There's no question Trump should plead guilty.

[berg80]

Can Trump pardon himself?

That question will remain a theoretical exercise in constitutional law.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

DOJ says he can't, but we will see.

 

[Lesh]

Actually he could pardon himself from jail if he is elected.

That would be a huge Court case

We’d be best not to go there.

 

[JustAGuy1]

After examining the indictment with an eye towards doing what's best for the client any experienced defense attorney in any other case would advise his/her client to seek a plea agreement. Cuz wow, WOW, the indictment includes Don confessing to one of the crimes charged against him. The evidence compiled in the document released yesterday is stunning in its level of detail. He's toast, unless his toady throws out the evidence.

Trump-Appointed Judge Is Said to Be Handling Documents Case

Former President Donald J. Trump’s criminal indictment on charges stemming from his handling of classified documents will be overseen — at least initially — by a federal judge whom a higher court criticized for a series of rulings that were unusually favorable to Mr. Trump during the early stages of the investigation, according to five people familiar with the matter.

The judge, Aileen M. Cannon, who Mr. Trump appointed to the bench in 2020, is scheduled — at least for now — to preside over the former president’s first appearance in Federal District Court in Miami on Tuesday, the people said. But it was not clear whether Judge Cannon would remain assigned for the entirety of Mr. Trump’s case.
Trump-Appointed Judge Is Said to Be Handling Documents Case

His choice is a simple one. Risk spending his life in jail or place himself at the mercy of the court. Based on past history Aileen would be very lenient.

You people are just stupid.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

You people are just stupid.

Your unwillingness to face facts is incredible.

 

[JustAGuy1]

False equivalence. Next.

Just watch.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

If Trump is going to be prosecuted for mishandling classified material the same should be done against Biden. It's the same goddamn thing.

The facts of each case are different, as are those for Pence.

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

The facts of each case are different, as are those for Pence.

The issue is mishandling classified material. I don't know anything about Pence, and if Trump is guilty he should face the consequences. The left is jumping through hoops to excuse and or ignore Biden's case and makes this shit look like political persecution.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

The Biden case has been recounted explicitly and often here. Not going to do it again with you.

Yes, Trump, if convicted, will indeed face the music.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Trump doesn't need to plead guilty at all. The charges will be dropped if he just withdraws from political office. All discussion of guilty pleas are nonsense.

 

[sartre play]

Just a case of wait and see,
Are the rich and famous above the law?

 

[kyzr]

1. You don't know that with any certainty. 2. His cavalier treatment of national security secrets alone warrants charging him with a violation of the Espionage Act. (Espionage Act-willfully retaining, without authorization, documents relating to national defense.)

So Biden and Pence and DJT will be cell mates?

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

So Biden and Pence and DJT will be cell mates?

Fallacy of false equivalency, little buddy.

Your guy goes to the dock. "Take him down."

 

[Tom Paine 1949]

So Biden and Pence and DJT will be cell mates?

Hardly likely!

“How do these cases differ?” you may ask. First, the penalties for mishandling secret documents were strengthened under the Trump Administration after he used Hillary’s troubles to get elected in 2016. More to the point:

Hillary Clinton Case

There was no evidence Clinton or her aides failed to turn over documents or that the server was set up to receive classified information and retain it and … there was little evidence that the documents deemed to be classified were properly marked as such when they were sent and received in her email…. None of the emails contained clear classification markers as required under executive rules.

Just three email chains “contained any classification markings of any kind” … The classified documents in these three chains were “call sheets” marked with the lowest priority of classification, providing reminders and talking points on scheduled calls between Clinton and foreign leaders…

The State Department’s email oversight and retention practices had been so poor for years that her actions were just normal practice.

Two State Department reviews conducted under Trump’s secretaries of state, Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo, also found that Clinton bore no “individual culpability” for any “spillage” of classified information and there was “no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information.” [my emphasis]

Four investigations revealed that Clinton did not have forethought in her retention of classified information, just three of the emails on her server were even marked as classified when they were received and she complied with the Justice Department’s investigation fully. This is almost the exact opposite of … Trump ….

The Joe Biden And Mike Pence Cases

After the FBI searched Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, aides for Biden and Pence …. sort[ed] through documents held by the two former vice presidents, alerted the National Archives to the presence of classified documents found in their possession….

In both cases, Biden and Pence immediately alerted the archives when documents were discovered. They both cooperated with investigators, allowing broad searches of their properties.

They, as far as we know, did not purposefully take classified documents, brag about their possession of them, lie to investigators about how many documents they had, order aides to lie about the number of documents or try to move and hide the documents from investigators.

How Trump’s Classified Documents Case Differs From Those Of Clinton, Biden And Pence

 

[kyzr]

Hardly likely!

“How do these cases differ?” you may ask. First, the penalties for mishandling secret documents were strengthened under the Trump Administration after he used Hillary’s troubles to get elected in 2016. More to the point:

Hillary Clinton Case

There was no evidence Clinton or her aides failed to turn over documents or that the server was set up to receive classified information and retain it and … there was little evidence that the documents deemed to be classified were properly marked as such when they were sent and received in her email…. None of the emails contained clear classification markers as required under executive rules.

Just three email chains “contained any classification markings of any kind” … The classified documents in these three chains were “call sheets” marked with the lowest priority of classification, providing reminders and talking points on scheduled calls between Clinton and foreign leaders…

The State Department’s email oversight and retention practices had been so poor for years that her actions were just normal practice.

Two State Department reviews conducted under Trump’s secretaries of state, Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo, also found that Clinton bore no “individual culpability” for any “spillage” of classified information and there was “no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information.” [my emphasis]

Four investigations revealed that Clinton did not have forethought in her retention of classified information, just three of the emails on her server were even marked as classified when they were received and she complied with the Justice Department’s investigation fully. This is almost the exact opposite of … Trump ….

The Joe Biden And Mike Pence Cases

After the FBI searched Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, aides for Biden and Pence …. sort[ed] through documents held by the two former vice presidents, alerted the National Archives to the presence of classified documents found in their possession….

In both cases, Biden and Pence immediately alerted the archives when documents were discovered. They both cooperated with investigators, allowing broad searches of their properties.

They, as far as we know, did not purposefully take classified documents, brag about their possession of them, lie to investigators about how many documents they had, order aides to lie about the number of documents or try to move and hide the documents from investigators.

How Trump’s Classified Documents Case Differs From Those Of Clinton, Biden And Pence

Wrong. How they differ is that Trump had the power to declassify whereas Hillary, Senator Biden, and Pence did not.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Your unwillingness to face facts is incredible.

Conservatives are infamous for their willful ignorance.

 

[berg80]

How they differ is that Trump had the power to declassify

I wholeheartedly hope that's the defense Trump's attorneys present.

 

[kyzr]

I wholeheartedly hope that's the defense Trump's attorneys present.

All it takes is one fair minded juror. FL isn't DC.

 

[WorldWatcher]

All it takes is one fair minded juror. FL isn't DC.

If the jurors on the case are fair minded and make their decision based on the facts pertaining to 18 USC 793(e) will full retention and failure to return national defense information, in addition to the conspiracy and obstruction charges - Trump will likely be toast.

WW

 

[kyzr]

If the jurors on the case are fair minded and make their decision based on the facts pertaining to 18 USC 793(e) willfull retention and failure to return national defense information, in addition to the conspiracy and obstruction charges - Trump will likely be toast.
WW

That's what AG Barr and National Security Advisor Bolton say too.

I can offer a few excuses for Trump.
1. I didn't pack the boxes
2. I didn't know that national defense secrets were going to be packed
3. I declassified all of those documents

Its only the top of the 1st inning. We saw Jack Smith's charges but none of the defense's rebuttals.
Trump will want to delay the trial as long as possible.
The bad news is that we will be discussing Trump instead of solving problems.