The former president told Hugh Hewitt that he “absolutely” would testify in the federal government’s probe of his handling of sensitive material
DONALD TRUMP SAID he “absolutely” plans to testify in the federal government’s case against him regarding classified documents he removed from the White House. “I’m allowed to do whatever I want … I’m allowed to do everything I did,” the former president told conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt.
In an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that dropped Wednesday, the host asked Trump, “Did you direct anyone to move the boxes, Mr. President? Did you tell anyone to move the boxes?” referring to the boxes of more than 300 classified documents the federal government seized last year from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
“I don’t talk about anything. You know why? Because I’m allowed to do whatever I want. I come under the Presidential Records Act,” Trump replied, while also taking a quick detour to bash Hewitt. “I’m not telling you. You know, every time I talk to you, ‘Oh, I have a breaking story.’ You don’t have any story. I come under the Presidential Records Act. I’m allowed to do everything I did.”
His lawyers actually said that while he was president. They said he was incapable of being deposed without perjuring himself. Eventually they sent 10 questions written out and he had his lawyers with him to help respond.
I can def see a man-child reaction exactly like this dumb statement -kinda like what he did on the debates with Hillary and Biden, interrupting and interjecting his sad alternate reality- as the cases pick up steam and hes forced to fly between Fla, DC, Ga and wherever his current cult rally/grievance is that day, oh boy, is it gonna be fun or what?
It seems like he is showing what his defense will be. It won't be whether he moved documents or shared confidential information or whatever. It will be them challenging the scope of power of the presidency.
The defense comes down to the Afluenza Defense. Note, to my knowledge that never really worked before.
He keeps repeating he thinks he's allowed to do all these things and even when found in court he isn't allowed to do those things, they'll try to say he didn't know.
Thing is, he's playing dumb now, while he's repeatedly shown he knows full well what's right and what's wrong, his statements like how he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and no one would do anything about it, or the grab em by the pussy line.
He made statements showing he knows perfectly fine these are things one shouldn't do, but he does them anyway as he was never held responsible and could get away with it.
Candidate Trump needs to be belligerent and defiant. Defendant Trump needs to STFU.
The problem is those two things are in competition. So he has to say, Russia, Russia, Russia as candidate Trump, but that isn't a relevant or useful argument for defendant Trump. He has to say, "I'm allowed to do this thing" as candidate Trump, but as defendant Trump, I'm allowed to break the law is not a defense.
His only hope is to delay. If he goes to trial on anything, defendant Trump loses. If he can hold out, then candidate Trump will win.
This is his bet. He wins and it all goes away and the US is ruled by a guy who believes he can get away with anything.
If I was a Republican, and I fancied myself a man of wit, accountability, and maturity, I would not be able to reconcile my politics against just how absurdly juvenile, idiotic, and whiny Trump is at all times.
This attitude is terrifying to people who handle national security information. Just because you might have authority to declassify something doesn't mean you should. It's reckless and irresponsible to expose sources and methods unnecessarily - not to mention the information itself. There's a reason that declassified documents still have a lot of redactions.
This type of stuff is usually in a very controlled environment with significant physical security - not a bathroom.
I think it's at least 90% racism and misogyny and the hope that they will get to unleash their worse selves on others. Hillary was right about them, and my dog, the huffing and puffing her correct statement created among the tone police/"liberal media" and of course his base that is even still having a fauxrage over it...while simultaneously proudly declaring themselves "deplorables" and playing the victim card over it.
That all sounds to me like he's not trying to defend himself in court, that instead his entire plan is to win the presidency and stay there for life. All of these claims (I can do the thing, it's totally fine believe me) amount to confessions that he did what he's charged with, but are also appeals to his base that the courts are wrong and illegitimate.
That's basically it, that's his get-out-of-jail-free card (though the Georgia case complicates things somewhat), but he's not the only one that needs for him to be back in office. Russia is also depending on him getting in to help their flailing war effort in Ukraine, because I'm sure one of his first actions will be to suspend whatever aid he can to the Ukrainians. China and other countries would also probably love to see him back in because of how completely stupid and ineffective he is at anything he does, not to mention he's easily bought. America's loss will be alot of other country's gain.
Donald Trump said he “absolutely” plans to testify in the federal government’s case against him regarding classified documents he removed from the White House.
In an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that dropped Wednesday, the host asked Trump, “Did you direct anyone to move the boxes, Mr. President?
I come under the Presidential Records Act,” Trump replied, while also taking a quick detour to bash Hewitt.
The law states: “Upon the conclusion of a President’s term of office, or if a President serves consecutive terms upon the conclusion of the last term, the Archivist of the United States shall assume responsibility for the custody, control, and preservation of, and access to, the Presidential records of that President.” There is an allowance for presidents to keep records that are of “a purely private or nonpublic character” and unrelated to presidential duties, but many of the documents Trump was found to possess came from government agencies, such as the C.I.A.
When Hewitt asked Trump if he would testify in his own defense at the trial in the documents case, the former president said, “That, I would do.
In addition to discussing his legal troubles, Hewitt asked Trump for his thoughts on an unrelated topic: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
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Ah fuck. You just know that when he does soon of main arteries slubbed chockful of hamburger fat that certain people will erect statues of him looking like superman (body included) standing hand in hand with jesus, they will build shirnes and organize trips to go there to pray and worship...
That’s true. A president can do whatever he wants , it’s called diplomatic immunity. Every president has it, which is why none of them have ever been tried for a crime before.
That's not how diplomatic immunity works. It's to protect them in a foreign country while they're there. So a diplomat stationed in France can't be tried by the French authorities. It has nothing to do with being brought up on charges in their home country, and definitely doesn't mean they can do whatever they want.
That is very much not what diplomatic immunity is.
Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are not subject to the jurisdiction of local courts and other authorities for both their official and, to a large extent, their personal activities.
It's to protect diplomats from specific laws within the nations in which they serve (often religious laws).
You’re trying to tell me that no president ever did a little oopsie until trump? That’s patently ridiculous, they must have immunity or else one of them would have got in some kind of trouble. Did Jackson go to jail for doing trail of tears? No? But Trump takes a couple sheets of paper home to read on the toilet and you want to put him in jail? It’s a clear partisan bias.
The Presidential Records Act requires that all presidential records be transferred into the custody of the National Archives at the end of the administration.
That doesn’t make it a crime to keep a few papers as a souvenir. Biden did the same thing btw he kept souvenir papers in the garage with his cool car. They all do it.