Trump documents classified by Swedish foreign ministry
How would a Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton election win impact Sweden’s relations with the USA?
That's what Sweden’s embassy in Washington D.C has attempted to answer in two reports sent to the Swedish foreign ministry (Utrikesdepartementet, or UD for short) in October, with subjects like what defence and counter-terrorism may look like under the two potential presidents tackled.
But when Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet made a request to see the documents, the amount of information that was made available for publication differed significantly between the two candidates.
Before sending them to the tabloid, UD carried out a confidenciality assessment to see if duty of confidentiality limits the right to communicate or publish any of the information according to Sweden’s Freedom of the Press Act.
And as a result, large sections on Trump were blacked out when the documents were released, while far fewer of the sections on Clinton were omitted, Aftonbladet reports.
According to the newspaper, UD’s explanation for censoring some of the information is that it could “disrupt Sweden’s relationship with another state”.
Several of the sections on Clinton were made public however. In one part the embassy wrote: “Clinton knows Europe, has close relationships with leaders in several European countries and is accustomed to working with Europe.”
The documents also stated that “multilateral institutions and global norms have an important place in Clinton’s policy”.
Under a section entitled “General” the embassy described how Clinton acted in her role as US Secretary of State, and that it expects her to continue along the same lines if she is elected.
When it came to Trump however, the entire passage under same heading was deemed classified.
One explanation for keeping the lid on the analysis of a Trump presidency may be that his lack of previous experience in office makes it difficult to find clear information, and an element of speculation is therefore involved.
“Trump has spoken a lot about foreign policy during his campaign, but how that will all translate into overall policy if he becomes president is unclear. A lot of speculation occurs, and that maybe isn’t publishable,” Björn Jerdén of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs told Aftonbladet.
Sweden's former prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said meanwhile that much of what may happen if Trump wins was still unclear.
“A concern is that it is unclear what he plans on doing as president if he wins,” the former Moderate leader told Aftonbladet.
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That's what Sweden’s embassy in Washington D.C has attempted to answer in two reports sent to the Swedish foreign ministry (Utrikesdepartementet, or UD for short) in October, with subjects like what defence and counter-terrorism may look like under the two potential presidents tackled.
But when Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet made a request to see the documents, the amount of information that was made available for publication differed significantly between the two candidates.
Before sending them to the tabloid, UD carried out a confidenciality assessment to see if duty of confidentiality limits the right to communicate or publish any of the information according to Sweden’s Freedom of the Press Act.
And as a result, large sections on Trump were blacked out when the documents were released, while far fewer of the sections on Clinton were omitted, Aftonbladet reports.
According to the newspaper, UD’s explanation for censoring some of the information is that it could “disrupt Sweden’s relationship with another state”.
Several of the sections on Clinton were made public however. In one part the embassy wrote: “Clinton knows Europe, has close relationships with leaders in several European countries and is accustomed to working with Europe.”
The documents also stated that “multilateral institutions and global norms have an important place in Clinton’s policy”.
Under a section entitled “General” the embassy described how Clinton acted in her role as US Secretary of State, and that it expects her to continue along the same lines if she is elected.
When it came to Trump however, the entire passage under same heading was deemed classified.
One explanation for keeping the lid on the analysis of a Trump presidency may be that his lack of previous experience in office makes it difficult to find clear information, and an element of speculation is therefore involved.
“Trump has spoken a lot about foreign policy during his campaign, but how that will all translate into overall policy if he becomes president is unclear. A lot of speculation occurs, and that maybe isn’t publishable,” Björn Jerdén of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs told Aftonbladet.
Sweden's former prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said meanwhile that much of what may happen if Trump wins was still unclear.
“A concern is that it is unclear what he plans on doing as president if he wins,” the former Moderate leader told Aftonbladet.
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