Prosecutors have evidence Trump showed classified papers to people – report

submitted by ActuallyNot from theguardian.com

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[–]ActuallyNot[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

That was just the prosecutor's very colorful assumption of what happen. Deceptively, it is NOT a statement of fact.

There is video footage and text messages that show him moving boxes around in the period that NARA was requesting the return of its documents.

That was the prosecutor's misleading description of Trump asking his lawyer what options he has

Not misleading. Trump suggested hiding and destroying documents. There are classified documents still missing, so we know he actually did at least one of those.

We don't know what specific documents the national archive subpoenaed.

They asked for all the NARA owned documents that he had. We know they found more in the search after he said he had given them all, and that a diligent search had been performed.

I don't believe what they mentioned shows evidence at all of conspiring to hide anything.

Saying you don't have any more documents while ordering those same documents to be moved around is conspiring to hide them.

They have evidence that he consulted with his lawyer about options to resist a very questionable and non-standard legal request.

NARA getting their own documents back is not questionable. In the case of top secret documents being stored with the utter disrespect for national security as shown in the photos, way too much deference has been given to Trump as an ex president.

The Presidential Records Act gives the President huge authority to declare documents his personal presidential records, which he can take with him for his personal library.

Absolutely not.

Personal records are birthday cards from your kids. Everything related to the job are the property of NARA. Top secret documents are out of the question.

NARA owns and controls the documents in a presidential library.

This is especially true, considering Trump is expressly legally permitted to have a lot of official documents, likely expressly classified ones, to build his personal presidential records.

No. Not even close.

[–]SoCo 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I have stated that I believe based on the Presidential Records Act, that you are wrong. You have simply said, "Nu Uh!"

This does not contribute to the conversation and seems to repeatedly waste significant amounts of my time.

Read the law and stop repeating the TV propagandists. Ensure you get the full text with all the amendments, as most law cliff-note type websites have changed their pages on the relevant law in the last month or so.

It is much more than one page, but this is the starting point 44 USC 2203.

[–]ActuallyNot[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I have stated that I believe based on the Presidential Records Act, that you are wrong. You have simply said, "Nu Uh!"

What "you believe based on the Presidential Records Act", is not based on the Presidential Records Act.

Here is the definition of personal records from the Presidential Records Act:

Note the complete lack of "giv[ing] the President huge authority to declare documents his personal presidential record"

https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=44-USC-2035507102-1726767310&term_occur=999&term_src=title:44:chapter:22:section:2203

personal records

(3) The term “personal records” means all documentary materials, or any reasonably segregable portion therof, of a purely private or nonpublic character which do not relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President. Such term includes— (A) diaries, journals, or other personal notes serving as the functional equivalent of a diary or journal which are not prepared or utilized for, or circulated or communicated in the course of, transacting Government business; (B) materials relating to private political associations, and having no relation to or direct effect upon the carrying out of constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President; and (C) materials relating exclusively to the President’s own election to the office of the Presidency; and materials directly relating to the election of a particular individual or individuals to Federal, State, or local office, which have no relation to or direct effect upon the carrying out of constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President.

Trump is not "expressly legally permitted to have a lot of official documents, likely expressly classified ones, to build his personal presidential records".

A president doesn't own even those records that the archivist allows him to take to his library. The archivist is responsible for their storage and disposal, if they decide that any can be disposed of. There are massive protocols about moving and storage of classified documents, none of which include an ex-president taking them to his ballroom and leaving them on the stage. And then having recorded discussions about them, including showing them to people in two cases.

I don't know where you got the idea that they can just take classified documents, but it's not any law.

Read the law and stop repeating the TV propagandists.

Oh the irony.

The Presidential Records Act gives the President huge authority to declare documents his personal presidential records

Can you point on the paragraph of the presidential records act that does that? I cant see the part your talking about.

[–]SoCo 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I think you misunderstood... That is the Federal Records Act, not the Presidential Records Act.

The Federal Records Act has a narrower focus, such as just the communications to and from the President's advisors.

There's also the another transition act and tons of laws about the safe and peaceful transition of power, something generally enshrined across many longstanding laws, in fearful forethought. They also use law to choreograph every little thing about the transition, including a person responsible for it.