FBI Executed a Warrant at Mar a Lago; the Investigation Continues

I'm not a legal person by any means, from what I read, the potential crimes for illegally taking highly classified documents fall under:18 U.S.C. section 793, which deals with defense information; 18 U.S.C. section 1519, which deals with destroying federal documents; and 18 U.S.C. section 2071, which deals with concealing, removing, or damaging federal documents. The first one is where I believe espionage comes in.

While Trump claims he declassified the documents, there is no evidence he did so. For instance, the Top Secret/Secure Compartmented Information that was recovered - the highest level of classification and most sensitive and where espionage comes in - were not declassified as they would be marked as such and there would be a legal trail for that, if he did so as a POTUS. As a former POTUS he has no authority to declassify anything.

So, it is not a Dem issue, it is a national security issue which Trump, for whatever reason he took the documents and kept them in an insecure facility and even under subpoena did not return them, is either incredibly stupid, which is not a defense, or he was using the information for other purposes that may have jeopardized national security. He's not above the law.

 

Hey Rick - what is the definition of troll

 

I’ll let you use that in the future. No royalties.

 

Yeah, it’s like 20:1 in here. He’s hoping for the tag out from @Orange_and_Bluke

 

It’s not like the document is typed up on a typewriter.

 

Hillary and Obama say "hello."

 

Read the last part again... He has the authority to "classify and declassify at will."

I doubt "at will" means what you think it means...

 

Bwahahahaha

 

You have observed trump for several years now so...
What are the 2 reasons trump does anything?

 

Trump followed no declassification process and the documents still have classified markings. He also lost his ability to declassify anything at noon on inauguration day.

More importantly, for certain national secrets, classifications are meaningless. The Espionage Act describes them as National Defense Intelligence items regardless of class.

 

This just reminds me that some people see the light long before others. Good for you George!

 

What do you think it means? If a President takes literally no action and says nothing but thinks to himself that a document should not be classified, is the document classified now? Let's say somebody else takes the document out of the building. Could they say "I thought the President thought it shouldn't be classified" as a defense? Why or why not?

 

Not like he had emails on a personal computer network…

 

Yes, that is the theory they are going to hang their hat on right up to when the gallows trap door opens below his feet.

 

Lots of guessing here

 

Tell me that President Trump didn't have to authority to declassify whatever document he saw... And be specific about it.

Executive Orders

 

Here's a way to get more knowledge about laws pertaining to the President's powers and authority.

 

Right, there is some clarity about what a POTUS can or cannot declassify and no doubt will be part of the trial. There is no legal trail Trump declassified these documents. He kind of screwed himself over.

 

It doesn’t work that way