(NEW YORK) Personal “notes” or classified documents: Relatives of Donald Trump assured him on Sunday that they were within his rights by carrying bundles of archives as he left the former president’s White House.
The Republican campaign team seeking to win back the White House in 2024 announced Tuesday evening that it would speak from one of its golf courses in New Jersey after its first appearance in federal court in Miami (Florida). He has been charged with 37 charges, including “unlawful concealment of information related to national security”, “obstruction of justice” and “perjury”.
On Fox News, one of his lawyers, Alina Hubba, confirmed Sunday that he will not plead not guilty in the case, the political ramifications of which are difficult to gauge for Donald Trump, still the favorite in the Republican primary.
According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday, 47% of a sample of 910 Americans questioned Friday and Saturday believe the case is “politically motivated,” while 37% don’t think so.
But at the same time, 61% of respondents said the cases were “very serious” (42%) or “somewhat serious” (19%), including 38% of Republicans.
The former real estate mogul is accused of taking thousands of documents with him when he left the White House, some of which he kept secret when he was supposed to hand them over to the National Archives, and then refused to return most of them. Requests by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In this context, the 76-year-old candidate’s allies have redoubled their efforts on TV sets to ensure that he has nothing to be ashamed of.
“Classified”
“He has every right to keep the classified documents,” assured his lawyer, Alina Hubba.
“These are notes, he has the right to carry,” he added.
“The President’s ability to classify and restrict access to national security information derives from the Constitution. […] He classified this matter, he could put it anywhere, he could handle it however he wanted,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a close ally, told CNN.
Donald Trump’s earlier argument was defeated by an indictment unsealed Thursday, which says that in July 2021, the tempestuous billionaire showed four people an “attack plan” that the Defense Department prepared for him while he was president.
“As the president I could have categorized them […] Now I can’t, but it’s still secret,” the man, who was not the president of the United States at the time, said in an audio recording cited by the court document.
And according to the indictment, the classified documents include information on “the defense capabilities of the United States and foreign countries,” “US nuclear programs,” and “the potential consequences of an attack on the United States and its allies.”
“It’s a pretty comprehensive indictment. It’s huge,” Donald Trump’s former attorney general Bill Barr told Fox News, now criticizing the former president after being one of his allies.
“The idea that the president has absolute power to decree that any document is private is ludicrous,” Barr said.
After rallies where Donald Trump denounced a “witch hunt,” his allies redoubled their arguments on the theme.
“They try one thing, and then they try another, and they go after him,” Jim Jordan denounced Sunday, repeating that the cases were orchestrated by the Biden camp, while the indictment was upheld by a citizens’ grand jury in Florida.
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