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Trump did not violate the law because he could not violate the law
American Thinker ^ | 06/10/2023 | Andrea Widburg

Posted on 06/10/2023 8:48:07 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Those conservatives rightly outraged at the Trump indictment keep comparing his treatment to that given to Hillary, Biden, and Pence, each of whom admitted to violating national security laws. That’s the wrong argument because Trump is not similarly situated to those lawbreakers. Instead, because he was president when he took possession of the documents, Trump cannot be guilty of the crimes with which he’s charged.

It starts with the Constitution, which created three equal branches of government: The legislative branch (Art. I), the executive (presidential) branch (Art. II), and the judiciary (Art. III). As part of his authority as the nation’s chief executive, the Art II president is also commander-in-chief of the military.

There are three analytical strands at work here. First, as Conservative Tree House explains, the Espionage Act of 1917, which is the basis for the charges against Trump, was enacted long before the document classification scheme began in 1951. CTH notes that isn’t arguing that the documents were classified; it’s arguing that the documents in Trump’s possession are “vital to the defense security of the United States.”

Mark Wauck sums up the problem:

CTH is absolutely correct that the Trump situation is NOT what the Espionage Act purports to be about. The use of the Espionage Act has regularly been prone to abuse, and it has always had its critics because of the very broad and vague language, such as “relating to”. Hopefully Trump’s lawyers will attack from this angle in pre-trial motions.

Second, the real issue in the indictment is whether Trump correctly handled documents under the Presidential Records Act, which is not a criminal violation (h/t Mark Wauck):

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: classified; doj; harassment; indictment; jacksmithgaslighting; nocasejack; persecution; trump; trump2024
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To: SeekAndFind

Great piece. Very clear and convincing.


21 posted on 06/11/2023 2:50:10 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: SeekAndFind

Agree


22 posted on 06/11/2023 3:27:59 AM PDT by xzins (Retired US Army chaplain. Support our troops by praying for their victory. )
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To: P-Marlowe

The president owned his documents. At the time they entered his hands, they were entirely his to dispose of as he saw fit.

Had Bush wanted to sit down with Osama bin Laden and SHOW him what combat power they could bring to bear, because HE thought that was the best way to approach a situation, then he would have been fully within his right to do so.


23 posted on 06/11/2023 3:30:50 AM PDT by xzins (Retired US Army chaplain. Support our troops by praying for their victory. )
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To: SeekAndFind

Meanwhile, for anyone thinking RFKJ could be a possible alternative as prez, who wants a liberal Hollywood first lady calling the shots?

“Mr. Kennedy said that he would “love to go on Steve Bannon’s show, but Cheryl just can’t bear that,” so he has not.”

https://dnyuz.com/2023/06/10/robert-f-kennedy-jr-wants-to-be-president-cheryl-hines-is-along-for-the-ride/


24 posted on 06/11/2023 3:32:01 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges in an investigation into his handling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday.

The indictment comes after more than 100 documents with classified markings were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August 2022.

Trump has been charged with 37 counts: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information; one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/live-updates/trump-indictment/?id=99913217


25 posted on 06/11/2023 4:46:10 AM PDT by deport
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To: nickcarraway

Exactly


26 posted on 06/11/2023 5:11:08 AM PDT by sipow
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To: SeekAndFind

Meritless Garland needs to be impeached and removed post haste.


27 posted on 06/11/2023 5:25:00 AM PDT by sauropod (“If they don’t believe our lies, well, that’s just conspiracy theorist stuff, there.”)
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To: nickcarraway

“This pretends to he a defense of Trump, bit it’s really a defense of Biden, the Clinton’s, and Obama.”

Almost

Only Obummer was POTUS.
The others never had that authority.


28 posted on 06/11/2023 6:12:30 AM PDT by Macoozie (Handcuffs and Orange Jumpsuits)
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To: Taxman

ping


29 posted on 06/11/2023 6:18:49 AM PDT by Taxman (SAVE AMERICA! VOTE REPUBLICAN IN 2023 AND 2024!)
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To: joesbucks

That tacit assumption must be that any documents removed from the archives while he was President have a classification level known only to Trump.


30 posted on 06/11/2023 7:00:28 AM PDT by Homer1
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To: Homer1

Did these ever make it to the archives? Second, their status must be made known should something change.


31 posted on 06/11/2023 7:24:34 AM PDT by joesbucks
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To: SeekAndFind

Trump correctly handled documents under the Presidential Records Act, which is not a criminal violation.

He’s dealing with democrats law is not included in their actions they will make up the law as they see fit to accomplish their agenda.
With the support of the MSM they may damned well get away with it.

Stalin raps box


32 posted on 06/11/2023 8:56:58 AM PDT by Vaduz (....)
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To: deport
Thanks for listing those charges that won't hold up. Looks like a big team went to a lot of effort to preserve the bureaucracy's grip on power it has no right to wield.

They've gone so far, motivated by fear of being exposed, that the line between everyday "news noise" and blatant lying is becoming apparent to the masses who usually pay little attention. By attacking the President who served us so well during this time under one so unimaginably horrible citizens are realizing the election WAS stolen and the thieves are purposely ruining all they can while they can.

I've always had faith that the Founders were so brilliant that they devised a governmental template so strong it could not be brought down without decades of opposition. This regime and the overall weakness of our representatives may yet prove me wrong.

33 posted on 06/11/2023 5:13:14 PM PDT by MikelTackNailer (Justice for the wrongfully gulaged J-6ers. Prison or rope for their persecutors.)
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To: MikelTackNailer

I’ve always had faith that the Founders were so brilliant that
they devised a governmental template so strong it could not
be brought down without decades of opposition.

*********

Well it has in effect been changing every since Columbus sailed
the ocean blue in 1492. Think of the history and the changes.

The new comers rounded up the natives and put them on reservations.
Then they went to Africa and brought in their natives to do the labor
such as: plow/plant/harvest the crops/manual labor then the females
were brought in to cook, clean,tend the children/etc.

Then in 1865 a civil war occurred to free the slaves nationwide.
Now over a few hundred years they have become educated, leaders,
and now a political force. They have progressed and will continue, imo.

Change is inevitable and adaption is hard to be accomplished. This
to a degree is one of changes and you see the turmoil of people being
able to accept them. jmo


34 posted on 06/11/2023 7:27:53 PM PDT by deport
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