US prosecutors who indicted Donald Trump used his own words and notes from his lawyers to build their case against the former Republican president.
The 49-page indictment document unsealed last week accuses Trump of endangering national security by keeping top-secret documents on defense and nuclear matters in his custody after leaving the White House.
The accusation by special counsel Jack Smith relies heavily on statements by Trump himself to build the legal case against the 45th president of the United States.
He recounts the time Trump described to him a “plan of attack” from the Pentagon about a rival country to a writer, an editor and two members of their staff, neither of whom had security clearance.
Trump allegedly told them during a meeting, which was audio-recorded at his golf club in New Jersey, that the plan was “highly confidential” and “secret”, says the prosecution.
Trump is quoted as telling them: “as president, i could have declassified it” and “I can’t now, you know, but this is still a secret”.
The target of the attack is identified in the indictment only as “Country A.” According to US media, the nation involved was Iran.
The indictment also uses Trump’s own words to establish that he was aware — even before he won the 2016 presidential election — of the importance of safeguarding secret information.
“In my administration I will enforce all laws regarding the protection of classified information.” the then-Republican nominee said in August 2016. “No one shall be above the law”.
And as president, the impeachment notes, Trump issued a statement in July 2018 emphasizing his “unique and constitutional responsibility to protect the nation’s classified information.”
‘Don’t play the ball’
The indictment also records meetings between Trump and two of his lawyers – identified as Lawyer 1 and Lawyer 2 – to implicate him in an effort to mislead investigators seeking to recover documents taken from the White House and brought to Trump’s residence in Mar -a-Lago, Florida.
According to notes that Counsel 1 brought during a meeting where they were discussing how to respond to the grand jury subpoena for May 2022, Trump said: “What if we just don’t respond at all or if we don’t play ball with them?”.
“I don’t want nobody looking through my boxes, I really don’t want it”, Trump would have said. “Wouldn’t it be better if we told them we don’t have anything here?”.
Dozens of boxes of documents labeled top secret, secret and confidential were hidden at Mar-a-Lago in locations including a ballroom, a bathroom, a storage room and Trump’s bedroom.
According to the indictment, they were moved on Trump’s orders and rigged by the former president’s former personal aide, Walt Nauta, a US Navy veteran who also faces charges as a co-conspirator.
Trump, the first former US president to face federal charges, is accused of “deliberate withholding of national defense information”, which grants more than 10 years in prison, and for conspiracy to obstruct justice, false testimony and other crimes.
Trump, 76 years old and who is the favorite in the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential elections, will make his first appearance in a Miami federal court this Tuesday.
Source: AFP
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
