FL - Former President Donald Trump indicted, 40 counts to classified documents and obstruction of justice, June 2023, Trial May 2024

[JerseyGirl]

In testy exchange, Lindsey Graham argues Trump is 'stronger' after 2nd indictment

Lindsey Graham argued on "This Week" that Trump is "stronger" in his reelection campaign after last week's federal indictment over his handling of classified information

abcnews.go.com

Graham, at times testy in his back-and-forth with ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos, was repeatedly pressed about specific allegations against Trump regarding Trump's handling of classified information while out of office -- including, prosecutors say, being recorded discussing a government secret with others while acknowledging it was still classified.

"I don't know what happened, I haven't heard the audio," Graham, R-S.C., said, later adding when pressed by Stephanopoulos: "I'm not saying it's OK."

Graham said "I'm not justifying his behavior," but largely declined to weigh in on the charges in the indictment beyond saying Trump was not a "spy" and comparing the matter to that of Hillary Clinton.

"I think Donald Trump is stronger today politically than he was before. ... We'll have an election and we'll have a trial, but I promise you this: Most Americans believe, most Republicans believe, that the law is used as a weapon against Donald Trump," Graham said.

 

[JennieM]

‘I’ll never leave’: Trump vows to stay in 2024 presidential race even if convicted​

The embattled former president – still the Republican frontrunner for the nomination – remains defiant even as legal charges pile up

[...]

Even Trump, who survived two impeachments while president and has avoided accountability nearly his entire career, seemed to acknowledge his mounting legal woes.

“Nobody wants to be indicted,” he told Politico. “I don’t care that my poll numbers went up by a lot. I don’t want to be indicted. I’ve never been indicted. I went through my whole life, now I get indicted every two months. It’s been political.”

‘I’ll never leave’: Trump vows to stay in 2024 presidential race even if convicted

The embattled former president – still the Republican frontrunner for the nomination – remained defiant even as legal charges pile up

www.theguardian.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

JUN 11, 2023

CBS News Poll: After Trump indictment, most see security risk, but Republicans see politics

Trump still easily leads GOP field; voters say no change in view

www.cbsnews.com

Republican primary voters say they're far more concerned that Donald Trump's indictment is politically motivated than his alleged conduct being a national security risk – and there's no evidence it's hurt his status as the clear front-runner for the 2024 nomination, at least not yet. He remains well ahead of rivals in both consideration and vote choice.

In fact, most Republican primary voters would not generally consider him keeping the alleged documents with nuclear systems or military plans to be a national security risk, in and of itself.

Most explicitly ruled out the charges announced in the indictment changing their views about Mr. Trump. Rather than being disqualifying in their eyes, even if he's ultimately convicted of a crime in the matter, they overwhelmingly feel he should still be able to serve as president again.

[...]

https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/abc-news-ipsos-trump-federal-indictment

Most Americans view latest Trump charges as serious​

ABC News/Ipsos poll shows nearly half believe former President Donald Trump should suspend his campaign after most recent indictment; views similar to April indictment

 

[SeesSeas]

MSN

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Sunday doubled down on his promise to pardon former President Trump if Trump is convicted and the conservative entrepreneur is elected in 2024.

MSN

Ramaswamy is not the only candidate who wants a pardon for the former president. Republican businessman Perry Johnson has called on President Joe Biden to pardon Trump, and pledged to do the same if elected.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 11, 2023

Bill Barr on Fox News: Trump Indictment Is 'Very, Very Damning'

“If even half of it is true, then he’s toast. It’s a very detailed indictment… This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here, a victim of a witch hunt, is ridiculous”…

www.rollingstone.com

[...]

... “I was shocked by the degree of sensitivity of these documents and how many there were, frankly. And so the government’s agenda was to get those, protect those documents and get them out, and I think it was perfectly appropriate to do that. It was the right thing to do, and I think the counts under the Espionage Act — that he willfully retained those documents — are solid counts.”

Barr continued by dismantling Trump’s argument that he is the innocent victim of a out-of-control witch hunt. “I do think that — what Andy McCarthy said — that if even half of it is true, then he’s toast,” Barr said. “I mean, it’s a very detailed indictment, and it’s very, very damning… This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here, a victim of a witch hunt, is ridiculous… Yes, his adversaries have pursued him with phony claims, and I’ve been at his side defending against them when he is a victim. But this is much different. He’s not a victim here. He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets that the country has… He had no right to retain them, and he kept them in a way — at Mar-a-Lago — that anyone who really cares about national security, their stomach would churn at it.”

[...]

“They gave him every opportunity to return those documents,” Barr added. “They acted with restraint. They were very deferential to him, very patient. They talked to him for almost a year to try to get those documents and he jerked them around. They finally went to a subpoena, and what did he do? According to the government, he lied and obstructed that subpoena. Then they did a search, and they found a lot more documents. And I don’t think they’re even sure now whether they have everything. So they acted in a very patient way, and what they were met with was, according to the government and the indictment, very egregious obstruction.”

[...]

Barr went on to destroy Trump’s argument that he could declare any document unclassified at a whim. “And the second thing… this idea that the president has the complete authority to declare any document personal is facially ridiculous… These are official documents. It’s inarguable. The President’s Daily Brief, provided by the intelligence community, is not Donald J. Trump’s personal document. Period.”

[...]

 

[LaborDayRN]

Of course, it's not about him saving his ......... It's for the good of the people. What an altruistic human being he is. Truly.

Yes. Always thinking of others. He's such a giver.

 

[Chelly]

"I suspect we’re going to see additional indictments and it is going to be a test of our democracy — and particularly the courts — as to whether they are going to have the fortitude and also the acceptance by the American public that we are a country of laws, not men. This is such a defining moment and unique for our country to be in this position after hundreds of years."
- Andrew Weissmann, former Assistant United States Attorney

Takeaways from Trump indictment in Jack Smith classified docs probe

The latest news and live updates on the Trump classified document probe conducted by DOJ special counsel prosecutor Jack Smith.

www.msnbc.com

Justice by a thousand cuts.

 

[Hoosgirl]

I wonder why they have never searched Bedminster, especially given the details in the indictment?

 

[Chelly]

I wonder why they have never searched Bedminster, especially given the details in the indictment?

Wouldn't be surprised if he removed some of the sensitive secret docs out of the country to his estate in Scotland especially if he had future plans for them. That thought horrifies me. Why did he have this material and what did he intend to use them for?

 

[JerseyGirl]

Wouldn't be surprised if he removed some of the sensitive secret docs out of the country to his estate in Scotland especially if he had future plans for them. That thought horrifies me. Why did he have this material and what did he intend to use them for?

From May 2023:

Calls grow to search Trump's Bedminster estate after move...

The Washington Post reported that Mar-a-Lago staff packed an SUV for Trump ahead of a New Jersey trip after moving top secret materials into a storage room.

www.newsweek.com

Legal experts have now suggested that Trump may have moved some classified documents to his golf resort in Bedminster following claims the Mar-a-Lago workers packed an SUV before the former president left for there last summer.

"It's easy to say 'if DOJ believed docs were at Bedminster they already would've searched there.' Nope. Sometimes a very promising angle in a case gets stuck in a holding pattern," Tristan Snell, a lawyer and former assistant attorney general for New York state, tweeted.

"Also: the news about the SUV, which we're just hearing now, may also be a relatively recent revelation to the Feds -- who may still be following up on it. In other words -- YES, the Feds may still search Bedminster. It may still be on their to-do list. These things take time," Snell added.

Last September, footage emerged of Trump and several others loading boxes onto a plane as the former president made his way from Florida to Bedminister in May 2022. The footage was filmed just days after Trump received the federal subpoena requesting all classified materials be returned to the National Archives and Records Administration.

Did Trump Transfer Documents to Bedminster? Ex-FBI Offici...

Peter Strzok posted images of footage showing staff loading boxes onto Trump's private plane in May while he was en route from Florida to New Jersey.

www.newsweek.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1568615338606039040

 

[anneg]

Thread by Ryan Goodman:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1667897858232549379

https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw

The thread continues if you go to Twitter to read.

 

[SouthAussie]

I really don't understand how 35% are so blinkered. Do they recognize there's something at fault here but should be oversighted because Trump is an ex-president who should not be challenged and they are being patriotic about the whole thing (although you could also argue, if they are being patriotic, they would want to uphold the principles of democracy and all that the USA stands for), or do they see nothing at fault?

I think that many, many people do not understand National Security. And how hard people work, behind the scenes, to keep us safe.

For example, they don't think about 9/11 and where the info came from ... the info that enabled that deadly terrorist operation to happen.
They don't think about the pre-emptive actions that our security agencies are consistently taking to try to keep our cities and airways safe.
They don't understand that we cannot have Top Secret documents floating around - documents that may be posted at whim on Twitter by an ignorant (ex) president who thinks he is friends with Kim Jong Un and Putin.

There are many people in this world who are not yet experienced and/or educated enough to understand the danger of Top Secret military documents in the wrong hands.

imo

 

[JerseyGirl]

William Barr says Trump may be ‘toast’ after ‘very damning’ indictment

Former attorney general who has largely broken with Trump ‘shocked by the degree of sensitivity’ of documents

www.theguardian.com

“I do think we have to wait and see what the defense says and what proves to be true. But I do think … if even half of it is true, then he’s toast … It’s a very detailed indictment and it’s very damning,” said Barr.

Barr added: “The government’s agenda was to … protect those documents and get them out and I think it was perfectly appropriate to do that. It was the right thing to do.”

Barr went on to push back against Trump’s narrative that he is the victim of a broader government “hoax”, saying: “Presenting Trump as a victim here, the victim of a witch-hunt, is ridiculous.”

“He’s been a victim in the past. His adversaries have obsessively pursued him with phony claims and I’ve been at his side defending against him when he is a victim, but this is much different. He’s not a victim here,” said Barr.

Barr said: “. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets that the country has. They have to be in the custody of the archivist. He had no right to maintain them and retain them. And he kept them in a way at Mar-a-Lago that anyone who really cares about national security, their stomach would churn at it,” he added.

 

[Arkay]

I think that many, many people do not understand National Security. And how hard people work, behind the scenes, to keep us safe.

For example, they don't think about 9/11 and where the info came from ... the info that enabled that deadly terrorist operation to happen.
They don't think about the pre-emptive actions that our security agencies are consistently taking to try to keep our cities and airways safe.
They don't understand that we cannot have Top Secret documents floating around - documents that may be posted at whim on Twitter by an ignorant (ex) president who thinks he is friends with Kim Jong Un and Putin.

There are many people in this world who are not yet experienced and/or educated enough to understand the danger of Top Secret military documents in the wrong hands.

imo

YES YES YES YES YES! Exactly and thank you for stating this so clearly.

As a New Yorker who lost 10 acquaintances on 9/11, I do think about this often. Prior to 9/11 I doubt that I did.


It is the most GRUESOME situation to have someone who was an actual U.S. President, Leader of the Free World, using the information that keeps us safe and brandishing it just to show off.

Trump seems to consider these papers as his personal souvenirs, from when he was “important,” and as trophies to brag to others in his circle about how essential he used to be.

It’s also childish, IMO. “I know something you don’t know, I’ve got a secret, can’t tell you though!”

A man who congratulates Kim Jong-Un and makes doe eyes at Putin is a man trying to capture the affections of the dictators whom he perceives as tough guys. They don’t have to follow the laws, so why should he? He wants to be on that notorious dictator level.

all JMO of course.

 

[SouthAussie]

JUN 11, 2023

CBS News Poll: After Trump indictment, most see security risk, but Republicans see politics

Trump still easily leads GOP field; voters say no change in view

www.cbsnews.com

Republican primary voters say they're far more concerned that Donald Trump's indictment is politically motivated than his alleged conduct being a national security risk – and there's no evidence it's hurt his status as the clear front-runner for the 2024 nomination, at least not yet. He remains well ahead of rivals in both consideration and vote choice.

In fact, most Republican primary voters would not generally consider him keeping the alleged documents with nuclear systems or military plans to be a national security risk, in and of itself.

Most explicitly ruled out the charges announced in the indictment changing their views about Mr. Trump. Rather than being disqualifying in their eyes, even if he's ultimately convicted of a crime in the matter, they overwhelmingly feel he should still be able to serve as president again.

[...]

I think some of them need to look to their leaders, and wonder why some very experienced leaders are keeping quiet about this matter.


Senate Republican leaders, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), are staying quiet about former President Trump’s indictment on 37 criminal charges, letting him twist in the wind and breaking with House Republican leaders who have rushed to Trump’s defense.

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) ... Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) ..... have also indicated they don’t want Trump to win the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.

“They want him to go away so they wouldn’t be very upset if this is the thing that finally takes him out,” said a former Senate Republican aide about the Senate Republican leaders’ silence on Trump’s indictment.

“Jack Smith is very credible,” said the former Senate GOP aide.

Former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) .... said the Department of Justice’s indictment may prove too much for Trump to overcome. “At some point there’s a straw that breaks the camel’s back and there’s a whole lot of straws on the back of Donald Trump right now,” he said.

Senate GOP leaders break with House on Trump indictment

Editor’s note: This report has been updated to clarify that the indictment accuses former President Trump of showing a classified document about attacking Iran to a writer without security cl…

thehill.com

 

[Lilibet]

There are many people in this world who are not yet experienced and/or educated enough to understand the danger of Top Secret military documents in the wrong hands.

And I suspect that there are many who don’t want to understand the danger in this particular case.

JMO

 

[Angela_Beckett]

Dunno. I don't think those boxes were in the bathroom just because.
I think that ugly room was pretty convenient for any buddy foreign (enemy) agent to get access to top secret matters in a rather easy, discreet and inconspicuous way. Who knows who really had to go in precisely that bathroom, phone camera in hand.
Dunno. It reeks of treason.

IMO, of course.

 

[SouthAussie]

YES YES YES YES YES! Exactly and thank you for stating this so clearly.

As a New Yorker who lost 10 acquaintances on 9/11, I do think about this often. Prior to 9/11 I doubt that I did.

RSBM

I am the opposite. I have been aware of National (and international) Security since about 8 years old ... having grown up in a small desert town that was closed to the public (security pass required to enter). Because the town housed international people (and their families) who worked at the nearby rocket base and in weapons research.

We were not even allowed to take photos for many years, then that rule was eased to allow photos of family and school situations.

Because everything work-related was classified. Everything had a tight lid kept upon it.
So it astonishes me that anyone can flippantly think DT's actions are okay. But I understand that few have had the childhood that I had - which BTW was wonderful and so very cocooned and safe. But perhaps not so safe if people like DT decided to boast to the public about that small town.

 

[passionflower]

https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-politics/ill-never-yield-furious-donald-trumps-first-spray-after-indictment/news-story/9bd3c1bebee02f10ce194706c13aa9e7

Insanity

This part of the article is so comical, among some of the other paragraphs posted. moo

“We got to stand up to the … radical left Democrats, their lawless partisan prosecutors … Every time I fly over a blue state, I get a subpoena,” said Trump at the onset of the meandering speech that attempted to bridge his legal troubles with campaign promises.

“I’ve put everything on the line and I will never yield. I will never be detained. I will never stop fighting for you,” he added.

why is he free as a bird? Usually traitors are behind bars before trial because of flight risks

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trump poses 'danger' and meets standard for pre-trial det...

The former president called for supporters to rally outside the federal courthouse in Miami where he is set to be arraigned on Tuesday.

www.newsweek.com

Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor who now acts as a legal analyst focused on the many cases against Trump, shared a screenshot of Trump's post to Twitter on Saturday, presenting it as evidence that the former president should qualify for pre-trial detention.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1667510154722529282