[FlamesAddiction]

Classification does indeed specify who exactly "needs to know" what is in any given classified document, and there are some things that even the rank of president is not included in the "need to know" group of people. There is no ranking system where the person with a higher rank automatically has access to all top secret classified information just because they hold a higher rank. If the president needs to make a decision on something, he can summon the person who is listed on the top secret file as being someone who "needs to know" in order to get advice whether a decision is reasonable based on what they know, but they don't need to tell the president all the details that are classified. In fact, they are not supposed to unless they think the president really does need to know. Just being curious isn't a valid reason.

Who knows if that principle always holds up, but that is the way it is supposed to work.

Edit: Actually, the above might be wrong. It's what I read a long time ago, but can't find any validation online. After reading about it now, it sounds like the president does have unilateral access to everything.