Comments on: Nice Try Donny, But No Dice http://www.chrisweigant.com/2022/09/22/nice-try-donny-but-no-dice/ Reality-based political commentary Wed, 13 May 2026 04:47:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: ChrisWeigant.com » Friday Talking Points -- Trump's "Secret Telepathic Unilateral Preemptive Irreversible Declassification" Defense http://www.chrisweigant.com/2022/09/22/nice-try-donny-but-no-dice/#comment-198006 ChrisWeigant.com » Friday Talking Points -- Trump's "Secret Telepathic Unilateral Preemptive Irreversible Declassification" Defense Sat, 24 Sep 2022 00:26:35 +0000 http://www.chrisweigant.com/?p=22609#comment-198006 [...] Nice Try Donny, But No Dice [...] [...] Nice Try Donny, But No Dice [...]

]]> By: Elizabeth Miller http://www.chrisweigant.com/2022/09/22/nice-try-donny-but-no-dice/#comment-198005 Elizabeth Miller Fri, 23 Sep 2022 23:20:27 +0000 http://www.chrisweigant.com/?p=22609#comment-198005 This all seems a lot like fiddling while Rome burns, or something. This all seems a lot like fiddling while Rome burns, or something.

]]> By: Mezzomamma http://www.chrisweigant.com/2022/09/22/nice-try-donny-but-no-dice/#comment-198004 Mezzomamma Fri, 23 Sep 2022 16:35:01 +0000 http://www.chrisweigant.com/?p=22609#comment-198004 Caddy, I'm not querying guilt. It seems certain that the whole 'special master' thing was intended as a delaying stunt and 'poor me' publicity stunt, and that the stunt has backfired. There may well be nothing to which attorney-client privilege applies, and nothing which shouldn't be used in the investigation. I strongly suspect that if Judge Dearie in fact examines the rest of the documents and items, he will have some strong words to say about wasting his time. I haven't heard whether he will continue to examine items which don't have classified markings, but I think the latest court ruling allows that to go ahead. If Trump mixed personal documents with those to which he had no right, it is evidence of gross negligence in handling state documents at the very least. And it rather removes the 'poor me' complaint about going through personal items. Caddy, I'm not querying guilt. It seems certain that the whole 'special master' thing was intended as a delaying stunt and 'poor me' publicity stunt, and that the stunt has backfired. There may well be nothing to which attorney-client privilege applies, and nothing which shouldn't be used in the investigation. I strongly suspect that if Judge Dearie in fact examines the rest of the documents and items, he will have some strong words to say about wasting his time. I haven't heard whether he will continue to examine items which don't have classified markings, but I think the latest court ruling allows that to go ahead.

If Trump mixed personal documents with those to which he had no right, it is evidence of gross negligence in handling state documents at the very least. And it rather removes the 'poor me' complaint about going through personal items.

]]> By: MtnCaddy http://www.chrisweigant.com/2022/09/22/nice-try-donny-but-no-dice/#comment-198003 MtnCaddy Fri, 23 Sep 2022 15:58:15 +0000 http://www.chrisweigant.com/?p=22609#comment-198003 Mezzo, What personal stuff was mixed in with all the government stuff and whether or not it has been returned is irrelevant <i>except to point to Trump as clearly guilty.</i> Does anyone here in Weigantia have any remaining doubt that DoJ <b>has to indict Trump?</b> Oh, and it seems<b> Impeachment is the ticket </b>in rewarding Comrade Judge Aileen Cannon, if anyone else is curious. Mezzo,

What personal stuff was mixed in with all the government stuff and whether or not it has been returned is irrelevant except to point to Trump as clearly guilty.

Does anyone here in Weigantia have any remaining doubt that DoJ has to indict Trump?

Oh, and it seems Impeachment is the ticket in rewarding Comrade Judge Aileen Cannon, if anyone else is curious.

]]> By: Mezzomamma http://www.chrisweigant.com/2022/09/22/nice-try-donny-but-no-dice/#comment-198002 Mezzomamma Fri, 23 Sep 2022 05:00:08 +0000 http://www.chrisweigant.com/?p=22609#comment-198002 Isn't it the case that personal items have already been returned to Trump, or at least some of them? It will be interesting to see what proportion of the non-classified documents Judge Dearie rules should be excluded from the investigation. I'm guessing it will be rather small. Isn't it the case that personal items have already been returned to Trump, or at least some of them? It will be interesting to see what proportion of the non-classified documents Judge Dearie rules should be excluded from the investigation. I'm guessing it will be rather small.

]]> By: Kick http://www.chrisweigant.com/2022/09/22/nice-try-donny-but-no-dice/#comment-198001 Kick Fri, 23 Sep 2022 02:25:19 +0000 http://www.chrisweigant.com/?p=22609#comment-198001 CW <i>These documents are not Trump's personal property. He has made no legal claim to them at all. Period. He has offered no reason why he should have them. They are the government's property. </i> Therein lies the irrefutable fact for which Trump has zero defense: The documents in question (even the ones not classified) are the property of the United States government with statutes that govern their handling. Federal employees are allowed to take personal notes and retain them so that if Trump had some documents taken that were wholly his own notes (and not just his handwritten notes made on government documents), he would have a claim that a document like that was his property, e.g., example being the contemporaneous personal notes of James Comey that he would memorialize after his one-on-one meetings with Trump. As we've discussed before in this forum, federal employees/civil servants are allowed to make personal notations that are wholly their own property... http://www.chrisweigant.com/2017/06/08/the-curious-incident-during-comeys-testimony/ ... and said notes are absolutely <b>not</b> considered government property. Bill Clinton made taped notes that he kept in his sock drawer that were legally deemed his personal property and <b>not</b> the property of the government. Interestingly, Trump's lawyers keep claiming the fact that Clinton's notes were deemed personal property that this somehow proves that the classified documents Trump took belong to Trump: Hysterical! U.S. government officials not only had a right to retrieve the stolen property after Trump returned some but not all of it, they have an <b>obligation</b> to do so. Trump was given ample time (over 18 months) by the United States to return the property (which he returned a shit-ton of them) and then swore through a lawyer that he had no more, knowing fully well that he retained more. Some of them were located in his desk next to his multiple passports, so the "I had no knowledge" defense is out the window too. I could point out that there's obviously a process that must be followed to declassify documents, but the group that reads this forum isn't as ignorant as Trump obviously believes his MAGA rubes are. The "the FBI was looking for Hillary's emails at my residence" defense is hysterical too. No one here is as ignorant as Trump apparently believes his followers are; he might as well have gone on Hannity's show and proclaimed: "I know you're idiots who will believe the dumbest shit I can invent." The declassification obfuscation is a red herring anyway, as declassifying documents does not in any way magically confer ownership rights upon them, and it's laughable that anyone would believe it would/could. He really believes his base is stupid, and he's right about a whole bunch of them, as we all witnessed on 1/6. The victim routine of Trump is effing hysterical because Trump chose to take the documents, chose not to return the documents, chose to lie about returning them via legal surrogate (bad lawyer now needs a good lawyer), and chose to make public that the FBI came to retrieve government property... for which they have an <b>obligation</b> to do. <b>So, to recap</b>: Trump has <b>zero</b> defense for taking any of the documents regardless of classification status, and the laws governing the retention of the highly classified/need-to-know-basis documents carry stiff penalties. At this point, he's admitted to taking the documents and has lied via written instrument that he returned all of them; there is no legal defense. CW

These documents are not Trump's personal property. He has made no legal claim to them at all. Period. He has offered no reason why he should have them. They are the government's property.

Therein lies the irrefutable fact for which Trump has zero defense: The documents in question (even the ones not classified) are the property of the United States government with statutes that govern their handling. Federal employees are allowed to take personal notes and retain them so that if Trump had some documents taken that were wholly his own notes (and not just his handwritten notes made on government documents), he would have a claim that a document like that was his property, e.g., example being the contemporaneous personal notes of James Comey that he would memorialize after his one-on-one meetings with Trump. As we've discussed before in this forum, federal employees/civil servants are allowed to make personal notations that are wholly their own property...

http://www.chrisweigant.com/2017/06/08/the-curious-incident-during-comeys-testimony/

... and said notes are absolutely not considered government property. Bill Clinton made taped notes that he kept in his sock drawer that were legally deemed his personal property and not the property of the government. Interestingly, Trump's lawyers keep claiming the fact that Clinton's notes were deemed personal property that this somehow proves that the classified documents Trump took belong to Trump: Hysterical!

U.S. government officials not only had a right to retrieve the stolen property after Trump returned some but not all of it, they have an obligation to do so. Trump was given ample time (over 18 months) by the United States to return the property (which he returned a shit-ton of them) and then swore through a lawyer that he had no more, knowing fully well that he retained more. Some of them were located in his desk next to his multiple passports, so the "I had no knowledge" defense is out the window too.

I could point out that there's obviously a process that must be followed to declassify documents, but the group that reads this forum isn't as ignorant as Trump obviously believes his MAGA rubes are. The "the FBI was looking for Hillary's emails at my residence" defense is hysterical too. No one here is as ignorant as Trump apparently believes his followers are; he might as well have gone on Hannity's show and proclaimed: "I know you're idiots who will believe the dumbest shit I can invent." The declassification obfuscation is a red herring anyway, as declassifying documents does not in any way magically confer ownership rights upon them, and it's laughable that anyone would believe it would/could. He really believes his base is stupid, and he's right about a whole bunch of them, as we all witnessed on 1/6.

The victim routine of Trump is effing hysterical because Trump chose to take the documents, chose not to return the documents, chose to lie about returning them via legal surrogate (bad lawyer now needs a good lawyer), and chose to make public that the FBI came to retrieve government property... for which they have an obligation to do.

So, to recap:

Trump has zero defense for taking any of the documents regardless of classification status, and the laws governing the retention of the highly classified/need-to-know-basis documents carry stiff penalties. At this point, he's admitted to taking the documents and has lied via written instrument that he returned all of them; there is no legal defense.

]]> By: BashiBazouk http://www.chrisweigant.com/2022/09/22/nice-try-donny-but-no-dice/#comment-198000 BashiBazouk Thu, 22 Sep 2022 23:05:29 +0000 http://www.chrisweigant.com/?p=22609#comment-198000 It seemed like at the time Trump was nominating judges, most came from lists drawn up by McConnell. As much as Trump would like to think they all owe fealty to him, I think most are really McConnell judges or just conservative judges that are independent and only owe fealty to the law with a conservative perspective... It seemed like at the time Trump was nominating judges, most came from lists drawn up by McConnell. As much as Trump would like to think they all owe fealty to him, I think most are really McConnell judges or just conservative judges that are independent and only owe fealty to the law with a conservative perspective...

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