1 / 3Photo: US Department of Justice/AP/TT
The recent indictment on former President Donald Trump’s handling of documents shows how classified material was stored in a mess in bathrooms, on a stage and mixed with the former president’s private belongings.
– It is much worse than we thought, says law professor Catherine Ross.
The indictment against former US president Donald Trump was brought on Tuesday. It contains 37 points and a lot of previously unknown information. There are photographs, text conversations with Trump’s inner circle and details about what the classified documents contain.
– There are pictures that one of his employees took where a box had fallen to the floor, the documents had been scattered everywhere. Some were marked as “only available to our five closest allies”, which fell onto the floor, Catherine Ross says.
She is a law professor at George Washington University in the US capital. Given the details that have been revealed, she is not surprised by the choice to prosecute.
– It was inevitable because the crimes are so serious. The national security implications are so serious. Not prosecuting would have undermined the key principle in our democracy that no one is above the law, she tells TT.
New level
According to the indictment, the documents contain nuclear secrets and information about vulnerable areas of the country’s defenses, as well as retaliation plans.
Judge Aileen Cannon has ordered Trump’s lawyers to undergo background checks to get the green light to handle classified material, a sign of the secret nature of the papers. Some of the documents had such a high classification that they could only be kept in special premises. Now some papers have been in boxes in unlocked spaces, including on a stage in a party venue.
– The level of disrespect for these important documents is astounding, says Ross.
She emphasizes that the documents may contain sensitive information linked to allied countries, where she includes Sweden.
– This means that your intelligence gathering methods may have been compromised, given how much intelligence is shared with the United States.
Weak defense?
The indictment also tells how Donald Trump deliberately showed secret documents to other people, something that may be brought up in a separate trial. Furthermore, it is highlighted that the former president refused to submit material when the National Archives and the FBI requested it. He is said to have even entertained thoughts of destroying the documents.
The law professor does not provide much for the Trump side’s defense, including that the process is a politically motivated witch hunt. Trump has also referred to his right to hold the papers under the Presidential Records Act.
– He just makes things up. The Presidential Records Act says the exact opposite, Ross says.
– It was created after the Nixon presidency to ensure that this is a public paper. They belong to the American people via the National Archives.
No postponement
It is possible for a former president to request exemptions and gain access to documents if, for example, they write a book.
– But firstly, you don’t need the original documents and secondly, he never requested any exceptions, says Ross.
Trump has also said he hasn’t had time to go through the boxes, which reportedly also contained newspaper clippings, shirts and shoes.
– He could have had his lawyers request 30 days to go through all the boxes, but that was never done, says Ross.
Unknown territory
What will happen in the future is unclear as the circumstances are unique. The Florida district where the charges were brought is known for handling cases quickly. That could mean the start of the trial in September.
Trump’s strategy will probably be to delay in the first place.
He can also make a deal with the prosecution right up until the jury makes its decision, according to Ross. If the former president and current aspirant is sentenced, it will probably be taken into account that he is a first-time offender.
In the criminal charges there is up to 20 years in prison.
FACTS
More legal cases against Donald Trump
The accounting violations
34 counts of indictment against Donald Trump who are accused, among other things, of having ordered payments to people who threatened to release sensitive information about him in connection with the 2016 presidential election campaign. The trial is scheduled for March 2024.
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The 2020 election and the storming of Congress
Federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that Donald Trump and his advisers tried to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
A special committee of the House of Representatives has previously recommended that Trump and advisers be prosecuted for having exerted pressure on the outcome of the election. The House of Representatives investigation included an examination of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
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State of Georgia
An investigation is underway into the phone call Donald Trump made to Georgia Chief Election Officer Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump wanted Republican Raffensperger to “find the 11,780 votes” needed for Trump to defeat Joe Biden in the state in the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors have already warned Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and several local Republicans that they risk formal charges.
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State of New York
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has sued the former president and his Trump Organization for misleading tax authorities about the value of real estate and golf courses in order to get loans and tax breaks. James is seeking $250 million in damages. A civil case will begin in October. Prosecutors in Manhattan have investigated the same suspicions, but chose not to press charges.
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Allegation of rape
In a civil lawsuit, a newspaper columnist claims she was raped by Donald Trump in the mid-1990s. At the trial that ended in May, the jury concluded that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her and that he was guilty of defamation, when he claimed that the columnist’s statement was a lie made up to sell books.
Trump was ordered to pay $5 million in damages, but has said he will appeal.
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