The more he protests his innocence or attempts to delay his inevitable prosecution for multiple crimes, the more Il Douche incriminates himself.The latest example comes in the Justice Department's response to his request for a special master to examine the document in question in camera based on a defunct claim of executive privilege.The request is pending before a Trump-appointed judge, but the filing gave federal attorneys an opening to reveal yet more negative information about his mishandling, and even deliberate concealment, of national defense information.
The DOJ asserts that Trumpillini, who was subpoenaed in May to turn over all government papers in his possession, concealed documents from federal agents by moving them from the storage room in the basement to other parts of the resort compound including the so-called "45 Office". But a search warrant was not deemed necessary until Trumps' lawyers certified that all the protected documents had been turned over in June. That certification proved false, probably because an insider tipped the FBI that classified material still remained on the premises and told them where it could be found. On August 8th the FBI executed a warrant after showing probable cause that crimes had been committed. Twice as many documents were found at Mar-a-Lago then had been previously surrendered. Some classified documents were found in his unlocked desk drawer commingled with personal mementos of his time grifting at the Oval. Trumpillini continues to falsely claim he 'declassified' the documents before taking them out of the White House to excuse his reckless treatment of the nation's most secret secrets. Declassification is simply another lie issued by a compulsive liar.
Classification is a highly regulated process that was not followed by the former guy--waiving your hand over the papers and uttering "Declasifimundus" is NOT sufficient. In the first place classification is not even relevant to some of the potential charges alleged. Beyond that, his attempt to claim declassification defense is barred by the Nixon Tapes Supreme Court case involving the Watergate tapes and former president Richard Nixon, who is now only the penultimate scofflaw in US history.
In 1994, the National Security Act was amended to allow for the promulgation of regulations governing government classification of government secrets that would be binding on all "executive agencies". The current executive order implementing the statute was issued by President Obama in 2009. The order placed authority to declassify information relating to sources, methods and activities of US intelligence with the Director of National Intelligence. That person must consult with the agency that originally classified the information. Such information includes human intelligence sources, and nuclear weapon secrets. None of this occurred before Trump decamped to his Florida resort. The Supreme Court ruled in the Nixon Tapes case that a president is bound by executive regulations (in this case the rules establishing the Watergate Special Prosecutor) while they are still in force. Following this precedent, a federal appeals court wrote in New York Times v, CIA,“Declassification cannot occur unless designated officials follow specified procedures ...Because declassification, even by the President, must follow established procedures.” [Emphases added]
There is no need for a special master in Trump's case because the DOJ has already filtered out documents that might be protected under an evidentiary privilege like attorney-client. Even that fails if the privilege communications takes place in the commission of a crime. Appointing a master would also hold up the assessment of damage by the Intelligence Community. His late request is only another delaying tactic by a dangerous man.
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| credit: Darcy, Cleveland Plain Dealer "Oh Vlad, about that Moscow hotel we talked about..." |
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