Trump's lawyers Have A Point

[gab13by13]

Trump mishandled top secret documents throughout his presidency, it is documented. he burned them, tore them up, ate them, flushed them, but most importantly, he didn't return all of them.

When Trump looked at top secret documents and never returned them, no one complained, no one forced him to return the documents.

So if Trump simply stashed the documents in boxes and no one complained, is it far fetched for Trump's lawyers to maintain that they belonged to Trump? When a courier brings Trump a document handcuffed to his wrist and never returns the document and no one asks for it back, why then it must belong to Trump.

Protocol was broken while Trump was in office and nothing was done, Trump's lawyers have an argument.

[indigoth]

1. No

If I loan a shovel to the neighbor and they don’t return it immediately … or even after a long time … it doesn’t suddenly belong to them. It is still mine.

[gab13by13]

8. If your neighbor "borrowed" your shovel and you allowed him to have it for 6 years,

when you expected him to return it after a couple of days, but did nothing, why can't your neighbor tell the judge, I thought he wanted me to keep "his" shovel?

[indigoth]

15. Well

Whether he “thought” so, or not, doesn’t change the actual fact that it’s still my shovel. Time doesn’t change that.

And

The documents, trump stole, were repeatedly asked for.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. So it was OK for Capone to cheat on his taxes because Niti and McGurn didn't tell him not to?

What happened to 'ignorance of the law is no excuse?'

[sop]

3. "Possession is nine-tenths of the law" is on the Trump Family Crest.

[Ocelot II]

4. No, they don't. That's bullshit.

The fact that he got away with mishandling documents while in office doesn’t get him off the hook for taking and keeping them afterwards. That argument is basically that if an employee got away with embezzling from his employer while he was employed, he shouldn’t be prosecuted for it after he leaves because nobody stopped him.

[Mr. Ected]

5. That's what statutes of limitation are for

Next.

[blogslug]

6. They did notice and they did complain

The Archives have been trying to get OUR documents back since May of 2021

[gab13by13]

11. The NA went to DOJ and DOJ told them, you do the investigation,

after a period of time the NA went back to DOJ and told it to take over the case. DOJ politely asked Trump to return the documents. He didn't return all of them so DOJ then issued the search warrant. The sad part is our national security has been compromised, most likely our foreign agents have been exposed and killed, and there are still documents that are missing.

Why was nothing done when Trump was in office and failed to return top secret documents? Why was nothing done when Trump returned top secret documents and the NA had to tape them back together? Why didn't the heads of the various departments do something when their top secret documents weren't returned?

[sop]

7. "Estoppel" would be the judicial device Trump's lawyers could argue in this case

(I don't believe the facts of the case support it. I'm only playing devil's advocate here.)

Estoppel is a "legal principle that prevents someone from arguing something or asserting a right that contradicts what they previously said or agreed to by law. Put simply, estoppel prevents one person from contradicting an action or statement from the past."

Trump's lawyers might argue the government tacitly "allowed" him to possess these documents in the past, and by not recovering the documents in a timely manner it established his right to possess the material. His attorneys' would argue the government is now "estopped" from charging their client for illegal possession of these documents since Trump was acting on the belief the documents belonged to him.

I think it's all bullshit, but it is Trump we're discussing here.

[JuJuChen]

9. throw Jan 6 on that dumpster fire and he should not be walking free let alone running again

[chriscan64]

10. They do not have a point, only a lame excuse that doesn't hold water.

There are rules and laws about how to handle these documents while you are president. Staff in charge of enforcing them either; A. Supported the rule breaking B. Didn't know or care C. Said nothing out of fear of reprisal or D. Complained and received reprisal.

And that is just during his term. Taking the documents to his residence is in violation of a whole other set of laws. In this case, they most assuredly did ask for them back.

If Barb from accounting loans you a stapler and you leave it on your desk, you show poor ethics and etiquette. When you take it home after you are fired, you are a thief who stole office supplies. Barb not asking for it back did not transfer ownership from the company to you.

[Solomon]

12. WTF!? I've seen ridiculous arguments but this one takes the cake.

It never ceases to amaze me the absurdities people resort to on Trump's behalf. We are truly in bizzarro world!

[Happy Hoosier]

13. Ummm... no.

As irrepsonsible as it was, as President, Trump can pretty much do what he wants with classified documents EXCEPT he cannot simply designate government documents as personaly property.

This argument makes no sense at all.

[Xoan]

14. He has NOT been President for nearly 2 years.

EOM

[A Clearing]

16. Yeah, no.

Trump was the de facto boss of the Archives when that behavior was happening, so it’s understandable that they might not come after him. He’s not anymore, and it’s clearly illegal.