"A doomsday scenario": Former DOJ prosecutor warns Trump could profit from classified docs trial

[marmar]

"A doomsday scenario": Former DOJ prosecutor warns Trump could profit from classified docs trial
"Trump is going to be running a fire sale" for top-secret documents, Ken McCallion tells Salon

By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 27, 2024 6:09AM (EST)


(Salon) The so-called walls have not yet fully closed in on Trump and his political crime spree, but they most certainly are moving and appear to be gaining speed.

....(snip)....

In an attempt to better understand Trump’s historic trials and legal developments and what they mean (or not) for the election and the country as a whole, I recently spoke with longtime attorney and author Kenneth Foard McCallion. He is a former Justice Department prosecutor who also worked for the New York attorney general's office as a prosecutor on Trump-related racketeering cases. McCallion's books include the companion pieces "Profiles in Courage in the Trump Era" and "Profiles in Cowardice in the Trump Era," as well as "Treason & Betrayal: The Rise and Fall of Individual-1."

....(snip)....

The walls have supposedly been closing in on Trump for several years from his various criminal and civil indictments and trials. There was a judgment against Trump last week in the financial fraud case in New York, where he will have to pay more than 350 million dollars. Where are we — and Trump — in the story of "the walls are finally closing in"?

He can run, but he can’t hide. Trump is facing multiple trials right now, and the recent civil judgments against him in the New York courts have been seriously damaging to him. On the criminal side, while I think there are some convictions that are going to come down against him before the election in November, he's probably less concerned about doing major time in prison than he is about losing his assets. Between Judge Engoron’s rulings and the E. Jean Carroll case, Trump owes close to half a billion dollars at this point. Trump's lawyers keep saying he can put up a $400 million bond, but that's going to liquidate all of his available cash. There's only so much that Trump can squeeze out of his election campaign fund to finance his legal bills and judgments.

....(snip)....

Donald Trump hoarded secrets and other confidential information and material during his presidency. He is on trial for those alleged crimes in Florida. As others have pointed out, now that Trump may owe half a billion dollars, all that information is something he could sell to raise money. The country is imperiled again by Trump.

.....Trump was either psychologically a kleptomaniac by taking the top-secret papers down to Mar-a-Lago or he's crazy like a fox. That secret information is an asset. When in trouble, Trump has shown that he is willing to monetize whatever assets he has. Trump is going to be running a fire sale for not only his real estate assets, but also for his personal memorabilia and maybe even a few top-secret documents. Given the desperation of Trump's circumstances right now he is extremely vulnerable and potentially receptive to an overture from a hostile foreign state actor. For all we know, Trump may have already reached out through intermediaries to market some of the top-secret information that he has. ....................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/02/27/a-doomsday-scenario-former-doj-prosecutor-warns-could-profit-from-classified-docs-trial/

[Irish_Dem]

1. This is the result of Garland refusing to search Trump's other properties.

When he found docs in MAL, Garland had probable cause to search Trump's other properties,
but refused to do so.

John Brennan, ex CIA director believes there are classified docs at other Trump locations.

Now Trump still has docs and can use them as blackmail, leverage or ways to raise cash.

[tanyev]

2. I think there's definitely a trophy aspect in what documents Trump kept.

And it's probably no coincidence that what he considered the most valuable trophies also have the highest monetization potential.