The Biden Department of Justice isn’t giving up on its quest to restore access to the documents they seized after the ransacking of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on August 8. They're appealing to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to regain access to the Trump files. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, issued an injunction barring federal officials from further reviewing the documents until a special master had analyzed the records; the latter was a request from the Trump legal team. Cannon has since been attacked for her ruling, despite being confirmed with bipartisan support. The Justice Department is locked in on this ‘threat to national security’ narrative if they don’t continue their investigation.
The FBI alleged nuclear secrets were among the records they seized, which might be partially true—they’re not about our capabilities but other nations. They also permitted Trump to keep these supposed top-secret records that could imperil national security at Mar-a-Lago for 18 months before raiding the property. Does this sound hilariously incompetent? The FBI has a public relations nightmare on its hands. They were executing a political hit job, or they're grossly inept. It’s five and six and pick them.
The crusade to ensnare Trump on the charge of mishandling classified documents is evidence of how the Justice Department is run by people who simply don’t know the law. Mike Davis, whose legal commentaries have often been featured here since the raid, noted the flawed legal logic in the first sentence of the government’s appeal.
Biden DOJ files emergency motion with 11th Circuit to stay Judge Cannon's special master order.
— ???? Mike Davis ???? (@mrddmia) September 17, 2022
First sentence proves DOJ still has willful misunderstanding of Presidential Records Act.
Trump has statutory right to take and keep his presidential records, even classified.
Deny. pic.twitter.com/z32vxA3w7f
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Good for Judge Cannon.
— ???? Mike Davis ???? (@mrddmia) September 15, 2022
She didn’t cow to the Biden Justice Department’s bullying.
And the 11th Circuit isn’t going to reverse her even-keeled, well-reasoned decision.
The Biden DOJ is clearly terrified another federal judge will check its homework.
What are they hiding? https://t.co/lHtHUO081q
Every President gets to have candid, confidential discussions with aides.
— ???? Mike Davis ???? (@mrddmia) September 16, 2022
Without Congress or courts getting their hands on it.
Executive Privilege.
Presidents can't function without it.
To "get Trump," Biden claimed to waive it.
Special Master will help resolve key dispute.
All presidential records, including those marked as classified, are still protected by a President's claim of Executive Privilege.
— ???? Mike Davis ???? (@mrddmia) September 16, 2022
This idea that classified records cannot be presidential records -- and thus, cannot be protected by Executive Privilege -- is simply legally wrong.
The president can declassify whatever he wants, which is what Trump did. Trump kept copies of the declassified records, handled by his federally funded staff with security clearances. And the Secret Service protects the property. It’s a secure location, and the Presidential Records Act isn’t a criminal statute. The years-long campaign to indict Trump by the Democratic Party and the Justice Department members has become beyond quixotic. The fallout is that half the country sees their government’s institutions as irreparably broken and, worse, being weaponized against them based on political bias.
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