Trump lawyers' defense differs from his public excuses
By Aaron Blake / The Washington Post
Ever since the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago early last month, former president Donald Trump and his most faithful allies have downplayed the severity of his suspected offenses by 1) baselessly suggesting that the FBI might have planted documents and, alternatively, 2) arguing that he had somehow declassified the documents.
In its most substantial filing responding to the government’s claims, though, Trump’s legal team Wednesday night offered a very different argument; one that undercut both of those evidence-free claims.
Suddenly, they contended that the documents were indeed there, but they were Trump’s “own Presidential records.” And not only did the Trump team again decline to actually claim in court that he had declassified the documents; the team said it would be “appropriate” for the special master it wants to review the documents “to possess a Top Secret” security clearance.
It’s not the first time Trump’s legal strategy hasn’t matched his out-of-court bluster. But it was the most significant indication to date of the asymmetry between the two.
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