Obstruction & concealment of classified records & willfully retaining them in unauthorized location

Bradley P. Moss @BradMossEsq

9) To sum it up, Trump took PLAINLY MARKED classified records to MAL, he delayed, obstructed and resisted Government efforts to recover them, he (or his staff) concealed the records from investigators, and they got caught doing so.



I have read the entire Government filing. I spend all day, every day, litigating against the Government, so some of this is familiar stuff to see. This particular brief is very well-done.

Here are the highlights:

1) The facts. NARA negotiated in 2021 for the missing No file chosen records. They finally got 15 boxes. After going through them and finding all kinds of classified records (not organized at all), they raised the alarm. They wanted to make a referral to the FBI but had to first consult with Trump's team, per the PRA procedure. Trump's team delayed for weeks and weeks, and never substantively responded. Finally, NARA told Trump's team they were making the referral and rejected the "protective" assertion of Executive Privilege.

2) At no time did Trump's legal team file an action *at that point* to prevent the
referral to FBI.

3) The FBI reviewed the records and the criminal inquiry was opened. A grand jury subpoena was issued to Trump's team. Again, they delayed and delayed in complying. Finally, in early June they agreed to a meeting at MAL to comply. They turned over more classified records, and swore out a statement that they had done a diligent search, they had not found any more classified records, and any records that remained were in the storage room. They refused to let the FBI agents look at the boxes in the storage room.

4) The FBI gathered new evidence that there were in fact more classified records at MAL, including in locations outside of the storage room. They got the search warrant and found approximately 100 additional classified records, some located in Trump's own office.

5) That is straight up obstruction and concealment of classified records, and willfully retaining them in an unauthorized location.

6) Now come the legal arguments. First, DOJ says Trump lacks standing. The records are not his: they are the property of the US. Even if he wanted to claim them as personal records, he never did so. He did not do so in 2021, he did not do so when subpoenaed, he never did it. He has no possessory interest in the records.

7) Second, they argue Trump is not entitled to any injunctive relief. Again, these are not his records, he
waited way too long to even try to stop the FBI from getting the records, he's not entitled to relief given Executive Privilege would not apply, and even if it did the criminal investigative need outweighs it.

8) Third, the Special Master is moot. The A/C privilege records

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.41.1_1.pdf

TRUMP DOCUMENTS. The Justice Department told a federal judge late Tuesday night that the feds sought a search warrant for former President Donald Trump's Florida home only after it became apparent that Trump's team had 'likely concealed and removed' highly classified documents being sought by the National Archives, and ‘that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.’

STORAGE ROOM. While Trump's lawyers had assured FBI officials during a June meeting that no classified materials were located outside a storage room at Mar-a-Lago, the court filing said that wasn't true - as more documents were discovered in Trump's office desk during the search.

MATERIALS. "The classification levels ranged from CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET information," the filing stated. The feds included a photo taken at the time of the raid.

PHOTO. The SECRET/SCI document in the foreground has an 'HCS' marking - which means it contains human source intelligence, one of the most sensitive products of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

CONGRESS. Democrats were outraged by the photo and the new details about the evidence. "It is long past time to arrest and prosecute Donald Trump," said Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA).

COURT FILING. You can read through the details yourself at this link.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.48.0_2.pdf

Ari Melber: Do I think it's worth it to bring a wannabe Mafia Don to justice? Absolutely.

Do I think it's worth it to bring a wannabe Mafia Don to justice? Absolutely. Ari Melber

This is absolutely true that they are trying to scare anyone who will listen. Do I think there will be some violence? Possibly. Do I think it's worth it to bring a wannabe Mafia Don to justice? Absolutely. Ari Melber

Ari Melber suggests that Trump and his allies like Lindsey Graham are trying to scare prosecutors out of indicating the former president.

https://twitter.com/rob_korczak/status/1564723979608375296?s=20&t=FVlstkhCHeCEsfMshP80Pw

Clearly Panicked Trump losing it - Over SEVENTY unhinged posts on Truth Social

Trump just made a whole bunch more totally unhinged posts on Truth Social. Over SEVENTY of them now today. He is losing what little is left of his mind very rapidly—clearly panicked over this imminent filing from the DOJ.
https://twitter.com/SpiroAgnewGhost/status/1564732111990300672?s=20&t=nId1fzgfoAoBDEqsApppLw

And the day is not over, not at all.

?1661891144


https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/30/2119807/-Trump-s-meltdown-on-Truth-Social-rips-away-fa-ade-as-he-embraces-QAnon-conspiracy-theories

Biden's Speech Is Just What I Needed Today

Thank you POTUS!

to MAGAs "For Gods Sakes - WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!"

RNC is not paying for Trump's legal bills related to the Mar-a-Lago document investigation

The former president has a new lawyer, and the Republican National Committee isn’t picking up the tab.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/30/trump-florida-solicitor-general-mar-a-lago-probe-00054219

Swalwell: A staffer of mine received ph call from a man saying he's coming to our office to kill me

A staffer of mine—who’s 1 month into her job—received a call from a man saying he’s coming to our office w/ an assault rifle to kill me. I hesitate to share this but how else do I tell you we are in violent times, & the architects are Trump & McCarthy. Bloodshed is coming.
https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1564676917021777922?s=20&t=Gjw4-2-CR9ggQG2PKtIi5Q

DOJ obtains 2nd warrant search undercutting Eastman's position

JUST IN: A federal court has canceled next week's hearing over John Eastman's attempt to reclaim his seized cell phone.

DOJ has obtained a second search warrant in the matter, undercutting Eastman's position, the judge noted. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nmd.476086/gov.uscourts.nmd.476086.21.0.pdf

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1564636192225853440?s=20&t=FVlstkhCHeCEsfMshP80Pw

From Republican Tsunami to Puddle

Ron Brownstein: “It was a referendum. Now it’s a choice.

“For political professionals in both parties, that’s the capsule explanation for why the Democratic position in the midterm elections appears to have improved so much since summer began.”

“When the election looked to be primarily a referendum on the performance of the Democrats who control the White House and Congress, Republicans were optimistic that a towering ‘red wave’ would carry them to sweeping gains in November.”

“But with evidence suggesting more voters are treating the election as a comparative choice between the two parties, operatives on both sides are bracing for a closely contested outcome that could include an unusual divergence in results for the House and those in Senate and governor races.”

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/politics/fault-lines-forecast-november-republicans-democrats/index.html
https://politicalwire.com/2022/08/30/from-republican-tsunami-to-puddle/

Putin's losing his last leverage.

Just a sample of some of the charts I'm watching today.

Both European electricity and natural gas prices are collapsing.

Electricity futures down -50% in a week.

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1564545754395459585?s=20&t=mn1Yp5aZjDmhjVZb3Br8tA

"how dare" Biden call them semi-fascists...

Top comments on Trump forums right now are just trying to ID the specific FBI agents who were part of and signed off on the raid so they can be “helicopter passengers,” a reference to Chilean dictator Augusta Pinochet murdering dissidents by throwing them out of helicopters.
https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1558187290555457538?s=20&t=vf08bk11c79PHJfMYpm82A