Not a lawyer here, just a heavy reader.
"Executive Privilege" is a term to be applied to and employed by a sitting President. TFG hasn't had that power since January 20, 2021. As I understand the position of the National Archives, all documents from the White House at the end of an elected term of office are to be transferred to the Arc…
"Executive Privilege" is a term to be applied to and employed by a sitting President. TFG hasn't had that power since January 20, 2021. As I understand the position of the National Archives, all documents from the White House at the end of an elected term of office are to be transferred to the Archives. It is Federal Law. Period.
I don't think TFG has claimed executive privilege. But even if he did, it is meaningless. There is no record of declassification. Top secret documents have been stolen and held by a private citizen with the assistance of his cult. Period.
My understanding (from reading Robert's newsletter and other sources) is that Trump and his attorneys have NOT submitted either evidence or a sworn affidavit claiming executive privilege because to do so would subject them to perjury since there is zero, ZERO record of any such action taken by Trump. Based on the foregoing, Cannon's ruling that gives any weight to Trump's claim demonstrates contempt for the rules of evidence and law.
Also, in her decision, Cannon hypocritically claims that "evenhanded procedure does not demand unquestioning trust in the determinations of the Department of Justice." She then goes on to say: "Based on the nature of this action, the principles of equity require the Court to consider the specific context at issue, and that consideration is inherently impacted by the position formerly held by Plaintiff."
In the eyes of Cannon (and the Federalist Society), the sworn affidavits of government officials hold less weight than the unsubstantiated claims of a corrupt, defeated president who intentionally defied a grand jury subpoena and deserves special treatment because he was once (with Vladimir Putin's help) elected president.
I wrote a comment on an earlier post here couple of days ago on what the Presidential Records Act actually says about executive privilege. The PRA does allow a president to take home certain personal documents and gives 3 examples, but in general and for each of these examples a personal document must be one that has "no relation to or direct effect upon the carrying out of constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President" or is a personal diary that is "not prepared or utilized for, or circulated or communicated in the course of, transacting Government business"
The definition of a Presidential Record any document that "is created or received by the President, the President's immediate staff, or a unit or individual of the Executive Office of the President whose function is to advise or assist the President, in the course of conducting activities which relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President." That definition obviously INCLUDES any document covered by executive privilege because the privilege only applies to certain KINDS of advice from individuals whose function is to advise the president.
In terms of the Presidential Records Act, "executive privilege" simply means that if successfully argued, the Archivist will continue to keep the record secret from the public. The FBI is not "the public" but simply a part of the Executive branch.
Records belonging to an agency are also not Presidential Records. That doesn't make them personal. It means they belong to the agency. Taking them is just as much theft as is taking a Presidential Record belonging to the National Archives on behalf of the American people.
Trump's attorneys haven't said document X is covered by Presidential Privilege, just hinted (nudge nudge wink wink) that it MIGHT be. That is not possible for documents created by an agency. The only possibility is that DURING trump's administration the intelligence community swooped in and classified some document that could be considered covered by the privilege or might be personal, like his medical records; trump certainly never objected to that at the time and also has never asserted it even through his lawyers, much less by affidavit. Even if they did, and trump "declassified" them by some magic wand they STILL are Presidential Records and there is a very specific procedure for a former president to claim they should be kept secret. There is no HINT that such documents are personal, belonging to the President.
The main question I have at this point is how Cannon arrived at the idea that they might be. Her "opinion" definitely does not explain it. Did she not READ the PRA? Is she so filled with cognitive dissonance or confirmation bias that she couldn't even SEE the relevant parts of the Act? To venture on a conspiracy theory, is this part of the Federalist Society's attempt to undermine public belief in the rule of law? It is certainly having that effect.
I'm so fed up with Garland and Biden and the Democratic leadership! We are in a fight for the survival of the Republic! We are under a full-frontal attack on our system of government, the Constitution, and the rule of law!! This war is not going to be won at the ballot box because the enemy is in control of enough ballot boxes to steal every election. We talk about threats of violence when we already have 20 million assault weapons in the hands of right-wing extremists. People go shopping armed with AK-47s!!
Just fricking arrest Trump and charge him for every possible crime then take as long as you like to gather evidence and prosecute. As you said Bill, he stole documents and refused to return them. He violated a Federal Law! PERIOD!!
What is the worst that can happen? He goes to trial and the Justice Department loses. At least the American People and the MAGATS will hear the truth over and over for months, maybe years. At least, law abiding patriots will know that every possible step was taken to uphold the law. If the DOJ fails, then it's all over for this country as the justice system will have collapsed. With Trump behind bars, let his sophomoric legal team drag it out as long as they want.
I'm getting a reputation for deservedly being overly passionate. Good! I damn sure wish the DNC and the aforementioned people showed a little passion. If they were running the show in Ukraine, it would be a part of Russia by now.
Not a lawyer here, just a heavy reader.
"Executive Privilege" is a term to be applied to and employed by a sitting President. TFG hasn't had that power since January 20, 2021. As I understand the position of the National Archives, all documents from the White House at the end of an elected term of office are to be transferred to the Archives. It is Federal Law. Period.
I don't think TFG has claimed executive privilege. But even if he did, it is meaningless. There is no record of declassification. Top secret documents have been stolen and held by a private citizen with the assistance of his cult. Period.
"Book 'em Danno!"
My understanding (from reading Robert's newsletter and other sources) is that Trump and his attorneys have NOT submitted either evidence or a sworn affidavit claiming executive privilege because to do so would subject them to perjury since there is zero, ZERO record of any such action taken by Trump. Based on the foregoing, Cannon's ruling that gives any weight to Trump's claim demonstrates contempt for the rules of evidence and law.
Also, in her decision, Cannon hypocritically claims that "evenhanded procedure does not demand unquestioning trust in the determinations of the Department of Justice." She then goes on to say: "Based on the nature of this action, the principles of equity require the Court to consider the specific context at issue, and that consideration is inherently impacted by the position formerly held by Plaintiff."
In the eyes of Cannon (and the Federalist Society), the sworn affidavits of government officials hold less weight than the unsubstantiated claims of a corrupt, defeated president who intentionally defied a grand jury subpoena and deserves special treatment because he was once (with Vladimir Putin's help) elected president.
I wrote a comment on an earlier post here couple of days ago on what the Presidential Records Act actually says about executive privilege. The PRA does allow a president to take home certain personal documents and gives 3 examples, but in general and for each of these examples a personal document must be one that has "no relation to or direct effect upon the carrying out of constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President" or is a personal diary that is "not prepared or utilized for, or circulated or communicated in the course of, transacting Government business"
The definition of a Presidential Record any document that "is created or received by the President, the President's immediate staff, or a unit or individual of the Executive Office of the President whose function is to advise or assist the President, in the course of conducting activities which relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President." That definition obviously INCLUDES any document covered by executive privilege because the privilege only applies to certain KINDS of advice from individuals whose function is to advise the president.
In terms of the Presidential Records Act, "executive privilege" simply means that if successfully argued, the Archivist will continue to keep the record secret from the public. The FBI is not "the public" but simply a part of the Executive branch.
Records belonging to an agency are also not Presidential Records. That doesn't make them personal. It means they belong to the agency. Taking them is just as much theft as is taking a Presidential Record belonging to the National Archives on behalf of the American people.
Trump's attorneys haven't said document X is covered by Presidential Privilege, just hinted (nudge nudge wink wink) that it MIGHT be. That is not possible for documents created by an agency. The only possibility is that DURING trump's administration the intelligence community swooped in and classified some document that could be considered covered by the privilege or might be personal, like his medical records; trump certainly never objected to that at the time and also has never asserted it even through his lawyers, much less by affidavit. Even if they did, and trump "declassified" them by some magic wand they STILL are Presidential Records and there is a very specific procedure for a former president to claim they should be kept secret. There is no HINT that such documents are personal, belonging to the President.
The main question I have at this point is how Cannon arrived at the idea that they might be. Her "opinion" definitely does not explain it. Did she not READ the PRA? Is she so filled with cognitive dissonance or confirmation bias that she couldn't even SEE the relevant parts of the Act? To venture on a conspiracy theory, is this part of the Federalist Society's attempt to undermine public belief in the rule of law? It is certainly having that effect.
I'm so fed up with Garland and Biden and the Democratic leadership! We are in a fight for the survival of the Republic! We are under a full-frontal attack on our system of government, the Constitution, and the rule of law!! This war is not going to be won at the ballot box because the enemy is in control of enough ballot boxes to steal every election. We talk about threats of violence when we already have 20 million assault weapons in the hands of right-wing extremists. People go shopping armed with AK-47s!!
Just fricking arrest Trump and charge him for every possible crime then take as long as you like to gather evidence and prosecute. As you said Bill, he stole documents and refused to return them. He violated a Federal Law! PERIOD!!
What is the worst that can happen? He goes to trial and the Justice Department loses. At least the American People and the MAGATS will hear the truth over and over for months, maybe years. At least, law abiding patriots will know that every possible step was taken to uphold the law. If the DOJ fails, then it's all over for this country as the justice system will have collapsed. With Trump behind bars, let his sophomoric legal team drag it out as long as they want.
I'm getting a reputation for deservedly being overly passionate. Good! I damn sure wish the DNC and the aforementioned people showed a little passion. If they were running the show in Ukraine, it would be a part of Russia by now.