He’s already behaving like a political exile and has not even left the country, and his pathetic fans are already posing some risks. Putin can assign him to Kerplechistan or some other out-of-the-way region to restart his media empire.
FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024
Yes, and being away from US jurisdiction would enable him to issue orders.
There seems to be a lot of assumptions about “nuclear secrets” in the documents seized. Has there been anything besides pure speculation as to the contents? Lots of non-nuclear information is classified TS/SCI. In fact, nuclear documents should be classified under the DoE system as restricted data (TSRD), national security information (TSNSI), or special nuclear materials (SNM). Haven’t heard a peep about any of these. Can documents carry both DoD and DoE classifications? That would require clearance from both organizations to access.
The Washington Post reported that “people familiar with the investigation” claimed the FBI was looking for documents that had nuclear secrets. Not that they had been found.
I link to a CNN article which links to the Washington Post article. The Post article may be paywalled (it is for me at least).
I would call it more than speculation, but certainly far short of a certainty.
If we combine excuses we get that the FBI planted privileged information in Trump’s home.
What if it’s something that DJT did or said that was illegal? It could be classified by the president himself (or executive staff) as Top Secret, and he could have it marked SCI and think only he can choose who sees it.
The problem is that there was a mole.
To the contrary, he has all but said that the only question is when, not if, he will again run for President.
He has no interest in going to the pariah nation of Russia, which has substandard health care. questionable schools for Barron, and limited flights in and out.
And he isn’t going to accept something humiliating, like a short prison sentence, because of fear of something much worse.
And he isn’t afraid of a jury.
I think the Justice Department is trying to treat Trump just like it would a lower level politician suspected of corruption. That’s fair. But I think it won’t work.
The elite (and their families) have it very good in Russia, as long as you don’t cross the boss.
And I’m moderately certain Melania would work to ensure neither she nor her son leave the USA, especially with TFG.
If Trump were to decamp to Russia, I would think there would be a very real risk that Trump himself would lose control of his communications to Russian intelligence services. I suspect they have a very good read on how Trump communicates, and would be able to do a better Trump than Trump does (for their specific interests).
So for that reason alone, I want him to stay in the country where we can keep an eye on him. We know that Russian bots etc. are amplifying his voice; I don’t want them to have total control.
On the other hand, without the boxes of leverage material he has fewer places to run to.
I don’t think the SS would stand for it. Decamping to another country isn’t Trump’s style anyway. Right up until the hangman’s drop, he’ll be thinking he’s going to win.
Maybe with a move to Russia he could put his real estate savvy to good use and become the King of Timeshare Dachas.
Pure speculation on my part, but the more I think about it, I doubt DOJ has seized his passport (yet).
If they had, I believe he would have filed a civil lawsuit immediately in an effort to get it back, and DOJ would be forced to explain on what basis the passport was confiscated in the absence of a formal indictment. He hasn’t filed any such lawsuit.
I’ve misplaced my passport a few times and would have appreciated a handy excuse like “the government took it!” I don’t believe it.
I know what he said. I long ago concluded that the way you can tell Trump is lying is that his lips are moving.
YMMV.
Government in Exile
Quote:
“The effectiveness of a government in exile depends primarily on the amount of support it receives, either from foreign governments or from the population of its own country. Some exiled governments come to develop into a formidable force, posing a serious challenge to the incumbent regime of the country”
I think that what was in those boxes was his “ticket to Russia”, a combination of state secrets and dirty little tidbits to keep certain Republicans in line…which may be one of the reasons why Rand Paul is desperately trying to scuttle the Espionage Act.
Newsweek — perhaps not a high-quality source — speculates that the FBI may have seized a foreign passport:
I find it hard to believe that Trump holds a foreign passport. But, if true, I think Joe Biden is going to be a 2-termer.