Donnie Dumptruck says Mar-A-Lago's been searched by the FBI

[Anonymous]

He has not admitted his guilt!!

However, if a regular government employee were found to have taken classified material home, wouldn't that person have been arrested immediately?
They keep saying no one is above the law, yet TFG seems to have avoided getting arrested for a crime that any other government employee would have been arrested for.
Why?

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will offer a contrarian view. Trump suffers from a form of narcissistic personality disorder. He was the president and who was anyone else to tell him that he wasn’t allowed to keep “his documents” relating to something he may have considered to be a success of his presidency. So he started to hoard things — including classified materials — with the thought that successive administrations would not give him the credit he thought he deserved. Was it unlawful? Yes. Was it incredibly irresponsible? Yes. Did he put US secrets at risk? Almost certainly. Has he improperly shared classified information in the past? No doubt. But do I think he was selling national intelligence secrets? No.

Has this been the case, DOJ would not have handled the matter with the care and patience it did. It would come as no surprise to anyone that Trump did not turn over presidential records that became the property of NARA on 1/20/21. Something like the infamous Sharpie hurricane map. It was no secret he had aides remove boxes from the West Wing to the residence during the course of January. And senior staff attempted to discuss his legal obligations to surrender documents during that same period.

After repeated efforts to recover the documents, a grand jury was empaneled to subpoena the missing presidential records. Only then was there a recognition that Trump had taken voluminous classified material. And it would subsequently be discovered that his attorneys lied about the possession of such material all-the-while there was no meaningful effort to secure material tossed in boxes with raincoats and golf balls. But Trump was fully aware of the importance of some of the material. It’s the reason that boxes continued to be moved in and out of the storage area and some were found in the closet of his private office suite.

But we still have no indication that Trump was seeking to affirmatively misuse the material for personal or political gain. The time allowed to pass between May and August doesn’t seem to support this was the case. Nonetheless the counterintelligence professionals couldn’t have been happy about Orban visiting MAL earlier in the month and other foreign contacts that have not been made public. Let’s hope this was ultimately more a matter of securing positive control over the material and not something more sinister.

I don’t even know what to say to this.

DP and let me caveat that I hate Trump. I think he is a dangerous authoritarian. I believe January 6th and the efforts around it were an attempted coup/autogolpe.

But I agree with the PP's assessment. I don't think Trump cares one bit about this country or about IC safeguards or the like. But I also don't find it plausible that he was feeding information to a foreign intelligence service on any sort of routinized basis. He's too erratic to take direction from anyone. I think the danger is actually that a foreign intelligence service recruits/co-opts a staffer, or plants someone and that person leverages their access to get Trump to share information or documents.

I absolutely think Trump should be in jail for improperly handling classified, or at least charged and fined. Plus the taking of records he didn't have a right to take. It's completely possible that the records at Mar a Lago were exposed to people that shouldn't have had access to them. I just don't really buy all these crazy stories that Trump exposed assets! Or Trump gave up nuclear information!

It makes for good stories, but I wonder if you have people that are expecting Trump faces treason charges and when he doesn't they lose even more faith in our government and judicial system. I don't think it's a healthy information environment.

You're off your rocker. Just look at the three very reasonable crimes laid out in the warrant. That's it. There's no bloody treason. Those three are serious enough, and can be proved.

***Trump does not need to have monetized his information to be jailed***

***Trump does not need to have INTENDED to sell out agents to EFFECTIVELY sell them out!***

Same thing for nuclear secrets.

Multiple average people have already come forward to say that while guests of Trump, they were shown documents that looked confidential (exact classification uncertain).
That's what he does!!! He cannot live by himself. He has to live at a club with the constant adulation of guests. The way he feeds that adulation is to show them things no one else can show them.
He has a pathological need for recognition and it leads him to share national security docs with all and sundry.
And we already know a Chinese agent was apprehended at Mar-a-Lago at one point. It's obvious there were many more spies.

The obvious scenario is that he showed compromising agent information to someone from the other side, without even thinking he was putting anyone in danger.
He may have also done this with nuclear info.

The other obvious scenario is that his staff has either done the same thing or monetized the information for their own gain (cough-Kushner).

IT'S ALL JAIL-WORTHY.

DP. Interestingly, the FBI's search affidavit lists all the classified handling markings on the documents they seized. The marking that is used for nuclear was not on the list. There are other very concerning markings, but not the ones for nuclear.

I don't think this is about nukes. I think it's about spies. He gave up our spy identities and got them killed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He needs to be prosecuted for his crimes. And suffer the consequences.
I agree with a PP that all this speculation about his motives is pointless. Unless the DOJ has proof, there will be no prosecution.
TFG has his flunkies do his dirty work, so there may be little or no evidence proving his guilt.

1. The DOJ has proof of obstruction.
The obstruction is that Trump said "it's mine" when asked to return the documents, and he refused to comply with his own lawyers' requests to return them.

2. The DOJ may never have direct proof that agents were lost due to Trump's actions. However, as we've said before, they don't need proof of that to show he put the USA at grave risk by allowing Americans and foreign nationals the opportunity to see national security documents.

3. It is 100% sure that there will be indictments. Not sure what happens after that, because even though others have gone to jail for lesser crimes in the same vein, we've never prosecuted a former President, and everyone will tread very carefully and handle him with kid gloves. Personally, I don't think he'll ever see the inside of a jail cell, even though he's guilty as heck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It just gets worse and worse and worse!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He has not admitted his guilt!!

However, if a regular government employee were found to have taken classified material home, wouldn't that person have been arrested immediately?
They keep saying no one is above the law, yet TFG seems to have avoided getting arrested for a crime that any other government employee would have been arrested for.
Why?

Trump openly and unabashedly acknowledged that he took documents. That is an admission. They are handling Trump with kid gloves, only because he is a former President. Remember, Reality Winner got 4 years in prison for ONE classified document. Trump took almost 200 classified documents. And TBH Reality Winner should have at least had whistleblower protections because the classified document she took was to expose lies that the US government had been telling.

Meanwhile, regarding the Special Master - Here is my take on it: I believe that only pertains to what documents can and should be returned to Trump or to fall under some form of legitimate privilege. It would be ludicrous to think that any classified documents would even be in scope for returning to Trump and as such, classified documents should not be under review by the Special Master. Also, with regard to Executive Privilege, Trump no longer has that. With regard to Attorney-Client Privilege, anything under government attorney discussion, e.g. White House attorneys like Cippolone also shouldn't be covered, because they are the government's attorneys on federal pay, not Trump's attorneys. Only items dealing with communications between Trump and any of his private attorneys should be covered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He has not admitted his guilt!!

However, if a regular government employee were found to have taken classified material home, wouldn't that person have been arrested immediately?
They keep saying no one is above the law, yet TFG seems to have avoided getting arrested for a crime that any other government employee would have been arrested for.
Why?

Trump openly and unabashedly acknowledged that he took documents. That is an admission. They are handling Trump with kid gloves, only because he is a former President. Remember, Reality Winner got 4 years in prison for ONE classified document. Trump took almost 200 classified documents. And TBH Reality Winner should have at least had whistleblower protections because the classified document she took was to expose lies that the US government had been telling.

Meanwhile, regarding the Special Master - Here is my take on it: I believe that only pertains to what documents can and should be returned to Trump or to fall under some form of legitimate privilege. It would be ludicrous to think that any classified documents would even be in scope for returning to Trump and as such, classified documents should not be under review by the Special Master. Also, with regard to Executive Privilege, Trump no longer has that. With regard to Attorney-Client Privilege, anything under government attorney discussion, e.g. White House attorneys like Cippolone also shouldn't be covered, because they are the government's attorneys on federal pay, not Trump's attorneys. Only items dealing with communications between Trump and any of his private attorneys should be covered.

ITA. The classified was not properly stored and there is not accredited storage at Mar A Lago (or any other place Trump would store them, as far as I am aware) so it can't be returned. It's Trump's burden to prove otherwise.

[Anonymous]

What are the documents Trump is so desperate to have returned to him?

Is there some kind of additional, personally incriminating evidence in those boxes?

[Anonymous]

TBH Reality Winner should have at least had whistleblower protections because the classified document she took was to expose lies that the US government had been telling.

Aside, but Reality Winner would’ve had whistleblower protection as she followed the proper whistleblowing process, instead of leaking to the Intercept which gave her up immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He has not admitted his guilt!!

However, if a regular government employee were found to have taken classified material home, wouldn't that person have been arrested immediately?
They keep saying no one is above the law, yet TFG seems to have avoided getting arrested for a crime that any other government employee would have been arrested for.
Why?

Trump openly and unabashedly acknowledged that he took documents. That is an admission. They are handling Trump with kid gloves, only because he is a former President. Remember, Reality Winner got 4 years in prison for ONE classified document. Trump took almost 200 classified documents. And TBH Reality Winner should have at least had whistleblower protections because the classified document she took was to expose lies that the US government had been telling.

Meanwhile, regarding the Special Master - Here is my take on it: I believe that only pertains to what documents can and should be returned to Trump or to fall under some form of legitimate privilege. It would be ludicrous to think that any classified documents would even be in scope for returning to Trump and as such, classified documents should not be under review by the Special Master. Also, with regard to Executive Privilege, Trump no longer has that. With regard to Attorney-Client Privilege, anything under government attorney discussion, e.g. White House attorneys like Cippolone also shouldn't be covered, because they are the government's attorneys on federal pay, not Trump's attorneys. Only items dealing with communications between Trump and any of his private attorneys should be covered.

DOJ turned over five boxes of documents to Reinhart for in camera review with regard to privilege issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's potentially a good move. The Master looks at the information seized, and then declares none of it can be kept by Trump. His passports were already returned promptly.

Then all his supporters look even dumber.

How does this Special Master get chosen? Is it going to end up being this Trump judge hand picking another cultist?

The Court selects and appoints the SM. The parties are permitted to make recommendations.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_53

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump appointed judge issued order confirming her intention to appoint a Special Master even before DOJ had the opportunity to respond to the “motion” with regard to the supplemental brief filed yesterday. The putative lawsuit hasn’t even been served in accordance with Rule 4.

You write so many words
Yet I understand so few of them.

Not that PP and IANAL but I thought the Federalist/RWNJ Trump appointee judge is giving Trump access to stuff for his defense that shouldn’t be granted.

Other than President Obama, there likely isn't an available attorney available who has the clearance to review said materials.

I cannot stress how many things in this post are wrong. Obama does not have a security clearance for one.

We have no way of knowing if Obama has a clearance. It is not uncommon for a president to grant clearance to a former president or other high ranking official for the purposes of consultation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why isn’t the new judge sending the case to the judge who signed the search warrant?

The parties would ordinarily need to consent to assignment to a magistrate. But nothing about the Trump filing or the process is ordinary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He has not admitted his guilt!!

However, if a regular government employee were found to have taken classified material home, wouldn't that person have been arrested immediately?
They keep saying no one is above the law, yet TFG seems to have avoided getting arrested for a crime that any other government employee would have been arrested for.
Why?

Trump openly and unabashedly acknowledged that he took documents. That is an admission. They are handling Trump with kid gloves, only because he is a former President. Remember, Reality Winner got 4 years in prison for ONE classified document. Trump took almost 200 classified documents. And TBH Reality Winner should have at least had whistleblower protections because the classified document she took was to expose lies that the US government had been telling.

Meanwhile, regarding the Special Master - Here is my take on it: I believe that only pertains to what documents can and should be returned to Trump or to fall under some form of legitimate privilege. It would be ludicrous to think that any classified documents would even be in scope for returning to Trump and as such, classified documents should not be under review by the Special Master. Also, with regard to Executive Privilege, Trump no longer has that. With regard to Attorney-Client Privilege, anything under government attorney discussion, e.g. White House attorneys like Cippolone also shouldn't be covered, because they are the government's attorneys on federal pay, not Trump's attorneys. Only items dealing with communications between Trump and any of his private attorneys should be covered.

DOJ turned over five boxes of documents to Reinhart for in camera review with regard to privilege issues.

If that’s true, cannon is going to look even worse than she does now. This is why judges don’t normally announce their intent to rule for a party before getting the views of both parties. There’s is likely an awful lot she doesn’t know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump appointed judge issued order confirming her intention to appoint a Special Master even before DOJ had the opportunity to respond to the “motion” with regard to the supplemental brief filed yesterday. The putative lawsuit hasn’t even been served in accordance with Rule 4.

You write so many words
Yet I understand so few of them.

Not that PP and IANAL but I thought the Federalist/RWNJ Trump appointee judge is giving Trump access to stuff for his defense that shouldn’t be granted.

Other than President Obama, there likely isn't an available attorney available who has the clearance to review said materials.

Yes, there are lawyers who have SCI clearance. And don’t forget that our intelligence agencies have the clearances to review the materials. Since they wrote them.

I don’t think a special master can be a government employee. That’s kind of the point.

There are certainly attorneys with SCI, but these documents appear to have all kinds of different types of clearances. Not sure you’d find a private attorney with all of them.

Oh, and I see no markings that an SCI wouldnt cover. Its also not hard to just read someone on.

Codeword SPecial Access Programs require read in.