But throwing multiple excuses at a problem and hoping some of them stick is pretty common for him. Look at the last raid. None of that information was classified, but he also declassified it and it’s his personal property so they have to return it but they also planted it and on top of all that, he just wanted a cool souvenir. I mean, some of those excuses are mutually exclusive and/or contradictory.
But here’s the thing. If it’s true that “this piece of paper is is not classified” then the fact that he used it to cover up a light on his phone and “Now the president has to find a different way to keep the blue light out of his eyes" is irrelevant and had no place here. If it’s not classified it’s not classified, end of story. No excuses required. But he’s downplaying it’s importance, why? Why is he telling us it was only used to block a light. Perhaps because it IS classified and he’s not supposed to have it.
Are you disputing it? Earlier (in this post) you said “this piece of paper is is not classified”[SIC]. I assumed you meant “this piece of paper is not classified”, do you mean “this piece of paper is classified”?
FWIW, the lawyer, in the video clip in my link, does imply that the folder was classified. The host asks how the DOJ knew about it and the lawyer says that they told them. I say ‘imply’ because he says ‘we listed everything we found’ and not something more specific like ‘we listed everything we found with classification markings’. But there’s not a lot of context in that clip.
All he (Trump, his team, his lawyers etc) had to say was ‘We found an empty folder with classification markings, we reported it and they picked it up’. But Trump seems compelled to make sure every teapot has a tempest and every molehill becomes a mountain.
If there’s a hill, he’ll find a way to die on it.
If it is marked “Classified,” then it is classified. Period. End of story.
I have a friend who was a submariner going for his nuclear certification. He and his classmates started marking their homework with a Classified stamp, which made a lot of additional work for their instructor.
Patently untrue. If I, a civilian with no security clearance, take a folder out of my drawer and write the word “Classified” on it, that does not make it classified. That would be insane.
I am not disputing it. The part you quote (with a mistyped double ‘is’) was my attempt at summarizing the arguments of Trump’s lawyer. I do not have any information by which I can judge the veracity of the claim.
He explicitly says several times it is not.
The CNN reporter explicitly asked, “where was this folder and why was it turned over?”. It’s not something the lawyer brought up. He is not turning this into a mountain, he’s attempting to downplay it, laugh it off as overzealous.
Look, it’s absurd that a guy who’s entire brand is to be rich and successful would use a manila folder (let alone one with words like “Classified” on it) to cover a light on a phone. It’s bad that he didn’t return this (presumptive) government property when he was supposed to. But it is incorrect to say that Trump is saying that using the folder to cover his light is some sort of excuse for having classified material.
Not really – it’s like he’s saying, “I’m so powerful and in on such big secrets, I use classified folders for the most mundane things.” Like an athlete who’s won so many trophies she uses some as doorstops.
You’re wrong about his brand. His brand is, “I’m Donald Trump and I can do what I want because I’m so great.” Using a classified folder to block a light on his nightstand is completely on brand for him. This is a guy who put national security at risk and committed espionage because he wanted souvenirs for crying out loud.
Did you watch the clip (it’s less than 2 minutes long)? Because while what you describe is not at all out of character for Trump, that is simply not the case in this instance.
No, I’m not making any argument. All I’m trying to do is clarify a point of fact. The fact is that Trump’s lawyer did not argue that using a classified folder to cover a phone made it ok to have a classified folder.
And this surprised me when I watched the clip, after reading the descriptions here, and I wanted to help clarify that misunderstanding.
No, I didn’t, and I’m not making a serious argument on way or another about this folder or Trump’s phone. Just goofing off, but since it’s P&E I’ll drop the hijjack.
I’ve scrolled up and down, and I can’t see anyone who made that made that argument. Could you point out who said that Trump’s lawyer argued that using a classified folder to cover a phone made it okay to have a classified folder?
You made an argument, which I quoted, that it would be against Trump’s brand to use a classified document folder in a menial way. I disproved that with multiple examples.
Note that you are missing the point. The lawyer is arguing that it is okay to use a folder marked as classified in a trivial way. Which may or may not be true, but the fact that they were seized as part of the investigation suggests that it might not be such a minor thing. I suppose we’ll find out later.
I will say that official classified markings are a big deal. I don’t know that this folder had official markings, or if they just had “classified” scribbled on with a sharpie. But if it’s the former, that might fall under National Archives rules and need to be marked unclassified before they can be treated as unclassified.
DOJ lawyers have applied to a federal court judge in Washington, to have the judge order that Trump’s lawyer, Evan Corcoran, is required to answer certain questions before the grand jury investigating the documents matter.
Corcoran has refused to answer the questions, citing attorney-client privilege.
The DOJ lawyers have argued that the crime-fraud exception applies, and that attorney-client privilege does not apply to the questions they have asked Corcoran.
Matter is now pending before the Chief Judge of the DC District Court.
There was no “raid”. Stop calling it that. It was an execution of a duly authorized search warrant. Pisses me off using the terms spewed by the Reichwing media.
“The whole point is for everybody to pick it up and go, ‘I’d like to thank my son and my dad’—and you can always tell when someone has, because they’re in there a little bit longer after they flushed,” Winslet said. “They’ll come out looking slightly pink-cheeked. It’s hysterical.”
When I was at Nuclear Power school in Orlando (1981), we were instructed to write “Confidential” at the top of every page we wrote on, including homework (which was done after hours in our classroom) and written exams. Same at the NPTU in Idaho Falls. Everything just got burn bagged when we no longer needed it.
His brand is that he’s a rich and powerful business man. That’s why he had The Apprentice. That’s why he got paid to put his name on buildings. That a man who represents himself to the world as “Rich and Powerful Businessman” not to mention former President of the US would not have a better long term solution to an annoying light is, as I said, absurd. Not out of character from his actual historical behavior or surprising in any way, but absurd. By this statement I was trying to indicate I am not here to defend Trump. I am just trying to make sure the criticism is based in reality.
He did not say that. He said it was not marked as classified. He said it had the word “Classified” on it, but was not, in fact, classified. This may be a lie, this may be impossible, this may be illogical, or even illegal. But he did not say what you say he said.
I 100% agree.
Nor do I. The lawyer says it’s closer to the second, and therefore no big deal. Again, that may be wrong, a twisting of the truth, detached from the reality of the law, or an outright lie. But that is actually his argument.
Perhaps. Trump tends to hire (and not pay) lawyers to lie for him. They lied about the election being stolen, they lied (and signed paperwork) about Trump no longer having classified documents in his possession, I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy is lying now. Lying to the press isn’t even illegal (as long as there is nothing else going on like defamation).
There are indications that they’re planning to charge Trump with a crime over this whole affair, maybe soon, so we might learn the truth before long.
“Classified” isn’t a marking anyway. It’s Top Secret, Secret, Confidential, and Restricted, although I don’t think the last has been used since WWII. There are also classifications for atomic stuff but I never worked with those.
If the lampshade had Classified on it, it was likely written in Sharpie.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(299x0:301x2)/cinnamon-hitler-0-600-41700b9d2fc74feaa669f1b68b4226c9.jpg)
