FBI search warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago (Update: Trump Indicted!)

[Crumpets]

This is why it's so hard to get a Trump apologist to play the game of "what piece of evidence would it take to convince you of his guilt?" and why his defenders always fall back on "the system is unfair" rather then "he's innocent."

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Why do so many white-collar criminals record themselves confessing to crimes?

I'm inclined to doubt that Trump is the one who recorded it.

I bet it was one of his lackeys who wanted to have some dirt in case Trump threw everyone else under the bus.

Quite likely.

[Darthpi – Anti-Florida Activist]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1664053375380471808

No one in Trump world has ever watched The Wire, confirmed.

[Crumpets]

So, Margo Martin taped the minutes of a March MAGA meeting on Mark Meadows's memoirs?

EDIT: It further appears Meadows's memoir might have mentioned Mark Milley's missives.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1664053375380471808

The same thing that brought down Nixon!

[emailking]

The campaign's statement notably does not deny the recording exists or that the document is real.

Leaks from radical partisans behind this political persecution are designed to inflame tensions and continue the media's harassment of President Trump and his supporters. It's just more proof that when it comes to President Trump, there are absolutely no depths to which they will not sink as they pursue their witch hunts. The DOJ's continued interference in the presidential election is shameful and this meritless investigation should cease wasting the American taxpayer's money on Democrat political objectives

[emailking]

CNN gets knocked around a lot on this website, but this is a pretty incredible exclusive they got.

[Bojack Horseman]

A very wise man once said to me that sh**t will always find its way to the sewer eventually.

[Yoda]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1664053375380471808

It's pretty crazy that trump is the one who recorded himself essentially admitting to a crime. I too would have thought that it would have been someone else, as trump has a looooong history of lying about what he said in meetings, especially after he kicks out potential witness like he did with Comey.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Trump might actually get convicted if his lawyer is that big of a moron.

Usually his lawyers end up having to get the own lawyers.

[Bojack Horseman]

Trump might actually get convicted if his lawyer is that big of a moron.

Usually his lawyers end up having to get the own lawyers.

Ben Meiselas from MeidasTouch said it really well: you get the lawyers you deserve.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Trump might actually get convicted if his lawyer is that big of a moron.

Usually his lawyers end up having to get the own lawyers.

Seen on Twitter:  MAGA - Make Attorneys Get Attorneys

[Inmate Trump]

At this point I think the chances of Trump being indicted for both obstruction of justice and violating the Espionage Act are approaching 100%.

What's the punishment for violating the Espionage Act?

A military buddy I know said something about death penalty, but I highly doubt that would be the case.

[Torie]

What is missing here is a plausible motive other than Trump's huge amoral ego. That is the strangest bit in a case that is the one where it is most clear that Trump committed felonies that can be proven. The only thing Trump has left is prosecutorial discretion.

[GeorgiaModerate]

At this point I think the chances of Trump being indicted for both obstruction of justice and violating the Espionage Act are approaching 100%.

What's the punishment for violating the Espionage Act?

A military buddy I know said something about death penalty, but I highly doubt that would be the case.

It depends on the specific section of the law under which the defendant is convicted.  The one mentioned by legal/natsec commentators in this case is usually 18 USC 793, "Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information", for which the penalty is up to 10 years imprisonment. There are some sections with more severe penalties; for example, section 794, "Gathering or delivering defense information to aid foreign government" calls for up to a life sentence, with the possibility of a death sentence for specific circumstances.  Espionage during wartime can also result in harsher penalties; that's why the Rosenbergs were executed for passing atomic secrets to the USSR (although not executed until 1953, their crimes began during World War II).

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

At this point I think the chances of Trump being indicted for both obstruction of justice and violating the Espionage Act are approaching 100%.

What's the punishment for violating the Espionage Act?

A military buddy I know said something about death penalty, but I highly doubt that would be the case.

It's a fairly controversial piece of law with a convoluted history. Violating the Espjonage Act was the basis for the Rosenbergs' execution, so the death penalty would at least theoretically be a possibility.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917

[Torie]

Well in my inbox Trump's best legal friend, Alan Dershowitz, says Trump skates, at least on appeal. Be that as it may, The Dersh just focused on the issue of declassification. That still leaves the issue of making false statements about the possession of the documents, be they classified or not. But no wonder the Special Prosecutor Smith is excited by Trump's alleged admission that the paper in his grubby little paws was classified after he was no longer POTUS, when it is too late to declassify it deus ex machina.

In the usual criminal prosecution, the government has the heavy burden of proving every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The status of the documents as classified is an element of crimes that prohibit the unauthorized possession of classified material. The government may claim that the question of whether documents once classified have been declassified is a matter of law to be decided by the judge. That is a weak argument under the Fifth and Sixth amendments and their history.

The bottom line is that if Mr. Trump or his lawyers allege — even without his testifying — that he declassified the documents, a criminal charge of unauthorized possession of classified documents will be difficult to prove. That doesn’t mean that a prosecutor could not get a grand jury to indict this particular ham sandwich. It does mean that it’s unlikely that a conviction against Mr. Trump would be sustainable.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Well in my inbox Trump's best legal friend, Alan Dershowitz, says Trump skates, at least on appeal. Be that as it may, The Dersh just focused on the issue of declassification. That still leaves the issue of making false statements about the possession of the documents, be they classified or not. But no wonder the Special Prosecutor Smith is excited by Trump's alleged admission that the paper in his grubby little paws was classified after he was no longer POTUS, when it is too late to declassify it deus ex machina.

In the usual criminal prosecution, the government has the heavy burden of proving every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The status of the documents as classified is an element of crimes that prohibit the unauthorized possession of classified material. The government may claim that the question of whether documents once classified have been declassified is a matter of law to be decided by the judge. That is a weak argument under the Fifth and Sixth amendments and their history.

The bottom line is that if Mr. Trump or his lawyers allege — even without his testifying — that he declassified the documents, a criminal charge of unauthorized possession of classified documents will be difficult to prove. That doesn’t mean that a prosecutor could not get a grand jury to indict this particular ham sandwich. It does mean that it’s unlikely that a conviction against Mr. Trump would be sustainable.

Dershowitz is ignoring the inconvenient fact that the statutes don't require the documents to be classified, although the level of classification, if any, certainly tends to influence the likelihood of indictment and severity of sentence.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Trump could get caught in flagrante delicto raping and murdering a nun and Dershowitz would still say that he is totally innocent. The guy has lost any credibility and has become a laughing stock like Turley.

[emailking]

The story (audio recording) has been confirmed by several other outlets now so it's pretty likely it's true.

[Redban]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/02/politics/mike-pence-justice-department-documents/index.html

Mike Pence is off the hook for his classified document probe. Biden and Trump's probes continue

[Torie]

The Hill is not bullish on Trump's legal prospects. That tape is like the Titanic hitting the iceberg.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/4032637-new-evidence-in-trump-case-bolsters-two-sets-of-charges/

[GeorgiaModerate]

Grand jury in Trump classified documents case expected to meet this coming week after hiatus

Could be indictments coming.  Could be a new witness.  Could be something else.  We'll see what happens.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Trump thinks we don't know we voted him out 80/70 M not 62/60 M in a low turnout Midterms and 80/70 M in 24 not in 20 will be a landslide, FOLKS it's not just a 303 map

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/costareports/status/1665383646990090240