I am not getting whether you are just not understanding the concept or are just being snarky for the sake of it.
FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024
I was going to suggest that it’s also important to make sure everyone understands that a president, current or former, isn’t above the law. Especially when it comes to national security.
But since I don’t know enough about [the legal concept of] setting a precedent, my next question is if they’re better off not charging him if they don’t think it’s a slam dunk. If they charge him and he’s acquitted, that would essentially mean that, for example, Biden could do the same thing, right?
But if they don’t charge Trump with anything, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t charge Biden, right?
IOW, if someone is charged with a crime and found not guilty, another person can do the same thing and point to that case as the reason why they didn’t do anything wrong. But if the first person is never charged, the second person can’t use ‘you didn’t charge him’ as a defense. Right? Am I even close?
Also, lets not forget how much Trump made sure we all knew his feelings on the handling of top secret info.
That, in addition, to all the fuss he made about Hillary.
(ETA, just making some space here for formatting reasons)
Sorry, that one was a joke. For some reason when you said “created right in front of him” I know you meant something like a document he signed or a audio or video recording that was made right then and there, but in my head I pictured classified documents popping up out of nowhere like a magician at a kid’s party turning his cane into a bouquet of flowers.
So maybe number 2 could be a copy some secret oath that Trump swore to Putin in one of their private meetings. Or a photo he had of Lindsey Graham kissing his ass.
Presto chango! This bit of intel was created by the Great Pompeo!
I really don’t care if the documents are gardener instructions for the rose garden. They are the property of the US Government. Not only did Trump refuse to turn them over to their rightful owner; he lied about even having them. Those are both crimes.
Just for possibly putting American lives on the line he should be indicted and thrown in prison.
“In a monumental irony, both Julian Assange…and Edward Snowden…stand charged with the very same crimes that are likely to be brought against Mr. Trump. On both Mr. Assange and Mr. Snowden, Mr. Trump argued that they should be executed.”
Remember, with the Trump administration, every accusation is, in fact, a confession.
Just going a meter or so farther down the rabbit hole:
Arguendo, if Trump transferred any of these sensitive materials to another country, I’m struggling to understand why he would – ostensibly – give anybody “originals.”
IOW, if you can sell three widgets – one to Russia, one to North Korea, and one to Israel, then why wouldn’t you sell three widgets.
Like a currency counterfeiter who keeps the printing plates (or eventually sells them separately at a dramatically higher price).
Like arms dealers who aren’t particularly political, and who will arm both sides of a conflict if they can get away with it, I doubt Trump would promise anybody exclusivity. Even if he did, I doubt he would keep that promise.
I’m not even speculating about what happened at this point. Just thinking more about one possibillygoat.
Sensitive docs, for a totally corrupt POS, could be a major annuity – the grift that keeps on giving, if you will (and I will).
IOW, I’m not sure how much the empty folders really mean at this point.
Not sure how recent US Presidents have done such things, but the traditional way for busy leaders to handle their mountains of paperwork is for them annotate documents as they read them and then return the documents to their officials so that those officials can act on those comments. That saves them time. But it also reflects the fact that smart leaders understand that their role is to direct policy.
One of the many weird things about the claim that Trump was in the habit of destroying briefing documents, ripping them up or flushing them down the toilet, is that it implies Trump failed to grasp this. That was not the action of a leader who wished to control the details of policy.
This also means that an unannotated document can be of potential interest to historians. For any other President not to have annotated a specific document they are known to have read could be used as evidence that they didn’t have any particular views on that subject.
It’s also possible that Trump viewed “wiping your ass with a hundred dollar bill” as far too plebeian for his exalted status as CiC.
Wiping your ass with classified documents – now that has the veneer of aristocracy.
Loser Donald is now claiming he stole the classified documents so he could display them in his library.
Cool. It’s always thrilling when a potential defendant openly admits they had some purpose for the material it’s illegal for them to have.
Yes, if the prosecutor can demonstrate that he said it, that’s an admission:
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- I had the documents;
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- I knew I had the documents.
Trump trots out excuses like a 4 year old.
“I didn’t touch the cat. I only hit it because it was mean.”
Look, I know it seems like a big deal Trump had classified documents. But that covers a lot of things, there is a tendency to make stuff secret which is mundane. And thousands of people have access to these things.
So, if it will help set your mind at ease, I will list for you some of the things actually in Trump’s possession. Not a big deal. No launch codes. I cannot answer how this information was acquired. No further questions! Nothing to see here, folks.
Ahem.
List of recovered secret documents and objects.
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Recipe for secret sauce used at major hamburger chain.
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Original unaltered 2019 map of Hurricane Dorian before amendments by Sharpie made by Individual Number 2.
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Phone numbers of fast food restaurants close to Mar-A-Lago.
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Bold expose, with pictures, confirming Carla Bruni enjoys happy songs, long walks on the beach and dislikes guys who come on too strong!!!
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Any article in the failing New York Times mentioning the names Trump, Drumpf, Maples, Mar-A-Lago, Ivana, Ivanka or covfefe.
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Lindsay Graham’s soul.
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Voodoo dolls of Jeb!, Pelosi, Hilary, Barack Obama and Rosie.
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The original pinky fingers or small toes from most of the cast of Fox and Friends.
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A direct facsimile machine to Putin.
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The home phone number and contact information from the Past President of the Hair Club For Men.
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A recipe for Taco Bowls as served in the Trump Tower restaurant.
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Binders of women.
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A giant bat signal which can be used to quickly summon Mitch.
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Research on potential locations for foreign Trump Towers, promising locations for Grand Hyatt hotels, investment opportunities for Kuschner Enterprises, sales data on Trump Super Premium Vodka, abandoned copies of Trump:The Video Game, recovered from desert.
And a gold-plated partridge in a pear tree.
INGREDIENTS: Ketchup.
Well from my experience as a classified docs custodian, and working with the special ops, SIGINT, and intelligence communities, that’s not exactly accurate, because if things are over-classified then cynicism and flippancy as shown here can degrade the seriousness with which this material should be taken.
So, in addition to this list there could be lists of electronic frequencies and operating modes of different sensors, things like blade rates of ships’ powerplants (allows positive IDs of specific platforms), opponents’ orders of battle, IDs of intelligence gathering ships (or “AGIs” that are supposed to look like fishing vessels but are actually SIGINT-gathering ships), less classified data such as the identification of deployed personnel (to prevent families of those deployed personnel from getting threatening, harassing and mysterious phone calls at strange hours (as sometimes happens)) or premature or inappropriate release of some intelligence so as not to reveal HUMINT sources, and more.
Well done!
However, I take issue with #6. Lindsay G sold his soul to the devil a long time ago.