Oh, it’s Trump, so he may try. But there is video of boxes being moved from place to place in between DOJ contacts advising Trump he was illegally in possession. Remember, he was first advised he was illegally in possession by NARA in late 2020.
I refer you to @Northern_Piper’s excellent timeline and summary:
Some of the stuff was found in Trump’s own closet. And I think that’s why the DOJ asked for the signed declaration from Trump’s attorneys that all items had been returned to NARA custody in early June.
At some future trial:
Trump: “I forgot I had them!”
DOJ: "Here’s a document from NARA to you showing you were advised in late 2020 that you were illegally in possession of certain documents and pursuant to the Presidential Records Act, they must be returned.
"Here’s a document showing you were advised in May 2021 of the specific documents we knew were missing and that you illegally possessed.
"Here’s a document from late 2021 that shows you were advised NARA would be making a referral to DOJ for your failure to return these documents.
"Here’s a document from April 29, 2022, that shows you were advised specifically which documents were classified and which you continued to illegally possess.
"Here’s a letter we sent to your attorney, Evan Corcoran, on May 10, 2022, explaining why you had no basis to assert executive privilege over the documents you continued to illegally possess.
"Here’s a copy of a grand jury subpoena dated May 11, 2022, demanding that you return return all documents with classified markings that you continued to illegally possess.
"Here’s a copy of the written statement sent from your attorney, Christina Bobb, to us on June 3, 2022, stating that you had returned all classified documents, in compliance with the earlier-issued grand jury subpoena.
"Here’s a copy of the letter we sent you on June 8, 2022, asking that the document storage room be secured pending further action in this matter.
"Here’s video of boxes we told you to lock up in the basement pending further action being moved from the basement into your private quarters in your personal closet.
"Here’s a summary of the additional items we found that fall under the Presidential Records Act and which remained illegally in your possession, until we finally got them back on August 8, 2022.
"Here are classified documents we took from your private quarters on August 8, 2022. We tested them for fingerprint evidence and found your prints all over them.
“Still want to go with the, ‘I forgot I had them!’ defense?”