The Biden Justice Department is expected to release “a more detailed” list soon of items seized in the raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. The DOJ has reportedly completed its review of the 15 boxes of documents taken from him.
The big question: did the former president commit a crime, and if so, could he face charges? That’s the major issue surrounding documents taken by the FBI, and it raises questions after Hillary Clinton wasn’t charged in the scandal over top secret emails sent from her private email server.
Dr. Marc Clauson, professor of history and law at Cedarville University, says anything could happen in the Trump case. “It is possible there could be a possible indictment from the Justice Department,” he said. “But we really don’t know. There haven’t been any signals for whether they would do that or not.”
Clauson says the issue comes down to the legal statute: whether it would be under the Espionage Act, or the Records Act. Both would require evidence that Trump showed intent to commit a crime.
“So even if you indict, and even if you prosecute – even if you do have a trial – it’s less than likely he would be found guilty,” Clauson explained.
Presidents always take private documents with them when they leave the White House, but they’re expected to go through specific channels. Trump claims many documents seized belong to him and not the U.S. government. That’s why he wants an unbiased third party or “special master” to go through them, hoping a decision will be made to remove private papers from the case. The DOJ’s response could come as early as Thursday at a special hearing.
The search warrant affidavit, used to justify the action, states that 14 of the 15 boxes taken from Trump’s home have classified markings ranging from confidential to top secret.
Informants also claim documents are marked with short-hand notations indicating top secret human clandestine operations (HCS) unknown to the public or U.S. adversaries. Other documents could indicate requests to surveillance foreign spies (FISA) inside the U.S.
The investigation is intended to determine whether those documents under lock and key in Trump’s home are worthy of an indictment.
“Then the other thing is the new information coming out about the discussions that took place before the raid took place and why it was necessary for the DOJ to act hastily before that,” Clauson points out.
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