I’m about to turn sixty-six. Many of us will probably not live long enough to see the damage this man has inflicted on the country be undone--if in fact it can ever be undone. No punishment will be severe enough to fit the crime.
Trump has had a year and a half to either destroy or secure documents in a location that would be difficult for the FBI to find. Is his hubris so outrageous that he would keep those documents in a safe in his home? One can only hope.
If, as you have written, the materials are so damaging and so important that the FBI, and the DOJ have gone to the extent they did (although I do wonder about the safe, because someone had a combination, I'm pretty sure they would not have 'broken into it' had they been that careful which is their hallmark) we are about to hear the most important words we will have the pleasure to hear about Trump:
Charged with espionage in the furtherance of monetary gain.
Why do I think this is the actual charge? Because above all else, Donald Trump is a endlessly greedy man, who is deeply in debt to several banks to the tune of 200 million dollars and whose debts for those amounts are coming due about the time of the Presidential election, in 2024.
His greed and debt are undeniable, and I think he was greedy enough to find something (which we don't even know what) to sell to another nation (I'm thinking Russia) which holds something over him.
If he got that greedy-and lord knows he can-he will have made the classic mistake of thinking nobody would care enough to stop him.
Except the National Archives, which Stephen Colbert was riffing on as "He should never have crossed the librarians-they know where everything is, and they hide in places nobody else knows about."
The librarians will have checked him out. Thank goodness he doesn't read because the FBI and the DOJ are about to read him the riot act.
Remember: Jared Kushner spent a lot of time retrieving top secret materials, and he was not authorized nor cleared to read any of it. Rachel Maddow interviewed Wash Post reporter who said these documents were so classified, you couldn’t release an inventory because it was classified —no one is supposed to know those documents even exist. https://youtu.be/EajmUKVzLLQ
tRump & minions have done extensive damage to our national security—the GOP is a crime syndicate, and see how they rally behind a traitor.
I hope the documents have something to do with his blackmailing certain Republican legislators which might shed light on Kevin McCarthy and others switch from insurrection critics to Trump supporters after McCarthy’s post 1/6 visit to Mar A Lago.
The top secret papers in the remaining boxes and safe were too voluminous for him to tear up and flush down the toilet. First of all, he’s way too lazy for that level of work and second of all his poor plumbing at Mar-a-LARDO is already on it’s last legs having to deal with him everyday.
So clear, Lucian! Thanks for laying out the legal process. Really brought home its intense seriousness. I still wonder how anyone knows what was missing. How is that double check done? Then, like one of your readers below, I wonder why the documents would be in DJT’s home. Here’s my suspicion: if DJT knows his “foreign” loan is coming due and he won’t or might not be able to pay it, he would trade a National secret for loan forgiveness. That’s the kind of gangster I think he is; but ultimately I lack the imagination to project what he’s truly capable of doing. ❤️🤍💙
Do we know that they actually “broke into” his safe? Maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but I can’t believe the FBI isn’t capable of opening a safe without blowing it up or whatever. And I’d think the safe that Trump would have at MAL isn’t the world’s most secure.
Maybe contracts/receipts/agreements to sell pardons for money? Or worse, some document Putin has offered big money for or asked for in exchange for not releasing certain information? Or maybe just back-dated pardons for himself, his family and his gang :)
I’m about to turn sixty-six. Many of us will probably not live long enough to see the damage this man has inflicted on the country be undone--if in fact it can ever be undone. No punishment will be severe enough to fit the crime.
Trump has had a year and a half to either destroy or secure documents in a location that would be difficult for the FBI to find. Is his hubris so outrageous that he would keep those documents in a safe in his home? One can only hope.
If, as you have written, the materials are so damaging and so important that the FBI, and the DOJ have gone to the extent they did (although I do wonder about the safe, because someone had a combination, I'm pretty sure they would not have 'broken into it' had they been that careful which is their hallmark) we are about to hear the most important words we will have the pleasure to hear about Trump:
Charged with espionage in the furtherance of monetary gain.
Why do I think this is the actual charge? Because above all else, Donald Trump is a endlessly greedy man, who is deeply in debt to several banks to the tune of 200 million dollars and whose debts for those amounts are coming due about the time of the Presidential election, in 2024.
His greed and debt are undeniable, and I think he was greedy enough to find something (which we don't even know what) to sell to another nation (I'm thinking Russia) which holds something over him.
If he got that greedy-and lord knows he can-he will have made the classic mistake of thinking nobody would care enough to stop him.
Except the National Archives, which Stephen Colbert was riffing on as "He should never have crossed the librarians-they know where everything is, and they hide in places nobody else knows about."
The librarians will have checked him out. Thank goodness he doesn't read because the FBI and the DOJ are about to read him the riot act.
And there's nobody that's gonna save him.
My head stopped hurting. Now I’m rubbing my hands together in glee! Thank you so much for clarification and a glimmer of hope!
Remember: Jared Kushner spent a lot of time retrieving top secret materials, and he was not authorized nor cleared to read any of it. Rachel Maddow interviewed Wash Post reporter who said these documents were so classified, you couldn’t release an inventory because it was classified —no one is supposed to know those documents even exist. https://youtu.be/EajmUKVzLLQ
tRump & minions have done extensive damage to our national security—the GOP is a crime syndicate, and see how they rally behind a traitor.
I hope the documents have something to do with his blackmailing certain Republican legislators which might shed light on Kevin McCarthy and others switch from insurrection critics to Trump supporters after McCarthy’s post 1/6 visit to Mar A Lago.
The top secret papers in the remaining boxes and safe were too voluminous for him to tear up and flush down the toilet. First of all, he’s way too lazy for that level of work and second of all his poor plumbing at Mar-a-LARDO is already on it’s last legs having to deal with him everyday.
So clear, Lucian! Thanks for laying out the legal process. Really brought home its intense seriousness. I still wonder how anyone knows what was missing. How is that double check done? Then, like one of your readers below, I wonder why the documents would be in DJT’s home. Here’s my suspicion: if DJT knows his “foreign” loan is coming due and he won’t or might not be able to pay it, he would trade a National secret for loan forgiveness. That’s the kind of gangster I think he is; but ultimately I lack the imagination to project what he’s truly capable of doing. ❤️🤍💙
What a masterful explanation of the law and procedures and sizing up of what may be coming! Thank you, Lucian.
A president doing espionage. Wouldn't that be treason? And we know the penalty for treason.
One of the reasons Trump was "hired" to run for POTUS is that he is transactional in all dealings. No empathy for others, no personal integrity.
Do we know that they actually “broke into” his safe? Maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but I can’t believe the FBI isn’t capable of opening a safe without blowing it up or whatever. And I’d think the safe that Trump would have at MAL isn’t the world’s most secure.
" It’s possible the DOJ may be investigating Trump not only for violating the Presidential Records Act, but for violating the Espionage Act. "
It's worth noting that the Rosenbergs weren't tried for treason but were instead tried, convicted and executed under the Espionage Act.
Maybe contracts/receipts/agreements to sell pardons for money? Or worse, some document Putin has offered big money for or asked for in exchange for not releasing certain information? Or maybe just back-dated pardons for himself, his family and his gang :)
Looks like it might boil down to “Follow the money”.
Thanks for this fabulous summary.