Indicted!

The former President of the United States has now been indicted by the Department of Justice on 37 Federal charges. These include, according to the report on NPR:

1. Willful retention of national defense information (31 charges)

2, Conspiracy to obstruct Justice (Charged along with aide Walt Nauta for hiding documents.)

3. Withholding a document or record (Both are charged with hiding boxes and keeping records away from the attorney's search.)

4. Corruptly concealing a document or record.

5. Concealing a document from a Federal investigation.

6. Scheme to conceal.

7. False statements and representations.

(DJT gave false statements to his attorneys, causing them to make false testimony to the FBI.)

8. False statements and representations. (Aide Nauta gave false statements to the FBI.)

In a brief press conference, Special Counsel Jack Smith announced the detail of the charges. He further explained that the charges were serious and described the charges by saying:

”Our laws that protect National Defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced."

He added we must presume all defendants are innocent until proven guilty at trial, but that no one is above the law.

Along with the charging document, photos, showing storage boxes stacked on a stage in an open ballroom, piled in a bathroom, including the shower stall, stacked in another room, but noting that one storage box had toppled over spilling classified documents on the floor.

Mar-a-Lago security cameras showed 64 storage boxes being moved out of a locked storage room and taken to the residence days before his attorney was scheduled to review their contents and only 30 boxes returned to the room for review.

There is also testimony from that attorney who indicated that he was misled and then unknowingly created a statement claiming that all materials were reviewed and relevant classified papers were turned over to the National Archives as subpoenaed.

Subsequently, when the National Archives realized that still more papers were missing, the FBI went to a judge and requested a search warrant for the estate. (They did not yet know that staff in Florida had already sent more boxes to the New Jersey golf course, where DJT spends the summers.)

The investigation revealed thousands of documents that should not have been at the estate and over 100 documents with classified notations, some of which were in the personal residence office of the former president. 

Maggie Haberman, a New York Times reporter who has covered DJT for decades and recently published a biography of him called Confidence Man, described the indictment as "one of the most devastating indictments that I have ever read." Additionally, she said, "that these charges spell out his personality to a T." Paraphrasing more: It shows his personality, his thinking he can talk his way out of everything, and his disregard for rules he doesn't like.

It doesn't show a motive, and I assume that might come out in court. Some have speculated that he just wanted to have "secret things" to brag about, much as when he showed Shaq's huge basketball shoes to visitors to his Trump Tower office. (That certainly shows a childish view of national security!) Was he trying to monetize these documents?

Haberman also noted the tapes of him, discussing classified military information that he said he had, was meaningful and could be a big deal for the prosecutors. In some of their documents, the prosecutors claimed he showed a secret military map to a visitor, telling him he shouldn't get too close, because it was classified.

She finally remarked that he, like any citizen, had the presumption of innocence.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who facilitated the former president for much of his tenure in office, but broke with him on the 'stop the steal movement', spoke about the indictments when interviewed on Fox News saying: (paraphrase) "The government's agenda was to get these documents out of there and protect them and that was the appropriate thing to do. …If half of what the government says is true, then he is toast."

Neither The White House nor the press office has spoken out about the charges; reports indicate that the president has also not spoken to Attorney General Merrick Garland about this matter.

Meanwhile, before the detailed charges were revealed, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy released a statement claiming this matter was politicized by President Biden. He called this a dark day for America and claimed that the indictment "will disrupt the nation because it violates the principle of equal justice under the law." He mentioned that President Biden also had documents he should not have had, ignoring the reality that Biden turned the documents over as soon as they were noticed. (The former VP Pence also found a few documents, but the special prosecutor, after review, closed his case. The other special prosecutor, looking at the President's documents issue, has not yet issued a report.)

Senator Lindsey Graham started ranting about Hillary Clinton's emails, even after he knew of the scope of the charges.

More responsible elected officials such as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Leader Chuck Schumer have mostly said nothing. An exception was Senator Romney, who noted, after mentioning a presumption of innocence, that DJT brought these charges upon himself by refusing to turn over documents, despite numerous requests to do so. Ordinary citizens would not have had so many options, he added. Senator Romney also voted to convict the former president when the impeachment votes were counted.

Many were surprised recently to learn that, besides a federal grand jury in Washington DC, Jack Smith also had another grand jury empaneled in Miami. This was the group that approved the charges discussed above. Some experts think they did this to relate the court case to the area where it happened and lessen the defendant's options to demand for a change of venue.

Another problem is that this could put the trial in front of the same judge (appointed by the former president, whom he searched out) and who appointed a Special Master last year seemingly friendly to the arguments put forth by his team. They entered many other delaying tactics, but the Justice Department got most of them overturned on appeals to the 11^th Circuit. The appeals court then reprimanded Judge Cannon for her actions as it overturned them. Will she be more cautious in a trial, or will she recuse herself? The public shall soon learn. They set arraignment for this week, on Tuesday in Miami.

Meanwhile, the January 6^th investigations continue in DC, although the grand jury recently had a break, which may mean that a wrap-up is near. Former presidential chief of staff, Mark Meadows testified not long ago and Steve Bannon, active in the January 6^th planning, has been subpoenaed but may take the fifth. A jury convicted him on that charge and the judge sentenced him for ignoring the House select committee's summons for testimony, but he is appealing his sentence.

And, the criminal case in Georgia is still pending, possibly to be before a grand jury next month. Some previous defendants may testify for the defense.

So, I guess it shall be an interesting summer! I won't comment on the ridiculousness of Rep. Comer demanding testimony from FBI Director Wray on years ago debunked claims by Rudy Giuliani, even after the director allowed him to look at the documents in question, said to be from an unreliable source. If Giuliani was involved, it probably was (IMHO)!

Three knowledgeable attorneys (Norman Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, and Joyce Vance) wrote an op-ed in the New York Times about how a conviction might occur. You can read it here.

Well, it has been a momentous week, so I'll close for now. Let me know what you think of this situation. 'The first time ever that we have indicted a former president!'

“Til next week-Peace!