Yes, there absolutely is.

The US Government doesn’t work via magical incantations made by a president. Everything is documented, records are made, labels have to be changed to signify that the documents have in fact been declassified, forms have to be filled out, and certain information can’t be declassified due to its very nature. We do it this way precisely so that there’s no ambiguity when these types of situations arise.

He can say something is no longer classified, but someone has to hear it and document it. And there are limits.

You can insist to the contrary all you want, but presidents do not have plenary power to declassify information. There are rules and procedures that are followed and the burden of proof is, in fact, on the former president to show that they were declassified in a valid manner.

Forgive some of us if we’re a bit less-than-nonchalant when it comes to documents that very well have heavy bearing on this country’s national security and the safety of everyone living within its borders. Some of us don’t want to risk our country’s well being by enemies gaining access to top secret information that might very well give them devastating advantages over us and aren’t content with the, “it’s okay because maybe Trump whispered the right magical words the day before he left office,” excuse for explaining these actions away.