Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

Trump indictment is only 'a fraction of the evidence the government has amassed': Maggie Haberman

Special counsel Jack Smith's indictment of former President Donald Trump drew praise for its thoroughness even from conservative legal experts such as Jonathan Turley and former Attorney General Bill Barr, who in the past have defended the former president amid numerous scandals.

And according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, the government has a lot more damning proof that it can throw at Trump during his criminal trial.

Writing on Twitter, Haberman reveals that "the indictment, according to multiple people familiar with the case, shows a fraction of the evidence the government has amassed."

One of the biggest problems for Trump, Haberman writes, is that the government has been able to get much of its evidence from Trump's own lawyers who were forced to hand over their personal notes after special counsel Jack Smith's office successfully used the crime-fraud exception to pierce attorney-client privilege.

Haberman notes that Trump ignored his lawyers' own advice to turn over the documents in his possession as requested by a subpoena.

"Had Trump taken the advice of lawyers and advisers urging him to do what National Archives asked for nearly a year -- return the materials -- what followed would not have happened. Instead, almost everyone around him has been thrust into either peril or drama in the case," she writes.

https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1668237816646586369



Why the Trump indictment isn't about politics but national security

David Rothkopf, Michael Schmidt and Brian Klaas join Morning Joe to discuss recent remarks from former AG Bill Barr on the Trump indictment and why the case is about national security.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Republicans ‘brought to their knees’ with ‘Trump’s insatiable appetite for violence’: Nicolle Wallace



Every day in America, people are charged with federal crimes and must appear in federal courthouses. There's rarely any violence and never an uprising. But as June 13 approaches, there is a fear that the "thinly veiled threats" about potential violence, at a federal courthouse in Miami, are more than bluster.

Mary McCord, who previously worked as the acting assistant attorney general for national security at the U.S. Department of Justice, spoke to MSNBC about it on Monday, saying that she was fearful Trump's arraignment could turn into another Jan. 6.

"This is something that's been building up over the years," McCord told MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace. "And you can already see it, if you just kind of compare this type of rhetoric from a few years ago, like pre-2020, to where we are now ... You see a consistent drumbeat of thinly-veiled calls to violence that get thinner and thinner. It seems like elected officials have continued to push the envelope of, you know, what they think they can get by with doing. What will come just short of crossing that line into a threat that is a crime or incitement to imminent violence, which is a crime, and others are not condemning it? So, it normalizes this type of rhetoric; it normalizes this type of violence."

Speaking to The New York Times over the weekend, McCord said that until there is some accountability for those using that kind of rhetoric, including elected officials, it's never going to stop.

"Instead, what happens is the people who listen to it, the people who feel like it's giving them permission to go out and engage in acts of harassment, intimidation, and violence, they're the ones who ultimately pay the price. We've seen that with the thousand prosecutions after Jan. 6th. If there are lone actors or groups that interrupt the judicial proceedings or engage in threats or intimidation near the courthouse, they may be arrested for various crimes they committed. Yet, too often, these elected officials who are really calling for it and normalizing it and giving permission oftentimes go scot-free. So, this is a dangerous spiral that we're in of continuing to escalate this kind of rhetoric that causes real-world actions."

Wallace harkened back to Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, watching the drama unfold.

"Now you have a lot of the Jan. 6th enthusiasts pointing back to that and toward tomorrow in Miami," said Wallace. She then quoted people calling for "war" and for "blood." "MAGA will make Waco look like a tea party."

McCord noted that some of the threats could be actionable for the FBI. She's hoping that the mistakes of Jan. 6 helped law enforcement be more prepared to fully mobilize.

"It is surreal to have this conversation in private, having worked in the government," Wallace confessed. (She previously worked for George W. Bush's administration.)

"It is indescribable to have it on live TV and to have been a part of the party that is now part of the rot and threat to domestic security in the United States," Wallace added. I remember, and I think based on his early messages as a candidate, he won't mind if I disclose this for the first time. I remember talking to Chris Christie after Trump said 'Stand back and stand by,' to the Proud Boys. I think him explaining why he wouldn't do it. I understood not just Trump's enthusiasm for the support of anyone and everyone, including David Duke, but Trump's insatiable appetite for violence carried out. And that was the fall of 2016. What it has brought is — it's brought the entire Republican Party to its hands and knees."

She went on to call the GOP "impotent" for being unable to do anything to stop the violence from their own side and, in some cases, their own officials.

"If they decided today, this is not how they want the country to be... it's too late. It's too late. If this is something I could find before I came on the air, do you know what the radicalized extremists found? They're awash in violent tactical instructions on exactly how to carry out retribution for their leader, Donald Trump. What do we do?"

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Trump’s former White House lawyer Ty Cobb publicly stated last month that Trump is likely going to prison. Then Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr said that if even half of what’s in the DOJ indictment is correct, Trump is “toast.” Now Trump’s other former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney is saying that Trump’s odds of going to prison “are pretty high.” All of Trump's former lackeys all know he's headed to prison.   

Trump's Ex-Chief of Staff Says Guilty Verdict, Jail Time Chance 'High'
https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-ex-chief-staff-says-guilty-verdict-jail-time-chance-high-1806088

[Rick Plant]

'Do they really have that?' Former Trump documents case attorney astonished at Mar-a-Lago evidence



Special counsel Jack Smith has an enormous amount of damning evidence in the indictment against former President Donald Trump and his top aide at Mar-a-Lago, Walt Nauta, with respect to moving around boxes of highly classified information to conceal them from not just federal authorities but from Trump's own then-attorney Evan Corcoran.

At least, that's the assessment of Tim Parlatore, another former attorney for the president, who appeared on CNN's "OutFront" alongside former White House counsel Ty Cobb, to discuss the details of the indictment with anchor Erin Burnett. Parlatore previously had defended the former president as Smith's investigation entered its final stages and charges appeared likely, but in recent days acknowledged the indictment detailed far more severe behavior than he knew was going on.

"Can I first just ask you, because you're as close to this as anyone other than Evan Corcoran," said Burnett. "When you read this part that says that Walt Nauta was moving documents and moving boxes so that Evan Corcoran, the lawyer, attorney number one, would not know it and would therefore say you have everything. Did your jaw sort of drop for a second?"

Parlatore replied that, "It was definitely different from how I understood the theory of these boxes moving to be ... something I looked at and I thought, wow, 'do they really have that?' And, full candor, I read that and I was wondering. Because if that's what they actually had, it's something that I would have expected us to know about earlier."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Trump faces 37 federal charges, including dozens of violations of the Espionage Act, for allegedly trying to conceal highly classified national defense information from federal officials trying to return it to the National Archives, even moving it around from room to room in boxes so that his own lawyers wouldn't be aware there were documents he was refusing to give up.



Trump 'oversaw' the packing of classified documents when he moved from White House: legal expert



Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig outlined the new details revealed in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, who according to prosecutors oversaw every step of the removal of the classified documents from the White House, in a Monday segment on CNN's "The Lead."

"We're learning more about the locations of the boxes that contain classified materials inside Mar-a-Lago and just how close they were to the public," said anchor Jake Tapper. "It provides a disturbing timeline of the movement of the documents throughout Mar-a-Lago."

"Jake, these documents went on quite a journey which actually begins in Washington, D.C.," said Honig. "One important mystery that the indictment addresses is when these boxes were getting packed up in the final days of the White House, the indictment alleges, Donald Trump knew about that and oversaw it.

"There was some question before by some of his supporters, why would he be involved in the packing, the indictment alleges he was involved in that. Documents get shipped down to Florida, to Mar-a-Lago. And the first place they are stored is in this room, in the white and gold ballroom and, yes, that is a stage, that is where they are. And the indictment is, again, a little bit ambiguous. It says there were regularly events, weddings, fundraisers—"

"We see TikToks and stuff held in this," cut in Tapper. "Donald Trump shows up and gives a speech."

"Exactly," said Honig. "What the indictment says, this room was in use at the time that they stored those documents there. Next, they get moved temporarily to a business center and then they land in, yes, that is a bathroom and, yes, that right there is a toilet, that is a shower, that was their next destination in a place in Mar-a-Lago called the lake room. And then finally, and this is really the most important place where they land, these documents are moved to a storage room.

"There's one incident in the indictment where one of the attendants goes in and finds classified documents. They're blurred out. But highly classified documents spilled on the ground, and the indictment says this is the storage room right here and it says it was accessible by a hallway which you could get to by the pool patio. This is the pool right here and it was often kept unlocked."

"This becomes a focus for the obstruction charges," Honig added. "They get a subpoena, they move the boxes inside the storage room. But in the day before the lawyer appears, Trump has 64 boxes pulled out and only 30 returned. When the lawyer did that review, 34 boxes of documents were missing."

"Just a reminder, this is a hotel and resort," said Tapper. "This is not a presidential enclave. It's a hotel and resort."

Watch below:

[Rick Plant]

Donald Trump preparing for federal arraignment Tuesday

Donald Trump is preparing for federal arraignment Tuesday on 37 criminal charges in the classified documents case. CNN's Rosemary Church interviews former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti.

Watch: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/06/13/exp-trump-arraignment-renato-mariotti-intv-061302aseg2-cnni-politics.cnn

Trump documents case is a test for the justice system he wants to dismantle
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/12/politics/trump-documents-case-justice-system/index.html

Trump will face judge in historic court appearance over charges he mishandled secret documents
https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-indictment-miami-court-e9412bb71b63ab1b7cfb8e8b122e9809


Trump indictment details plot to hide sensitive documents

Trump has been charged with 37 felony counts for keeping and hiding documents with sensitive national security content



Federal prosecutors in the United States have unsealed a sweeping indictment against former President Donald Trump that alleges he hoarded and concealed classified documents containing sensitive national security information.

The 49-page document laid out 37 federal charges against Trump. Thirty-one of the charges relate to violations under the Espionage Act, which criminalises unauthorised possession of national defence information. Each charge under the act carries a ten-year maximum sentence.

Five other charges pertain to Trump’s alleged scheme to hide the documents as federal authorities launched an investigation. One more accuses the ex-president of making false statements to investigators.

Trump’s aide, Waltine “Walt” Nauta, was also charged with six felonies related to hiding documents and making false statements.

“Our laws that protect National Defense Information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced,” said Special Counsel Jack Smith, whom the US justice department appointed to oversee the investigation in November.


This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records in a storage room at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida [US Department of Justice via AP]

"Violations of those laws put our country at risk,” he continued, issuing remarks at a brief, three-minute news conference on Friday. “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”

For his part, Trump maintained that he had done nothing wrong. He also attacked prosecutor Smith as a “deranged lunatic”, saying he provided investigators with the materials they asked for.

“I supplied them openly, and without question, security tape from Mar-a-Lago. I had nothing to hide, nor do I now,” the former president wrote on his Truth Social site.

Indictment sets high stakes

But the indictment unsealed by Department of Justice prosecutors told a very different story.

It alleged that Trump kept boxes that “included information regarding defence and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programmes; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to foreign attack”.

The indictment also indicated that the contents of those boxes, if released, could have had devastating consequences.

“The unauthorised disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods,” it said.

The prosecutors explained that the documents were haphazardly stored across Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, including in unsecured locations like a bathroom, ballroom and a shower.

One photo released by prosecutors showed documents spilled onto the floor of a storage room that could be “reached from multiple outside entrances, including one accessible from The Mar-a-Lago Club pool patio through a doorway that was often kept open”.

The documents include some with classified markings signalling that they were only to be released to the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which consists of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US.

Alleged attempts to conceal

As federal investigators ratcheted up their probe into the classified documents recovered at Mar-a-Lago, the former president weighed not complying with the order or outright lying, according to the indictment.

“Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?” Trump allegedly said, as recounted to federal investigators by one of his lawyers. “Well look, isn’t it better if there are no documents?”

That exchange came in the wake of a May 2022 subpoena, requiring that Trump turn over any classified documents in his possession.

The indictment further accuses Trump of “causing” his lawyers to falsely certify that Mar-a-Lago had been thoroughly searched and all documents had been located, in accordance with the subpoena.

Furthermore, prosecutors allege, Trump instructed his aide Nauta to move 64 boxes to “conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI and the grand jury”. On Friday, Trump defended Nauta, calling him “strong, brave, and a great patriot.

Documents revealed to visitors

Prosecutors have also said that Trump took a flippant approach to the classified documents when they were in his possession.

In one instance, Trump allegedly moved some records to his resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. There, he showed “a classified map related to a military operation” to a person who worked for his political action committee, according to the indictment.

He told the visitor that “he should not be showing it to the representative and that the representative should not get too close”, the indictment said.

In another instance, an audio recording revealed Trump displayed a “highly confidential” military document to a visiting writer and publisher, the indictment said.

"As president, I could have declassified it, and now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret,” Trump allegedly said. US media has previously reported on the interaction.

Trump’s statement in that instance, however, could prove particularly damning, as the ex-president has maintained he declassified all the documents before leaving office. He has not provided proof, however, that he took action to lower their classification status.

A years long saga

The unsealed indictment represents the culmination of a years-long saga that began in May 2021, when the National Archives — which maintains presidential documents — demanded that missing records be returned.

Trump’s team turned in 15 boxes by January 2022, with 14 containing classified documents. The National Archives later reported that some of those had been returned ripped apart.

By May 2022, the justice department had issued its subpoena requiring any remaining documents to be surrendered. Ultimately, suspecting further documents remained at Mar-a-Lago, the FBI raided the resort in August, recovering 102 classified records.

Now, the case heads to federal court, where a Trump appointee, Judge Aileen Cannon, has reportedly been tapped to initially oversee the proceedings. She was thrust into the spotlight last year when she issued a decision to appoint a “special master” in the classified documents probe.

Cannon also briefly barred federal agents and prosecutors from reviewing a batch of seized documents, an order that was ultimately thrown out in a scathing opinion by a federal appeals court.

Trump is set to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, where the secret service was already planning logistics.

On Friday, Trump abruptly parted ways with his lawyers, James Trusty and John Rowley, and appointed Todd Blanche — a former federal prosecutor — to lead his defence.

AFP



'It would almost be malpractice': Trump lawyer Alina Habba's defense gutted by legal analyst



According to former prosecutor Paul Butler, one of Donald Trump's many lawyers is barking up the wrong tree if she thinks provisions found within the Presidential Records Act will come into play as her client faces a 37-count indictment in federal court.

Appearing with MSNBC host Chris Jansing, Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler dismissed out of hand a defense offered by Trump attorney Alina Habba during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, explaining she seems to not be aware of what is contained within special counsel Jack Smith's indictment.

Habba told Fox host Shannon Bream, "What I can tell you is he has every right to have classified documents that he declassifies under the Presidential Records Act. They're making it sound like a five-alarm fire and it's not."

She continued, "Frankly, he was the only one that could take classified documents that he declassified under the Presidential Records Act -- people forget that."

"Is that something, Paul, you could expect to hear at trial?" host Jansing asked.

"I hope not because it would almost be malpractice," Butler shot back. "The Presidential Records Act is not anything that Donald Trump is charged with -- he's charged with very serious federal felonies."

"For all those scandalous charges in the indictment, the problem for Donald Trump is that Jack Smith has receipts," he elaborated. "He's got dozens of those documents pertaining to national security, he's got photos, he's got audio and video tape, he's got text messages."

"Chris, what's probably most worrisome for Donald Trump is that the special counsel also has a lot of evidence that we don't yet know about," he added. "You can be sure he's saving some of the most incriminating evidence against Donald Trump for the trial."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

'Espionage': New Lincoln Project video slams Trump’s enablers



The Lincoln Project in a newly released video slams those who have enabled Donald Trump after the former president was indicted over allegations that he mishandled classified documents in violation of the Espionage Act.

“Donald Trump indicted again, this time, for violating the Espionage Act,” the video’s narrator says, calling it “one of the worst crimes imaginable.”

The pro-democracy group in the video compares the allegations against the former president to the actions of others convicted under the Espionage Act, including Robert HanssenAldrich Ames, Ana Montes, John Walker, Ronald W. Pelton.

“All indicted for violating the Espionage Act with the prison terms that traitors and spies against America deserve,” the narrator says.

The narrator then posits the question, “And what will Trump get?”

“The men and women running against him for president will defend him, praise him, make excuses. They'll lie about the prosecution and make up stories about the deep state to rile up the MAGA base. There is no excuse for espionage. No defense for stealing America's secrets or sharing them with anyone, ever,” the video’s narrator says.

“Trump did this to himself. He took the documents he shared them and conspired to cover it up. Patriots know people who commit this crime belong in prison, not the White House.”

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Donald Trump has been arrested! And many people say he brought the fake Melania Trump with him.


Trump under arrest in federal documents probe
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/donald-trump-indictment-court-appearance-06-13-23/index.html