Donald Trump discussion Thread IX (threadbanned users listed in OP)

In what might be termed a breaking news story: in her court earlier today [after a 90 minute sitting] Judge Cannon did not issue a decision on whether or not she will appoint a special master as requested by Trump to review the documents seized from his home by the FBI last month, leading to a mix of speculation as to what this might mean for Trump and the DOJ.

One pundit has it as being good for the DOJ as the judge not seeing any urgency in the case, another speculating that the judge might be holding off publishing her decision so she could make a "big splash" to calm MAGA but could also put a pause on an announcement until she made a written ruling on Trump's application and the DOJ response.

Her decision to take the case submitted by Trump surprised me, leaving me thinking that she [as a Trump appointee] should have recused herself from the case. It's still possible that she might do something along those lines yet. I think the DOJ publishing certain details on the contents of the seized documents and the background used in the photo may have been a way of persuading people to a change of opinion about Trump's innocence in the matter.

This Ex-NYPD officer who just got 10 years for his part in Jan 6th will be praying for a pardon

And I bet those pardons are coming in the next two weeks once he becomes POTUS! He could have pardoned them before he left but didn't. He will have zero use for them after he gets elected.

Yet another lie thrown out that will be swallowed by his base. And yet another call to arms by effectively saying that he will pardon anybody that gets caught doing anything. You can bet he has made the same lie to any of those around him now concerning covering up for his stealing of classified documents.

Any chance that statement could have any legal consequences?

He is not Pres and could it constitute an incitement to violence or just a debasing of the office of president?

Trump says he declassified the documents, but that doesn't instantly make the information contained in them untrue or cease to exist, nor does it make them cease to be the property of the US government.

And now empty folders - surely this is the most worrying aspect of the whole story, where are the contents? At the same time, if documents were at some stage processed to be degrees of secret they must have been given some sort of reference number linked to some kind of a data-base or how would anyone ever find the document again? So how is it that the Archives don't know what documents or how many documents are missing? These are sheets of paper in folders, there must be gaps on shelves somewhere? And, are there no electronic copies of the papers? Can no-one do a cross-check to see what is missing?

Of course the records found in Trump's home might all be records of things personally relevant to him, that's all he usually considers important. Maybe he has been systematically shredding anything about himself that he doesn't like, and papering a room with all the good stuff. I wonder if all those photos are pictures of himself?

What if it was ever shown that Trump or anyone else was ,by negligence or otherwise responsible for the death of an intelligence agent? (by allowing those documents to fall into hostile hands)

What punishment might apply?

So Trump has said the elected head of state is an enemy of the state now, thinking that statement is the ideal response to Biden's statement about the GOP, MAGA and him.

I see Biden's statement as a call to voters in both parties to get their act together for the US without Trump's polarizing-effect, though I would have used more conciliatory wording.

Trump's statement I see as crude, even worse than when asked about the gallows erected on 06th Jan to show the desire some of his supporters had to murder Pence, that he did not say "that is out of order, take it down", that he equivocated about his supporters desire to murder his V/P. .

In his statement, Trump has put a question to L Graham & his GOP followers; are you prepared to follow suit on my words and take action against the elected head of state, the president? Trump got away with his words on 06th Jan and must not be allowed that privilege again for the sake of the US.

We've seen similar ambivalence from conservative supporters and voters in the UK who shrug their shoulders at the news of Johnson giving his security the slip while he was Home Secretary and went to a party in Italy at which he met with an ex KGB agent at a party held by an an influential media mogul with ties to Putin whose son was granted a seat in the House of Lords.

Imagine if Jeremey Corbyn had done similar before going on to become UK PM or Obama had done a fraction of what of what Trump has done how the media would react. I am 100% convinced that if the FBI had raided Obama properties and found Top Secret documents like has happened with Trump, he would very likely have been indicted already and would at the very least be sitting under house arrest.