Trump demands the classified documents indictment is WITHDRAWN and the DOJ apologize
Trump demands charges against classified documents be WITHDRAWN and Justice Department apologizes – for ‘allowing’ to take White House files
- The former president made his claims in a Truth Social post on Friday
- His suggestion that he could delete secret files has been heavily disputed by legal experts
- Trump entered a not guilty plea to 37 charges in a Miami courtroom on Tuesday
Donald Trump has called on the Justice Department to apologize and drop charges against him for his alleged mishandling of classified White House files.
The 77-year-old former president made his demands on his Truth Social platform, lashing out at DOJ officials for bringing the case against him.
It comes just days after he appeared in court in Miami, Florida on 37 different charges related to the documents and alleged obstruction of justice.
Donald Trump appeared in federal court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon. He was flanked by his lawyers Todd Blanche (left) and Christopher Kise (pictured right). The figure on the far left is Walt Nauta, a longtime assistant also charged in the case
“The charges must be immediately dropped by the Department of Justice, with apologies,” he wrote.
He posted an article in the Wall Street Journal, written by Judicial Watch attorney Michael Bekesha, reiterating the president’s views on the matter.
Referring to the Presidential Records Act, the real estate mogul claims the legislation allowed him to release some documents, including those related to national security.
Trump’s claim is not true. The law in question, which came about after the Watergate scandal of 1978, requires the preservation of White House documents as the property of the US government.
But outgoing commanders-in-chief are allowed to delete files that are personal in nature.
“The definition of ‘personal documents’ is narrow, clear and functional: it only includes documents of a ‘purely private or non-public nature,'” said Peter Margulies, a professor at Roger Williams University’s School of Law in Bristol, Rhode. Island.
He said, “Any document touching information relevant to presidential foreign policy or national security decisions is a presidential record. Period, end of story.’
There is little chance of Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel Jack Smith dropping the case
The Trump-hunting prosecutor is seeking conviction of the former president on 37 counts, including felonies under the Espionage Act, which could potentially earn him up to 100 years in prison.
But prosecutors must first convince a jury in Florida that Trump is guilty of hoarding classified documents and refusing the government’s demands to return them.
They have been investigating the transfer of presidential files to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida since last year.
A handed out photo of the documents prosecutors say contain secret files illegally deleted by Donald Trump as he left the White House
Jack Smith was appointed special counsel in November to investigate Trump’s handling of classified information.
The investigation made headlines in August when the FBI searched Trump’s Florida home and recovered 11,000 documents, including about 100 classified as classified.
For his part, Trump has repeatedly maintained that he has done nothing wrong and that he is the victim of a federal witch hunt.
The controversy has even boosted his standing in the polls and allowed him to raise money from supporters who see a “deep state” plot to take him out of the 2024 race.
A dinner at his New Jersey Bedminster golf club on Tuesday night, right after his Florida court appearance, reportedly raised $2 million.
But even his former Attorney General Bill Barr has said the 77-year-old would be “toast” if the charges hold up in court.