Trump lawyers go on offense in documents case
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Former President Donald J. Trump’s legal team is taking the offensive in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, mounting a multi-pronged assault aimed at dismantling the prosecution’s narrative and asserting Trump’s innocence.
In a recent “motion to compel discovery,” they paint a picture of a former president acting in good faith and within his rights, while alleging political motivations behind the investigation.
The crux of Trump’s legal argument hinges on the assertion that he possessed the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago with a “good faith and non-criminal states of mind.”
This directly challenges the prosecution’s narrative that Trump willfully retained sensitive information, a key element of the charges against him.
Adding a significant wrinkle to the case, Trump’s lawyers claim he maintained an active “Q” clearance from the Department of Energy even after leaving office.
This clearance grants access to highly classified information, potentially mitigating allegations of unauthorized possession.
While the Energy Department reportedly attempted to remove Trump’s name from the clearance list after the indictment, the filing accuses them of tampering with evidence and obfuscating an “inconvenient truth.”
Trump’s team isn’t just defending; they’re going on the offensive.
They’ve requested extensive discovery from special counsel Jack Smith’s office, demanding access to communications between prosecutors and the Biden administration.
This aims to expose potential political bias and weaponization of the Justice Department against Trump, a frequent accusation from his camp.
The motion also challenges the prosecution to provide concrete evidence regarding the harm allegedly caused by Trump’s possession of the documents.
Critics argue that the classification levels of the documents have been exaggerated, further weakening the prosecution’s case.
While media reports initially claimed one document at Mar-a-Lago pertained to nuclear codes, subsequent analysis revealed it was no longer classified and marked “formerly restricted.”
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The defense arguments appear to have merit. It will be interesting to see what the courts think about it. I suspect the case will reach the high court eventually.
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