New revelations in Trump case over classified documents suggest a fateful reckoning to come (Analysis)

() — The latest revelations in the special counsel’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents deepen the sense that a serious political moment is coming.

An exclusive report that appears to uncover a fundamental weakness in Trump’s case reinforces the possibility that the 2024 presidential candidate is embroiled in a slew of legal troubles.

Possible evidence that Trump knew that his claims that he could simply declassify material on a whim were false underscores his characteristic belief that the laws and presidential codes of conduct do not apply to him. This is a factor that has made his tenure in the White House a daily test of democracy and America’s legal system, and it could be further exacerbated if he wins the 2024 election.

The latest look at special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation also shows that while any charges against Trump for possible violations of the Espionage and Obstruction of Justice Act might be justified in a purely legal context, they would carry a high level of liability to time to explain to the public why such a move in a potentially complex case was warranted in the charged environment of a presidential election.

On the one hand, there is nothing more sacred than protecting the country’s secrets, especially those that could harm America’s allies, help America’s enemies, and endanger covert agents. However, the claim that discussions within Washington over classified material represent a priority for millions of voters has yet to be tested.

In addition, the fierce controversies that still rage around Trump over the 2016 election show how toxic campaign trail investigations can be to American unity and America’s political and judicial institutions, all of which underscores the need for a strong justification on grounds of national interest for any prosecution.

The National Archives and Trump are at odds again

The exclusive report by ‘s Jamie Gangel, Zachary Cohen, Evan Perez and Paula Reid is another serious sign of Trump’s potential legal exposure in the documents case, one of numerous investigations that include Smith’s examination of the paper. of the former president before his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and an independent investigation by a local district attorney into his attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory in Georgia. Trump has already been indicted in Manhattan for alleged business irregularities related to a 2016 hush money payment.

reported that the National Archives (NARA, for its acronym in English) plans to turn over 16 documents to the special counsel that show that Trump knew the correct procedure to declassify that material. This could be important because it raises the question of whether the former president had criminal intent, a critical element of any case against him. If there is evidence that the former president knew he couldn’t simply declassify documents by taking them from the White House — or even with a private idea, as he once suggested — his defense on the issue of the records stored at his Mar-a- Lake in Florida gets tougher.

In a letter Tuesday obtained by , acting archivist Debra Steidel Wall wrote to Trump: “The 16 records in question reflect communications implicating close presidential advisers, some of them addressed to you personally, about whether you should declassify certain classified records. why and how”.

On the forum last week, Trump falsely claimed about the top-secret documents: “And by the way, they automatically declassify when I take them,” Trump said.

But Ty Cobb, Trump’s former White House attorney, told ‘s Erin Burnett on Wednesday that the latest information from about the National Archives was a sign that Smith was taking steps that could indicate he may soon move against Trump.

“I think this is a sample of finalizing details. I think this case is ready to go,” Cobb said.

“The simple fact is that there is a process … and (Trump) totally ignored it and believes that just taking them declassifies (the documents). That’s not the law.”

Still, Jim Trusty, Trump’s lawyer, told on Wednesday that his client had done nothing wrong and argued that, as president, he previously enjoyed substantial powers to declassify documents, in a possible preview of any future legal defense.

“At the end of his presidency, he relied on constitutional authority as commander-in-chief, which was to take documents with him and bring them to Mar-a-Lago while he was still president, as he was at the time, and effectively declassify and personalize them. He talked about declassifying them, but he didn’t need to do it,” Trusty said. He also argued that there was a large “gray area” in the interpretation of the Presidential Records Act, which says that the government reserves and retains full ownership, possession, and control of presidential documents.

If Cobb is right and Smith could be moving toward impeachment, Americans may soon be faced with an increasingly familiar question: What is the proper way to hold to account a president and a presidential candidate whose central political model is based on break all the rules, but whose accusation could further exacerbate an already deeply polarized nation?

What is the national interest in going after Trump?

The new insight into Trump’s alleged cavalier handling of classified documents during and after his presidency is the latest twist in a saga that drew public attention with the impressive search conducted last year by the FBI at his resort. , the first time that a search of this type took place in the house of a former president. Agents took top-secret and classified documents, but Trump’s allies claimed he had a “standing order” to declassify the documents he took from the Oval Office to the White House residence. Some of those files may have been moved to Mar-a-Lago.

But 18 former top-level Trump administration officials said they had never heard of any such order being issued during their time with Trump, telling the claim was “absurd,” “ridiculous” and “fiction.” complete”. Additionally, former presidents do not have the power to declassify or possess highly sensitive national security documents, so the exact treatment given to each secret piece of information found at Mar-a-Lago could determine Trump’s potential culpability.

More broadly, though, the document’s argument reinforces the underlying question surrounding Trump, which is becoming more acute as the upcoming election approaches.

There is a clear national interest in protecting classified information and enforcing the laws surrounding presidential conduct in order to prevent an erosion of the political institutions that underpin democracy that Trump has tried so many times to undermine. And there is also a national interest in showing that no one, whether president or former president, is above the law.

Yet at the same time, there is also a deep national interest in a peaceful presidential election that all Americans believe is fair. And Trump has already managed to cast deep suspicion on the motives of the Justice Department and the Biden administration, arguing that he is the target of a coordinated campaign of political persecution.

Smith has an obligation to follow the law and the evidence where it leads, and to make decisions about possible charges and prosecutions on the same basis. However, this case cannot unfold in isolation, given Trump’s past role and the current presidential campaign. It carries with it an obligation — presumably for Attorney General Merrick Garland — to consider the potential broader consequences of prosecuting a former president and current presidential candidate.

This also raises the question of whether a case about the mishandling of classified documents — which could be based on complex legal arguments and questions of motivation — will be an easy sell to a broader audience and could influence Trump’s claims that he is A victim. They may be fake, but they help prepare the secret political sauce that his followers love.

The case is especially sensitive because President Biden also had his own problem with classified documents for material found in an office he used after leaving the vice presidency and his garage. The cases are different because there is no sign that the president deliberately took the documents and, unlike Trump, he made no attempt to prevent their return to the Archives when he found them. But it will be easy for the former president and his allies to dull the details of these cases and argue politically that there is a legal double standard and that there is a political motivation.

How would the multiple allegations affect Trump’s 2024 campaign?

The question of the political impact of impeaching Trump has been raised since his indictment in a case being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg appeared to boost his popularity in the GOP nomination race. It also prompted potential rivals at the top of the list to condemn the move as politicized, complicating their own attempts to topple the former president.

The case, which centers on alleged breaches of business records, is also complex to boil down into an argument that could convince millions of Americans that Trump is being treated fairly.

A big unknown in the current presidential campaign is whether future multiple impeachments would further embolden Trump and make voters believe he is being unfairly targeted. Or could it send his campaign into an abyss of legal and criminal liability?

The release this week of a report by another special counsel — John Durham, a Trump administration appointee — gave the former president new political ammunition to argue that he is being victimized. Durham argued that the investigation into the Trump campaign’s 2016 ties to Russia should never have begun, even though officials serving at the time and many legal analysts disputed his conclusions. Trump immediately seized on the report to address his claims that he is the victim of politicized investigations, making his case to try to taint the Smith investigation, the Georgia case and the Manhattan prosecution.

New details this Wednesday about his risk, seemingly deeper than previously known, in the investigation of classified documents only add to a deep issue roiling the 2024 election.

It may be contrary to the national interest to ignore the enormous affronts to the rule of law by a former sitting president—including the alleged mishandling of classified information—as issues fundamental to American democracy are at stake. However, an indictment could once again create a political hell that could further damage the confidence of millions of Americans in the country’s legal and electoral systems.

This is the dangerous threshold to which Trump has once again brought the nation.