is the Chief Executive; everybody else in the executive branch is subordinate to him, without exception. If there’s something he doesn’t know, it’s not because he’s not “cleared”. It’s because somebody’s keeping a secret from him and being naughty. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/5 "2002-05-26T20:45:18Z")
I take it you’re referring to national security matters, as opposed to such things as private taxpayer records. The Prez, as CEO/CinC of the Republic would be cleared to know _about_ everything dealing with national security, but unless he asks directly he’s not going to be bombarded with unsolicited operational info (and as CEO/CinC he should know better than to bog himself down in minutia) ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/6 "2002-05-26T20:48:25Z")
Ah, plausible deniability. I was thinking of _Independence Day_ too. IIRC the plot point (in the loosest sense of ‘plot’) was that the President could only really successfully deny something that was truth if it was kept secret from him. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/7 "2002-05-26T21:33:47Z")
JR: The President is not the Commander in Chief of the Republic. He’s both the Executive of the natinal government and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Being the CinC of the Armed Forces does not equate to being the CinC of the Republic. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/8 "2002-05-27T00:52:49Z")
Given who currently holds the office, the question is moot. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/9 "2002-05-27T01:07:33Z")
I wonder who the last hands-on president was. Teddy R. perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![caffeine\_overdose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@caffeine\_overdose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caffeine_overdose)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/10 "2002-05-27T05:07:42Z")
Does anyone else think that the title of this thread lends itself to a joke? Q.What is the only thing Bush isn’t allowed to know? A.??? Can’t think of anything at the moment anyone have any ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Satyagrahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Satyagrahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satyagrahi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/11 "2002-05-27T05:33:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by caffeine\_overdose \* > \*\*Does anyone else think that the title of this thread lends itself to a joke? > > Q.What is the only thing Bush isn’t allowed to know? > A.??? > Can’t think of anything at the moment anyone have any ideas. \*\* A. That Cheney, Rumsfeld and Powell are really in charge. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/12 "2002-05-27T06:57:17Z")
Toss out Powell and you’ve gone from punch line to headline. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@Lure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lure)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/13 "2002-05-27T07:23:36Z")
Toss out Rumsfield and add Bush Sr.and the rest of the oil cronies and you’ve got fact. Rumsfield’s only the beard to take any heat. But,I digress,this thread belongs in opinion,IMO 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dieter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@Dieter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dieter)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/14 "2002-05-27T11:12:58Z")
[his age?](http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/05/26/bush.jetlag.ap/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/15 "2002-05-28T04:50:00Z")
**Netbrian** , when you say “federal government” I assume you’re talking about the executive branch? Because the Prez wouldn’t be able to compel Congress or the judiciary to disclose stuff to him that they don’t want to. For example, President Nixon couldn’t have ordered the Supreme Court to let him know in advance how U.S. v. Nixon was going to come out. ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/16 "2002-05-29T18:25:33Z")
The thing that comes to my mind immediately is that when the FBI was running an agent (from the CPUSA) who ended up being admitted regularly to the highest circles of the Soviet Politburo, Hoover & Co. did not disclose the agent’s identity to the President. (Said agent was present with the Soviet big wheels on November 22, 1963 when someone came in and announced the assassination of Kennedy. He noted --and reported-- they were all surprised and shocked.) The President could in theory have asked the agent’s name and so forth, but apparently never did. Any President could theoretically ask for details of any secret agent, method, technology, or source but in practice would be more concerned about the reliability of the information provided rather than its specific source. Sensible Chief Executives should (we hope) know that to add one more person to the list of those who know secret X increases the chance that X will not remain secret. ---
**Author:** ![Fibonacci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Fibonacci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibonacci)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/17 "2002-05-29T19:39:48Z")
When I worked at NSA, the Secretary of Defense once called our office to ask some questions. He was not allowed to speak with us directly. He had to ask questions through an intermediary who would filter the information. The general rule was, he was allowed to know **WHAT** we knew, he just wasn’t allowed to know **HOW** we knew it. This was decades ago, but I imagine things are still pretty much like this. Everyone fervently guards their information and only releases it on a “need to know” basis. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-the-president-cant-know/110948/18 "2002-05-29T20:11:44Z")
I don’t believe that we have to go as far back as TR to find a hands-on President. From everything I’ve ever heard, Carter was an absolut bitch to work for and wanted to be in on each and every decision. My take is that he was too much the micro-manager and got bogged down in the details.