Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trump Lawyers Just Contradicted Trump's Claim That He Declassified Documents In New Court Filing

Trump Lawyers Just Contradicted Trump's Claim That He Declassified Documents In New Court Filing
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Former Republican President Donald Trump's legal defense amidst the escalating fallout from the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago residence last month is not going well--and it's his own lawyers' fault.

Trump has repeatedly justified his hoarding of the highly sensitive documents the FBI found in his office by saying he "declassified" them on his way out of the White House.


But in a new court filing, Trump's lawyers argue the classification status of the documents should be "determined later"--a direct contradiction of Trump's own defense.

Trump's lawyers were careful to argue that Trump absolutely had the right to declassify the documents--an assertion that is ultimately beside the point, as the question is whether or not they were declassified at the time he removed them.

His lawyers chose not to address that topic in any way.

The filing was in response to the DOJ's appeal of federal Judge Aileen Cannon's decision to grant Trump's request that a "special master" be appointed to review the documents found in the FBI's search.

The DOJ is seeking to shorten the review period, exclude more than 100 classified documents from its terms, and exclude claims of privilege from the agreement.

The DOJ, however, has already reviewed the documents in question during the two-week period it took for Trump's camp to file their motion, and found nearly 200 highly classified documents in the trove, including those designated "top secret" and those pertaining to an unnamed foreign nation's nuclear capabilities.

Trump's filing shows that he and his attorney are pursuing a two-pronged defense strategy: one, that "the former president" has authority to decide what is and is not classified; and two, that under the Presidential Records Act the documents in question belong with either Trump or the National Archives, but not with the DOJ.

The first assertion is outright nonsense from a legal perspective--sitting Presidents have such authority, but former presidents do not.

But these weren't the only bizarrely incompetent assertions in the filing.

Trump's lawyers also absurdly downplayed the entire saga as a "document storage dispute" and contradicted Trump's other go-to defense: that the FBI and DOJ planted the sensitive documents in his office as part of an effort to entrap him.

All in all, not a particularly convincing filing for Trump and his lawyers to say the least, and people on Twitter couldn't help but roll their collective eyes.






Even as The Department of Justice has appealed Judge Cannon's decision on a "special master," they have also signaled their approval of one of the Trump team's choices to serve in the role: Judge Raymond Dearie, a Reagan appointee to the federal bench, who now serves as a senior circuit judge. He also served on the FISA Court, which approved the surveillance of Trump ally Carter Page as part of the investigation into whether Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 campaign.

UPDATE 9/13/22 4:20pm ET: Trump lawyer Jesse Binnall went on Newsmax to assert once again that Trump did declassify "a number of things" while he was still president.

It is notable that Trump lawyers are willing to make this assertion publicly on television but not in an official court filing.

More from People/donald-trump

Kid Rock
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Donning A Truly Over-The-Top Outfit For His White House Visit

Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.

The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Bill Cassidy
CNBC

MAGA Senator Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud With Epic Freudian Slip About Medicare

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.

The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less