Why Trump is screwed even if he did 'declassify' the documents he 'took' from the U.S.A.

[Joinfortmill]

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2022/08/12/why-keeping-top-secret-docs-was-trumps-2nd-biggest-error-00051410

'Why keeping 'Top Secret' docs was Trump's 2nd biggest error'

'Reports of former President DONALD TRUMP storing 11 sets of classified documents, possibly containing nuclear weapons-related and “special access program” info, at Mar-a-Lago have centered attention on the sensitivity of those papers. But the more important aspect, according to a former official ...is the lack of protection of those items.

...the caterwauling over what Trump could and could not declassify while president (is) a “red herring.” Yes...Trump had broad powers to declassify nearly all intelligence, except when they contained information of nuclear issues, covert operations and operatives, or data sent to the U.S. by a treaty partner. But he doesn’t have the right to leave those papers lying around Mar-a-Lago for anyone to access, especially when the club is a counterintelligence nightmare with horrific security.'

[Claustrum]

1. We might never get the cultists.

But when you talk to independent/swing voters, just ask them if they think an ex-president should at will "declassify" top secret documents and bring them with him/her to a golf club that anyone can pay a fee to enter with hundreds of random people able to access daily where those documents reside. I think TFG is done on a national level. I am still burned from 2016 for saying similar thing but this is much bigger than 2016. He is no longer an unknown candidate. He has a record and it's not pretty.

[gab13by13]

3. Indicting Trump is not about politics.

[gab13by13]

2. He didn't have the authority to possess any of the documents

whether they were classified or not. The documents that he had at Mar-el-Loco belong to the federal government.

Trump needs to be indicted before the election. Garland needs to pick a couple of the many charges he has with the most evidence for and go for it. Trump can be charged with more crimes down the road. Donald Trump is a threat to the national security of the United States. It is very possible that Trump got people killed who were working overseas. Our allies are not going to trust us with any information because Trump installed his goons throughout government. The purging needs to begin soon and needs to begin from the top down, screw the pyramid strategy.

[Novara]

5. This is the most important point:

HE DIDN'T HAVE AUTHORITY TO POSSESS ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS.

I agree with you: he needs to be indicted NOW. Forget the time-consuming process of inspecting each document for now. Indict him on the basis of illegally possessing classified material. Do it now and worry about indicting his co-conspirators later. Bring additional charges as merited when they uncover more information.

HE HAD THEM AT HIS HOME. That alone is illegal, so indict the motherfucker.

The rest of what we know - including his lawyers lying to the FBI and saying they had all the documents months ago - is secondary to the original crime of illegally possessing classified documents.

Start the ball rolling now and add charges like a snowball rolling downhill. Because there will be plenty of charges here.

[Docreed2003]

4. It's also a fallacy for these nutters to claim that Trump could just say "It's declassified"

It doesn't work that way, and the ones pushing this idea know it's not true. There's an actual process to "declassifying" information and each page of that information must be marked and redacted. It's incredible that we've gone from outrage over the "raid", to the damaging info "was planted", to "yeah he did it but it's not a big deal because he said it was declassified"" all in the course of less than a week.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

7. What? So didn't Trump declare bankruptcy...

... just like this, multiple times?

[Docreed2003]

8. Lol...

The funny think is, and I may be wrong, but it wouldn't surprise me if Trump pulled something akin to Michael Scott in his next move by declaring himself "pardoned" because of a self pardoned he issued but didn't release prior to leaving office.

[Delphinus]

9. I know!

The liars continue to have the floor - they don't get called on the fact they are lying. Faux has to be shut down and the media need to tell the truth.

[sop]

6. Why didn't Trump just say he "declassified" these documents when he took them 18 months ago?

Or when the Feds came looking for them the first time? Or when a Grand Jury subpoena ordered him to return them? Or when his lawyer lied and stated all the documents had been returned? It's only after he's caught red-handed with classified nuclear documents that Trump concocts this preposterous lie.

[C_U_L8R]

10. Next he'll say he preemptively self-pardoned himself.

Enough of this trump crime spree. Put this asshole in jail.