Extensive and more detailed information on the Mar-a-Lago
classified document mess from Trump and his lawyers – vis-à-vis the DOJ and FL
District Court its pending “Special Master” decision in this excellent update from ABC News with this headline and short 6-minute video:
“DOJ alleges
obstructive conduct by Trump's legal team”
The Justice Department on Tuesday responded to Trump's call for a “Special Master” to review materials the FBI seized at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump's lawyers have said the review is needed to deal with
matters they argue may be covered by executive privilege.
In their 36-page filing, top department officials laid out
in extraordinary detail their efforts to obtain highly classified records they allege
were improperly stored at Mar-a-Lago since Trump's departure from the White
House, and the resistance -- which they describe outright as obstructive
conduct, that they were met with by Trump's representatives in their efforts to
have them handed over.
The government included multiple exhibits to support its
argument, including one photo purporting to show an FBI photograph of documents
recovered from a container in Trump's personal office with colored cover sheets
showing classification markings including TOP SECRET/SCI, with one showing a
marking that appears to refer to information obtained by confidential human
sources.
Officials revealed that after they issued a grand jury subpoena to Trump's attorneys on May 11 to obtain all remaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, the government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room [at Mar-a-Lago] and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation, according to the filing.
Key parts:
When producing the documents, neither counsel nor the custodian asserted that the former President had declassified the documents or asserted any claim of executive privilege, the DOJ filing said: “Instead, counsel handled them in a manner that suggested counsel believed that the documents were classified: the production included a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape, containing the documents.”
In its filing, the DOJ revealed that during this visit, Trump's lawyers allowed a visit to the storage room but prohibited government personnel from looking through the boxes that remained in the storage room, adding: “Critically, however, the former President's counsel explicitly prohibited government personnel from opening or looking inside any of the boxes that remained in the storage room, giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained.”
The DOJ also said: “The individual present as the custodian of records produced and provided a signed certification letter.”
The Justice Department on Monday said its team tasked with
identifying potential attorney-client privileged materials that were seized in
the search on Aug. 8 has already completed its review and is in the process of
addressing possible privilege disputes.
Judge Aileen Cannon
has indicated she was leaning toward granting a request from Trump's legal team
to appoint a special master to intervene in the ongoing review of documents.
Trump's lawyers had until
Wednesday (August 31) to file their response to a federal judge.
A hearing is currently set
for Thursday at 1 p.m. (September 1) in West Palm Beach where Judge Cannon will
hear arguments from both sides on the request.
RELATED:
DOJ tells judge it also completed review of possible attorney-client
privileged materials seized from Mar-a-Lago.
Two related articles: One here
from Business Insider and the other here
from the NY Times
My 2 Cents: As cut and
dried as this whole Mar-a-Logo classified materials mess appears on the
surface, make no mistake about it – Donald J. Trump will try anything to delay,
distract, and see any possible legal actions against him dismissed and tossed away.
That is his #1 major
concern: To say out of jail.
But, this the most serious
of anything that Trump ever has done in his entire adult life in or out of
office – hands down the very worse and it warrants serious jail time.
That’s all I can say and it has nothing to do with me or anyone else for disliking him, or keeping him from running for president again. It’s about justice of the most-serious of crime ever in our nation’s history by any president. He has to be punished and the sooner the better for the nation to start re-healing even if that’s possible.
But, keep in mind that he and his base will not take any legal action against him lightly, so remain alert.
Thanks for stopping by.
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