Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions - Update - Judge sets 20 May 2024 trial date for classified documents case

Who knows what was in the documents? Strategy, tactics, types of weapon systems, location of weapon systems, etc. … :open_mouth:

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The FBI took 11 sets of classified files in a search of ex-US President Donald Trump’s estate in Florida this week, according to a search warrant. The cache includes files marked “TS/SCI”, a designation for top secret material that could cause “exceptionally grave” damage to US national security.

It was the first time an ex-president’s home was searched in a criminal probe.

The list of items was made public after a judge unsealed a seven-page document on Friday afternoon which included the warrant authorising the unprecedented search of the former president’s Palm Beach residence, Mar-a-Lago.

It said more than 20 boxes of items were taken on Monday, including a binder of photos, a handwritten note, unspecified information about the “President of France” and a clemency letter written on behalf of long-time Trump ally Roger Stone. As well as four sets of top secret documents, the list includes three sets of “secret documents” and three sets of “confidential” documents.

The warrant indicates that FBI agents were looking into potential violations of the Espionage Act, which makes it illegal to keep or transmit potentially dangerous national security information. The removal of classified documents or materials is prohibited by law. Mr Trump increased the penalties for the crime while in office and it is now punishable by up to five years in prison.

The warrant notes that the locations searched at Mar-a-Lago include an area called the “45 office” and storage rooms, but not private guest suites being used by Mr Trump and his staff.

In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the items recovered were “all declassified” and securely stored. He said he would have been willing to hand the items over before the search warrant was carried out.

Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he … :roll_eyes:

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That would add a bit of irony to this.

Why does he have them at all? It’s been years since he was president. There was no need for him to have any documents, classified or not.

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I think he took them because he believed his exit was unjustified, rigged and wasn’t legal. He probably believed that he needed them because he would be back in office shortly, so they were “his” papers in the first place.

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Interesting theory. Matches the baffling logic he had so you could be right. But he only took a few select documents that weren’t missed for 2 years. How did he choose?

I’m thinking he took documents that would give evidence to blackmail people. That fits his MO in other situations.

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Ahh…good point. I didn’t think of the blackmail angle. Yes…he loves to throw people under the bus doesn’t he :thinking:

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Well it worked for him against all the women he sexually harassed. They kept quiet because of blackmail documents that were supposedly kept in the National Enquirer (tabloid) safe.

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Oh there is so much gossip about his women, (affairs, and supposed abortions) and hush money he gave them to keep quiet. It’s also the first time I have really looked at Mar-a-Lago - its a huge building.

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Part of the information about that came from his former right hand man who says he paid them off. He was under oath and going to jail at the time.

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Who was? The right hand guy? So he had nothing to lose by telling all…interesting!

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His name is Michael Cohen.

He was Trump’s lawyer from 2006. He was disbarred and convicted for his part in the hush money scheme and other financial dealings he hid for Trump.

lol I put in Trump’s right hand man into a search and came up with pages of people who served as his right hand man (woman) who got thrown under the bus.

I think this is related enough to go in this thread.

An Ex-CIA agent says that the backwash from the raid on Mar-a-Lago may lead to another riot like the Jan 6 one.

Trump had more than 300 classified documents and more than 150 labeled as sensitive documents at Mar-a-Lago. Multiple people are saying that Trump went through the documents himself in 2021.

Surveillance footage shows employees going in and out of the storage area with the boxes of classified documents. That was the reason for the urgency.

Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted over his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. It is the second indictment of Mr Trump and the first-ever federal indictment (1) of a former president.

Mr Trump, 76, faces seven charges including unauthorised retention of classified files, US media reported, but further details are unclear.

In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said he was innocent and had been summoned to appear at a federal court in Miami on Tuesday.

“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States,” he wrote.

An indictment enables the prosecution of a suspect for offences they are charged with.

Mr Trump became the first former president to be charged with a crime in April, after he pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records over a hush-money payment to a porn star.

He faces a trial in that case in New York next year.

(1) When a person is indicted, they are given formal notice that it is believed that they committed a crime. The indictment contains the basic information that informs the person of the charges against them.

Will Trump end his days as a convicted criminal … :thinking:

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Or President of the USA. Same qualifications needed.

The aide, navy veteran Walt Nauta, worked at the White House and later at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

It is unclear what charges Mr Nauta is facing in connection with the case.

All will be revealed by court officials at a federal courthouse in Miami, Florida, on 13th June, where the charges will be read.

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The 37-count indictment accuses him of keeping the files at his Florida estate, including in a ballroom and a shower, and lying to investigators. It alleges he then tried to obstruct the investigation into the handling of the documents.

Mr Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, denies any wrongdoing.

The 49-page indictment says the classified documents Mr Trump stored in his boxes contained information about:

  • United States nuclear programmes
  • Defence and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries
  • Potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack
  • Plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack

Prosecutors say that when Mr Trump left office, he took about 300 classified files to Mar-a-Lago - his oceanfront home in Palm Beach, which is also an expansive private members’ club.

The charge sheet notes that Mar-a-Lago hosted events for tens of thousands of members and guests, including in a ballroom where documents were found.

Some files were allegedly stored in a bathroom and a shower, an office space, and Mr Trump’s bedroom.

On two occasions in 2021, the former president showed classified documents to people without security clearance, including a writer and two members of staff.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the investigation, said on Friday that laws protecting national defence information were critical and must be enforced. “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” he said in a brief statement in Washington.

In a social media post, Mr Trump blasted Mr Smith as a “deranged lunatic”. “He is a Trump hater - a deranged ‘psycho’ that shouldn’t be involved in any case having to do with ‘Justice,’” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The usual Trump “response” … :roll_eyes:

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Court documents show that Mr Trump is facing 37 criminal counts of unauthorised possession of classified material, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to law enforcement.

The charges include 31 counts of wilful retention of national defence information under the Espionage Act.

The indictment notes that these charges carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

Four other counts, related to conspiracy and withholding or concealing documents, each carry maximum sentences of 20 years.

The last two counts - scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations - carry sentences of five years each.

“These charges are extremely serious,” Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia, said. “There’s an unbelievable amount of detail there, and much of it is very damning.”

The level of detail and “very troubling” allegations about the mishandling of sensitive national security information constitute a “strong case for the government”, he added.

This time, Trump is playing with fire … :fire:

Just watch this fail just like all the other lies against him.

Should open the door to bang up Biden and Clinton though with a bit of luck.

He left his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Monday morning to travel to Miami.

After Tuesday’s hearing, Mr Trump is expected to return to Bedminster to make remarks to the media.

Those remarks may well include “biased”, “witch-hunt”, “loser”, “lunatic”, “rigged”, “fraudulent”, “haters”, etc, etc.