Well, wow. It actually happened. Trump has been indicted on 37 charges, including violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice, and false statements. On our Thursday night emergency podcast, I discussed with Renato how I knew from the day Trump was elected some version of this day would come. However, it may be too soon to do a happy dance: There is still a long road ahead, and it is almost certain that Trump’s trial won’t happen before the 2024 election. That means we are entering in even more dangerous and unchartered territory, as long as Republicans continue down the path of keeping Trump as their front runner for the presidential nominations — remember that being indicted, or even convicted, is no bar to be being elected president. And don’t forget that Judge Aileen Cannon (a.k.a. Loose Cannon) is back on the case, and who knows how she might complicate the case given her prior history overseeing Trump’s civil case in Mar-a-Lago (where she was overruled on appeal, twice). So hold on to your seats, because there is much, much ore to come. In the meantime, here is the discussion with me and Renato, along with special guest Brian Greer, former CIA associate general counsel:
Articles worth reading:
There’ve been a lot of questions about why the indictment against Trump was brought in Florida, and not D.C. This piece from Just Security, describing potential legal complications that could arise if Special Counsel Jack Smith got venue wrong, offers one possible explanation
The Espionage Act involves national security issues that regular criminal cases do not. This explainer from Just Security on the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) walks through all of the different issues that will need to be resolved prior to trial
This piece from The Washington Post by Andrew Weissman and Ryan Goodman was written before the indictment was unsealed, but it is a very useful guide on what to look for when reading through it
Noteworthy clips from this week:
I was on ABC News — where I am now a legal contributor! — as news was breaking on Thursday. In the following clips I discuss Trump’s legal team resigning and the indictment:
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Happy indictment weekend to all who celebrate!
How can anyone still take the WSJ Editorial Board seriously? I rarely read it, but they say: "But it’s striking, and legally notable, that the indictment never mentions the Presidential Records Act (PRA) that allows a President access to documents, both classified and unclassified, once he leaves office. It allows for good-faith negotiation with the National Archives. Yet the indictment assumes that Mr. Trump had no right to take any classified documents." What? Upon Trump's leaving office, custody of all documents went to NARA under 44 U.S.C sec 2203 (g)(1): "Upon the conclusion of a President's term of office...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." Nothing about "it allows for good-faith negotiation." In any event, NARA did engage in plenty of negotiation. And Parlatore was out lying about how the Archivists were negligent in not establishing a repository to let Trump have 2 years to go through the docs. But that's only true when a former President informs NARA that he intends to build a Presidential library, which Trump did not do. https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/09/politics/national-archives-refutes-trump-claim-classified-documents-indictment/index.html
You have to wonder if Trump was so loose with confidential documents after he was no longer President, how many secrets did he share during his term. He seems like the type who wants to share secrets so that people know he is important.