Donald Trump’s “classified documents” trial set for May 20, 2024
Donald Trump’s defense team asked for the trial to be conducted after the 2024 Presidential Elections. The prosecution wanted the trial to start in December 2023. The judge claimed that there is a lot of material that must be reviewed. The chosen start date for the trial sets the conditions for this trial to run concurrently with the Presidential Election campaign.
From The Post Millennial:
Cannon heard from the prosecution and the defense on Tuesday, and expressed skepticism with the Justice Department’s accelerated proposed trial timeline. She noted that in addition to the many documents to review, some 1.1 million pages, and the 9 months of surveillance tapes. At the time, she said she would issue a ruling on the timeline “promptly.”
Donald Trump classified documents trial set for May 20, 2024, which is months before the election pic.twitter.com/oB2NmmORuB
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) July 21, 2023
The Department of Justice is charging Trump with multiple counts under the Espionage Act, while Trump’s attorneys have repeatedly cited the Presidential Records Act, which gives presidents the authority to determine what records in their possession are personal and which are best suited for the National Archives.
One of the key questions in the procedure of the case is how the documents will be viewed to be in accordance with the Classified Information Procedures Act, and how to assure security clearances.
The DOJ claims that Trump is guilty of “obstruction of justice” after claiming that Trump interfered with documents in his possession that were under a DOJ subpoena. Trump asserts fully that any documents that remained in his possession after his term as president were rightfully in his possession.
This is the first time in US history that a president or former president has been tried on criminal charges, and it comes amid two other cases in which Trump is facing prosecution. He is also being charged with 31 felony counts of falsification of business records in New York City, a charge that is actually a misdemeanor.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has bumped it to a felony, claiming that the misdemeanors were committed in service to secondary crimes. He has declined to state what those crimes are.
Donald Trump faces the possibility of another trial. Trump announced, on Truth Social, that he was asked to show up before a grand jury related to the January 6, 2021, events at the Capitol. Donald Trump expects to be charged and arrested for this event as well.
The Post Millennial has the rest of the story related to Donald Trump’s upcoming “classified documents” trial here.
Category: Donald Trump, Government Incompetence
“We got him this time”.
Lars
Yeah I bet his third thumb is standing at attention.
Id love to see that hund to blow off his Wolfenstein for not paying achtung!
Ain’t in great that our ‘betters’ get MP40s?
Hikok makes it look fun:
Hope they remembered the Thompson is .45 and brought some.
Also, hope the AR-thingy with the polymer/printed lower ain’t some seizure a jr high wienie made at home because cool-guy mag dumps with 5.56mm NATO to impress people could get messy.
Why the quotation marks for “classified documents”, thebesig?
Even the Post Millenial isn’t using them.
I read somewhere they could mark the dinner menu classified. They don’t care what documents he has, they’re more interested in his comment when he said ” we got em, we got them all “.
That’s all they’re worried about. No big deal whays In bidens garage next to his vette.
I was a custodian for classified publications for one of the units I served with. I also held a secret clearance for over two decades, and have handled classified materials in the 20th Century portion of my military service.
People are not supposed to take pictures of classified materials, even if they’re protected by cover sheets, they’re not supposed to take pictures of the room containing classified materials. Likewise, no audio recordings are supposed to be made in rooms containing classified materials.
Also, if classified materials are found, they’re supposed to be safeguarded and stored in areas authorized for storing them. The photographs showed boxes, and documents, that were under the control of the FBI. A look at those pictures showed that these documents were not safeguarded the way classified material are supposed to be safeguarded once they’re discovered. For example, the boxes that were in the bathroom. Those weren’t put there by Trump or his staff… Images of the inside of Mar a Lago before all of this broke out show that Donald Trump is a neat freak. He would not have been okay with things being stored that way.
Classified materials are not supposed to be disclosed to someone unless there is a need to know, and they have the appropriate clearance. The public has neither the clearance nor need to know. If those were classified materials, then the availability of those photographs, and the audio recording, are a violation of classified materials handling, what Donald Trump is essentially being accused of doing. If they were classified, then the FBI/DOJ should be codefendants. If they’re classified, but only Trump is being charged, then this is but one example of the double standards being applied in this case.
If a person is willing to believe the nonsense that Trump mismanaged classified materials, then they should also be screaming for the FBI and the DOJ to be held accountable. The reality is that those documents were not classified.
thebesig,
You forget, that many others here also have old history and experience with having, accessing, using, and destroying classified materials.
For me, 2 steps above Top Secret. Yes, SCI. US and NATO.
Long ago.
That said,
you can answer a short question with a long answer however you wish.
But your “reality” claim in your very last sentence
is extremely troubling.
“Reality” based on what I said above. Are you willing to crucify the FBI/DOJ for disclosing those photographs? You, having above top-secret clearance, would also note some things based on what I said above:
1. Classified materials, their containers, and the room they are in are not supposed to be photographed. Additionally, no audio recordings are to be made in rooms containing classified material or where they are discussed.
2. If such photographs or audio recordings are made, then both have to be protected according to the highest classification of the materials that were in the room, or of the highest classification of the classified materials discussed and recorded in the audio.
3. You are not supposed to have a camera or any other device that could copy/photograph documents, or audio record conversations, in a room containing classified information, or where they are discussed.
4. Even though a person has clearance to review a specific classified document, they have to have a need to know.
Question 01: Taken together, does the general public have the security clearance needed to see the photographs of classified documents or listen to audio recordings from Mar A Lago (points 1 to 3 above)? YES [ ] NO [ ]
Question 02: Does the general public have a “need to know” for them to see photographs or listen to audio (Paints 1 to 4)? YES [ ] NO [ ]
Question 03: Did you guys allow people to bring recording devices/cameras/audio recorders into rooms containing classified materials (see points 1-3 above)? YES [ ] NO [ ]
No additional explanation is needed beyond simply filling the appropriate box.
One thing I find troubling is that given your experience, you do not appear to be seeing what is plainly obvious to me.
I also recall a certain Navy submarine crewman that was sentenced to a year in Leavenworth for merely having a picture on his phone of the interior of his sub. But then he was not POTUS, with the statutory authority to declassify any document he wished with no required procedure or limitations.
He is right. I was a Special Security Officer for egiht out of my 20 years in the Corps. For a jury to see those documents, and they will have to in order to actually accuse and prosecute Trump, each of the jurors would have to be read in and given a clearance/access equal to the highest classification of the document shown them. And they must also have a valid need to know about any info shown them.
Once again, the fake idea of there being a classification level above top secret.
5JC,
It’s not fake.
It’s the definition of SCI.
Sensitive compartmented information.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_compartmented_information
Then look here, at SCIF.
Sensitive compartmented information facility.
There’s no big voodoo hoo-ha here.
For enlisted Air Force 306×0 electronic crypto maintenance technicians, from E-3 to E-8,
ACCESS to SCIFs was required for a number of us to service the crypto equipments and systems.
Periodic maintenance.
Outage repair.
And also ongoing training to officers and staff
on how to operate the equipment and systems,
and how to clean the crypto equipment card reader contacts, when they spill their chicken noodle soup on the contacts, or close the card reader door on their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
We were specifically told NOT to be curious about the SCI being discussed, or transmitted or received on our equipments.
We could long distance loopback with “1 2 3”
to do our jobs, and ensure working crypto systems.
That said,
39 months overseas, at 2 bases,
both bases had 2 levels of SCIFs
with 4 letter ZZZZ identifiers.
All of us referred to the SCIF locations
as 1st level SCI, and 2nd level SCI.
Most of us could access the 1st level SCIF.
About half of us could access the 2nd level SCIF, once approved. A few had NO SCI clearance and no SCIF access, and they were relegated to Top Secret only equipment locations.
Any 306×0 who lost the SCI clearance kept his job, but it was a career ding. Anyone who lost the TS clearance got moved to a different workcenter and job, such as teletype or ground radio.
Find any Air Force 306×0 from the 60s to the 90s,
who had any time at any base with 2 or more SCIFs,
and you’ll get the same basic history lesson.
I hope this helps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_compartmented_information_facility
Yes I worked in a SCIF many times and many place is over the years. It still doesn’t change the fact that they’re only three levels of classification; classified, secret, and top secret.
5JC,
See below.
Cosmic.
Atomal.
NATO classifications above Top Secret.
5JC,
Probably just a slip or a malaprop on your part, but the classification below secret is confidential.
That was definitely a slip up on my part.
More.
Back to article topic.
Take a close look at the SCIF wiki link above,
carefully,
and some of you will now realize how and why Trump has gotten himself into a shitload of dutch.
Whatever thebesig chooses to believe
[“The reality is that those documents were not classified.”]
I can say with certainty,
that not only was classified information mishandled,
but some of it was most certainly TS/SCI,
as Trump had a SCIF set up at Mar A Lago.
That’s why this is a big deal… with charges.
Especially since Trump spent many months dicking around over handing any of it back.
Above Top Secret: Security Clearances Explained
5.0. Above Top Secret: A Closer Look
5.1. Types of Above Top Secret Access
5.2. Examples of Special Access Programs
Cosmic/ATOMAL Top Secret:
NATO has its own security classifications.
From those, COSMIC TOP SECRET and ATOMAL are the highest rankings. Information at this level, if leaked, could have grave ramifications for NATO adjacent forces.
https://greydynamics.com/above-top-secret-what-lies-beyond-the-cloaked/#51_Types_of_Above_Top_Secret_Access
What NATO does is whatever NATO does. It’s kind of like saying in North Korea they do this….
5JC,
Not when both US and NATO crypto systems are installed inside various SCIF locations.
For that reason,
plenty of NOFORM stamps on the US only classified forms and transmissions.
Here is the NATO (British)
BID 610
asynchronous slow teletype crypto equipment.
Comparable to ancient but still used in the 80s KW-26, and the smaller and better KW-7 (original keying technology compromised by the Walker Spy Ring).
https://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/uk/bid610/index.htm
(NOFORN (not NOFORM))
I believe the cold, hard, facts. Until you answer my questions above, per the parameters that I set, you have no leg to stand on saying “with certainty” that classified information was mishandled while also dismissing my assessment regarding this topic. I could say, with certainty, that classified material WAS NOT mishandled.
You can’t, in good consciousness, claim that classified material was “mishandled,” while completely ignoring the way the FBI/DOJ handled the documents after they gained custody of those materials. You would also have to demand that the FBI/DOJ personnel, that handled those documents, similarly be crucified. Nope, you’re just pointing your fingers at Donald Trump.
I refuse to believe that you, holding the classifications that you’ve held, having worked in a SCIF, would ignore the fact that those photos show an example of HOW NOT to handle classified materials… Remember, by the time the FBI had custody of these materials, they were responsible for proper handling and security, to include NOT taking pictures.
Your refusal to answer my 3 questions above, per the parameters that I set, speaks volumes about the lack of confidence, and biased nature, that you have with your argument. If you are confident that you are “right,” then copy and paste those three questions and their yes/no box options to your reply, place an “X” in the option representing your reply, and refrain from trying to amplify your answers to these questions.
thebesig,
Thank you, but no.
By next summer 2024,
when terms like SCI and SCIF
are brought out in court,
and the media goes all voodoo hoo-ha over all the revelations and details….
I will look back at this VG article,
and all these comments,
and see how well all of this has aged.
This does not mean I am right, or correct.
It means that I am not letting any partisan political or cult of personality feelings or opinions cloud my views on anything related to anything classified.
So, as to anything you claim or believe here…
Good luck with all that.
Again, you dodged my simple yes/no question from above. You know that the answer to those three questions forces you to consider two things mentioned above:
1. If those documents were “classified” as alleged, then the FBI/DOJ are guilty of the very thing that they are charging Donald Trump of doing. This event would substantiate arguments, from the right, that there is a two-tiered justice system and you will be held accountable only if you are on the other side of the argument as the ruling regime.
2. Those documents were not classified, otherwise those images and audio would not exist. Hence, Donald Trump did not mismanage classified material and that this is nothing but propaganda.
The cold hard reality is that if you insist that those are “classified,” then you are embracing a contradiction. So no, you can’t just refuse to answer these questions per the parameters that I set, just to give yourself an excuse to keep arguing:
Question 01: Taken together, does the general public have the security clearance needed to see the photographs of classified documents or listen to audio recordings from Mar A Lago (points 1 to 3 above)? YES [ ] NO [ ]
Question 02: Does the general public have a “need to know” for them to see photographs or listen to audio (Paints 1 to 4)? YES [ ] NO [ ]
Question 03: Did you guys allow people to bring recording devices/cameras/audio recorders into rooms containing classified materials (see points 1-3 above)? YES [ ] NO [ ]
No additional explanation is needed beyond simply filling the appropriate box. Your not answering these questions tells me that you do not have confidence in the argument you are making.
I’ve lived in a 3rd world country for 5 years, have deployed to them, and have vacationed in one multiple times after my last deployment. This is 3rd world level corruption.
It is third world level corruption, and at the highest levels of the executive branch.
There is indeed no classification level above Top Secret, but there are indeed levels of compartmentation waaaay more sensitive than Top Secret materials such as SCI materials.
As someone who has recently had to sit through the US GOV video from the 1970s (yes they are just now modernizing the briefing) on Security Classification I can safely say that there are only three classifications: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.
And Old Tanker: Unclassified is just that. For Official Use Only (previously FOUO) is now Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). The rest are all just CAVEATs and special access programs for people with a need to know. Which require an individual to be cleared for Sensative Compartmented Information (SCI), which can only be viewed inside of a Sensative Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). There are even places that are SCIFs inside of SCIFs because they are really so special that one cannot even acknowledge they know about them.
All of this hinges on whether the President as an Original Classification Authority (OCA) has the right to determine what is classified and he can keep, or the Federal Archives has more authority and everything should be kept. I believe case law was set when Hillary’s spouse kept his tapes but I may be mistaken as my law degree has not been issued yet. There are reports that Presdient Trump’s team had done all the right things and secured the facility he stored said documents in with proper locks, unlike the current occupier fo the White House with his stuff from a previous administration or even the VP of Trump’s adminstration.
So all of this is just overreach and weaponization of the DOJ, unless they bring cases against all other transgressors as well!
“Confidential” and “FOUO” are both classifications for documents. One of my assignments was to a G2 office. I was tasked to go over multiple secure filing cabinets and to shred unnecessary documents since the walls were literally lined with secure file cabinets. I spent more than 2 weeks looking at and shredding those not pertinent. I was amazed how many consisted of a single page indicating that a pemex station in Mexico received a fuel delivery. Why in the hell that was supposed to be marked “secret” is beyond me. Perhaps that was supposed to be code for some drug drop off and kept from prying eyes, but marking it secret then sending it as a copy to an Army HQ hundreds of miles away simply boggles the mind. Pertinent to DEA maybe, but to the Army??
Old tanker,
Yep.
We never know, when we see only bits and pieces.
Luckily, my classified destruction experience
(plenty of these),
was limited to training crypto equipment site operators how to properly destroy their crypto keying material
(when they should already know),
and after updating our own AF-KAM maintenance manuals for crypto equipments with new classified pages,
destroying the obsolete pages.
Boring stuff, all for the E-2s and E-3s to do,
under initial supervision of an E-5 SSGT or above.
Also, technically,
FOUO – For Official Use Only
is not considered classified information.
Restricted, yes.
An unclassified classification.
Confidential is classified.
Every document produced by the military has some type of classification. In true military doublespeak, “unclassified” IS a classification.
I spend hours every year in mandatory classes on classification, derivative classification, classification/declassification authority, and storage of classified material. 99% of it is of no relevance in my job. I have a TS-SBI, but handle no classified material, I have no classification/declassification authority, and don’t have, need, or want SIPR access. I do occasionally work in classified areas including SCIF’s. The military, specifically the Army, has a habit of elevating security classifications on documents that are public knowledge. That’s how you get vaults full of “classified” info that can also be found in the public library.
We all know this is a ploy to avoid Orange Man 2.0. Whether you voted or plan to vote for him and are MAGA incarnate or hate the guy and will vote for anyone but him, you have to admit that the indictments, charges, and impeachments are political movements to discredit the guy and try to defeat him in every aspect. Until Trump becomes a broken shell of a man, disowned by his family, bereft of his fortune, and destined to die alone, in prison or not, this will continue.
It’s all painfully obvious to everyone except those who refuse to see it. They know it… but they’re okay with it because keeping him out of the game protects their feelz.
You can despise Trump while pointing this out and STILL get absolute failures like Commissar saying “hurrrrr aNoThEr tRuMp CuLt fOlLoWeR.”
Yeah, I get that even from family. I didn’t even vote in 2016 or 2020, but I was elated when Trump beat Billary and knew that we were in for a ride when Biden “beat” Trump. From the get-go, when asked about my thoughts on Trump, I’d simply say that I like the fact he pisses so many people off. Perhaps “pissed off” isn’t the correct term, though. It’s more of a triggering effect that he has on certain people, including the aforementioned family that accuses me of being a Trump apologist.
Nope, sorry, I simply see through the veil of smoke that certain politicians from both parties, as well as their allies in the mainstream media, try to toss out.
Trump’s a rich playboy who would probably not give someone like me the time of day. But he’s intelligent, humorous, and seems to really want to deliver on his promises, unlike 95% of other politicians. Speaking of which, no one was triggered by Trump when he was a TV show personality, playboy, real estate magnate, or any of his other previous personas. When he dared to run against Billary he became the evil Orange Man, and his policies of America First were viewed as myopic racist dreams. When Trump the Billionaire Celebrity turned into Trump 45 the President, it was determined that no holds should be barred by career politicians on every side of the spectrum. After all, many of them entered as poor baristas or no-name lawyers and within a few terms became far richer than their salaries would suggest they might. Trump came into office with money, spent plenty of it to get into office, and seems to be one of the more honest Presidents in modern times.
Well said.
81 million votes, most ever… and then inaugration:
Close up… just sayin’:
There may have been 81 million votes, but there were never 81 million legal voters.
Actually, there are numerous anecdotes of Trump ignoring the high and mighty at various social events to chat with waiters and other ordinary people.
And that’s another reason he is so loved.
Valid points all, although I would not lump Trump in with other politicians. Hence the situation we are in now. The other politicians sure were grateful when he made contributions in NYC before he decided to get involved in the system.
I heard this one time, Trump was cat juggling. He grabbed the pussy and he swung it around, and when he was done he set them down and laughed as they walked around like in a drunken haze. The inhumanity of such a man. And this other time we were playing cowboys and Indians when we were kids, and Trump called the one girl that was pretending to be an Indian Pocahontas. And that hurt her feelings because she wasn’t being Pocahontas she was just pretending to be an Indian. And this other time Donald Trump said the Bidens were involved with drugs. Like if Biden were elected you would be finding bags of coke laying around the White House, that would never happen. And this other time, Trump asked Law Enforcement officials in the Ukraine to look into supposed bribery by the Bidens. As if Joe Biden would take money. And then brag about it. He certainly wouldn’t brag about it much. And this other time Trump said that having camela Harris become president would be an insult to the country, as if we haven’t had whores in the White House before. He was clearly being racist and anti women when he said that. That is why that black female senator from Georgia quit being a Republican and joined the Democrats, cuz of all their anti-women and racist policies. This other time, Trump was building this wall around Martha’s vineyard to keep out refugees from Venezuela, which doesn’t even make any sense because Martha’s vineyard is on an island. And if refugees showed up at Martha’s vineyard it’s like a sanctuary place and they would just take them in, Just like New York or Chicago or wherever. They wouldn’t like try to send them somewhere else. So you can just see what a terrible person he is.
Curious about the down vote! 🤷♂️🤷♂️
I think I see some trees in your forest! 😉
After the Primaries should be over and right before the General Election.
Gee. What a coincidence.
Again.
It’s like I’ve been saying for months. The primaries will be decided by then, the whole point is the weaponization of the DoJ to destroy the Republican party and Make sure that button gets re-elected.
The problem for them, is everybody is not as peaceable as we are. They set the wrong example ironically, with the prosecutions of the January 6th protesters. Seeing how they treated peaceable protesters that were on the wrong end of the political spectrum, they will have no choice but to take up arms as protesting peacefully is no longer an option If you are on the right. And when that happens, I will hide in my basement and hope it blows over before I run out of food. And for those who created this crisis, I wish you luck, they are going to need it.
That trial date will be continued. Likely until after the general election.
Most here tend to get it, the system seems to be acting to either get rid of him –in ‘fiery yet mostly peaceful’, extra-constitutional ways I’d add– or make his third successful presidential run a certainty… this time.
After mindfuck2020 and all the pregame work that went into The They fomenting chaos, my fear is a combination of our collective relative peace and a whole host of external factors has got them shifting a timeline to the left.
This continuation of the same tired ol’ play only feeds to divide us, but like all things these days. Ya dig? On this topic, The State needs to prove it, and they can’t, and they won’t, and they don’t need to…
This is character assassination for the sake of a larger scheme, nothing more.
Plan accordingly.
“After mindfuck2020 and all the pregame work that went into The They fomenting chaos, my fear is a combination of our collective relative peace and a whole host of external factors has got them shifting a timeline to the left.”
2020 was an odd year, and while one might be labeled a conspiracist, it seems like everything just lined up to ensure a certain…someone…would lose the election. We started the year out with the strike against Soleimani, which earned Trump much condemnation, then murder hornets were touted as more or less the end of civilization as we know it. Suddenly a deadly virus of unknown origin became the big thing, but that became a sideline to the systemic racism displayed by a cop who was subduing a “POC” and ended up killing him. So, Soleimani and murder hornets be damned, mask up and never mind those fiery but mostly peaceful protests.
The writing was on the wall when Trump went to St. John’s Cathedral. We saw Milley’s true colors when he apologized for escorting his Commander-in-Chief, and Trump’s subsequent call-up of military forces to reestablish order was met with vitriol from nearly every media outlet and a lot of politicians.
As the (D) frontrunners declared they’d never take a Trump vaccine, even while Operation Warp Speed was nearing the finish line, we got a lot of misinformation and conflicting statements from the Subject Matter Expert Fauci. Wear a mask, don’t do so, double mask, etc. Lockdowns, social distancing (unless peacefully protesting, of course), and other forms of control were implemented.
And then, November passed. Like a breath of fresh air, it was alright to take Biden’s vaccine, even mandated by DOD, other government entities, and some employers. Joey, Kamala, and others all basked in the glory of finding “The Cure”, never mind the fact that infinite boosters were suddenly suggested.
I miss the good old days of mindfuck2020…😷
Infinite boosters… in other words, we ain’t dying fast enough
Gotta make room for all those third worlders bum-rushing our borders. Remember how excited Lars was that all us boomers were going to get killed off by the ChiCom virus.
Amen, Big Sarge. Amen.
From where I sit, AT BEST: 49.999% of us didn’t bleed authoritarian when pricked by the slightest case of chaos.
Those ‘people’, even if a majority, are owed nothing, IMVHO.
Dole it out at your leisure, I sure am!
……..
Given the amount of suprahypocritical hand-wringing over hunter’s guns, drugs, sex, lies and videotapes, tax fraud, etc. I’ve gladly used it as an example to critique the lack of rationality or principles of “both” “parties”.
If Saint George Floyd was murdered, with over 3 times a n amount recognized that could lead to consideration of OD in an autopsy, then how could Hunter buy a gun illegally if all gun laws are an infringement?
I might be rounding third in a game of foot hockey, but I firmly believe unless we get uncomfortable in conversationsinglyish a mailed foot will be stomping on all our gonads shortly.
This probably isn’t a good time to mention the voting machines that were destroyed after the election. I only mention it because…. I know it happened and there’s a very surprising lack of data on it. A huge, lack of curiosity if you will. It’s almost as though, it didn’t even happen, even though I know it did. Once they went the way of Hillary’s hard drive, one wonders why?
These is lot of curiosity, just no answers.
Seems to be a lot of- “nothing to see here, move along”!
There*
Man, the Nevertrumpers and socialist democrats must really be afraid this guy will win again and piss in their rice bowls.
I believe I’ve made my distaste for Trump abundantly clear in the past…I am not in any way a fan.
I am however less a fan of government as most of you should have ascertained by now…I’m probably best described as an anarcho-libertarian…I truly believe that government is best which governs least and a government terrified of the people it governs is far more preferable than the reverse.
The FBI has always been a political tool, there are many fine agents doing the nuts and bolts blue collar police work and doing it very, very well. But there was always a political class of FBI agents doing the bidding of their political superiors. It’s always cast a shadow of corruption over the agency for anyone who understands such things.
The DOJ is similarly a questionable judicial tool, for a nation that likes to pretend it’s “a nation of laws” the law tends to be pretty goddamn flexible if you’re wealthy enough, or connected enough, or politically powerful enough to bend it to suit your purposes.
Power hates a vacuum, our Congress both House and Senate have been abdicating their responsibilities for decades without any push back from the electorate…consequently the vacuum they’ve left has been filled with all manner of questionable alphabet agencies.
The charges against Mr. Trump are as vulgar legally as he is socially and morally, which might be fitting for those who hate him, but should terrify the rest of us. It should at least reinforce the notion you should never cooperate with any LEO organization unless you’re the victim of a crime and even then you should be cautious….
If we had a history of prosecuting ex-presidents for all the shit they take when they leave that’s classified I’d be fine with these charges, but we don’t. Nor do we prosecute SecState with private servers in complete violation of the same codes…nor did we prosecute a moron with a Chinese spy attached to his re-election campaign while he served on the Intelligence Committee. In light of that one can only assume that one party is using the political aspects of the FBI and the DOJ and other organizations to pursue their political enemies.
That should irritate enough voters to make that party pay for such over reach. In this day of low information dipshit voters I suspect it won’t have any such effect, and that my friends is my fear for our nation. That we will continue to devolve in a hate filled two party win through the destruction of the other side system where no one in the public sphere is ever going to exist comfortably anymore and be left alone to pursue their life with minimal government input and interference.
The reason they shouldn’t be prosecuted is because the Presidential Records Act gives any president the unfettered absolute authority to decide any document is his records, in addition to his right to deem any document unclassified. All these cases are lawfare intended to block his campaign.
Again…Trump is not their real target…We, The People are. He’s just in the way.
Do more of what I was doing this weekend.
Prepare.
You mean us gun-totin’, America lovin’, Patriots are the target? Who’d a thunk it?
I’m a bit younger than some other regulars here, being born when Abba was at their peak. My breadth of service to our nation ended last December, and I served with a lot of great men and women (at least one of whom was the former and is now the latter; despite not agreeing with them politically, I’d still buy them a Bud Light 🙃to debate/discuss current affairs). Even so, I feel America in my soul, coming from a Virginia family that predates the US, having left England for the New World some 400 years ago.
We The People is something that many of my generation and subsequent ones have forgotten. A collective sense of worth, belonging, and most of all pride in having the privilege of living in the greatest nation to have existed thus far. The US isn’t perfect, and none of us are, but it beats the hell out of anywhere else.
Trump wasn’t perfect either, but he shook things up and started to Make America Great Again. Funny how he actually stuck to his promises (though many still failed to deliver) and his campaign slogan is now considered “hate speech”.
Preparation, however you envision it, is key to our future. Maybe you rent an apartment in the Big City and have plenty of ramen and toilet paper stocked up. Maybe you have a bunker in the mountains and try to emulate Burt Gummer. I retired to the Deep South, to a dead-end street in a populated but rural-enough area full of like-minded Patriots.
My six-plus years stationed in DC, especially the second time around when a Deadly Virus of Mysterious Origins ™ and massive civil unrest hit, showed me it was time to trade The Swamp for the swamp. Got plenty of space out in the Atchafalaya Basin for any unwelcomed guests, and have a little plot on a bayou now to go along with my acre in the ‘hood.
Smart move. It will be up to us, and those like us, to defend ourselves and families from the coming unpleasantness. And that unpleasantness is coming shore as God made little green apples. And it may not be grubermint type troops we have to defend from. It’ll be the haves against the have nots. I’ve been seeing what we have now coming for years. A bunker in the mountains is the best, but the swamp runs a close second. Key thing is the like minded Patriots that have done some preps themselves. Folks that I’ve told to get ready that don’t have said, “Well if it gets bad I’m comeing to your place.” “Well, what you bringing?” “Oh, just me the old lady and the kids.” “Food stuffs? Water? Weapons with ammo?” “Naw man, I figure you got all that?” Those types have been struck off of my list and don’t know where the bug out spot is.
The ones that are on the list have provisions and skills…and are like minded.
There’s that pesky word “loyal” again.
Strange behavior by employees,
that is, if there was allegedly no “classified documents”.
[The federal indictment, filed in the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Trump was part of a scheme to delete security video and that a newly charged defendant — who was identified as a property manager at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence —
told another employee that “the boss” wanted the server deleted.]
——-
[Trump faces additional charges in Mar-a-Lago documents case
Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago maintenance official, was added to the docket in the case against Trump and his aide Walt Nauta.]
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-charged-special-counsel-jack-smith-rcna96742
From the NBC story link above……
[
Court documents say De Oliveira denied that he was involved in moving boxes. “Never saw anything,” he told the FBI, according to documents. “Never saw anything,” he repeated.
The indictment lays out what federal authorities say was a scheme to obstruct the ongoing investigation.
Trump was very focused on not allowing officials to get their hands on his boxes, it indicates.
“I don’t want anybody looking, I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t,” Trump told his lawyer in May 2022, according to the indictment.
“What happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them? Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?”
Trump’s lawyer said Trump later made a “plucking motion” to suggest that he should take anything that was “really bad” out.
Afterward, prosecutors suggest, Trump was involved in an effort to delete security camera video that would show how his employees had moved boxes of documents before the FBI search.
]