More to the story
Even as Donald Trump’s first criminal trial was winding down, additional evidence in the case Judge Aileen Cannon refuses to try came to light from files released to the public. Interestingly, the new evidence-against Trump-was filed by Trump’s attorneys as an attachment to a motion they filed, a motion to dismiss the indictment “because the government relied on improper investigatory tactics.” According to the Washington Post, “Buried in the supporting documentation for the motion was a document that contained a new public revelation: Once Trump realized that security cameras at Mar-a-Lago could capture his employees moving classified government information that officials were attempting to retrieve, he allegedly ensured they would avoid the cameras when moving boxes.” This document lends further proof to prosecutors’ claims that Trump is guilty of, at the least, obstruction. It is also evidence that Trump knew he had no right to those documents and that they were not his “personal property.” While Aileen Cannon was sitting on the bench doing dumb things like asking for jury instructions on personal versus government property, Trump knew all along that none of those documents were his personal property.
This evidence was excluded from the indictment, which WaPo said is not that unusual in criminal cases. The evidence is an 87-page opinion and order issued by District Judge Beryl A. Howell, who compelled two of Trump’s attorneys to testify before a grand jury. Smith was able to pierce attorney-client privilege through that order, and it revealed that one of Trump’s attorneys warned him that the government had issued a subpoena for the surveillance cameras. This is what prompted Trump to find other ways to move boxes without being detected. Judge Howell’s order and opinion was clear: “The government has provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the June 24, 2022 phone call may have furthered the former president’s efforts to obstruct the government’s investigation.” Trump’s current attorneys obviously didn’t read this order prior to submitting it to Aileen Cannon’s court. They read one part-the part that said a prosecutor “may have acted improperly when trying to elicit protected testimony from Trump’s attorney by asking why Trump wouldn’t waive his privilege if he is being ‘so cooperative’.” This is so huge. What hurts Donald Trump is far more damaging than that one sentence. He must have some real morons for attorneys.
It may well have turned out to be a good thing, as it is obvious that Trump knew about the footage and found ways to get around it as he continued to conceal national security documents. As WaPo pointed out, that is also likely why there is no footage showing boxes being returned before the search warrant and the FBI descended on Mar-a-Lago. Anyone who still believes Trump is innocent is a fool. They want this man back in the oval office when he is the most untrustworthy and corrupt person alive. To have him back in the White House would be a disaster, and it’s time for people to wake up and see it for themselves.
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Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years