Trump Indictment: Lack of Charges Over Hillary's Server Scandal is Highly Relevant, Not 'Whataboutism'
Guy Benson
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted, again. Last time this happened, back in late March, the charges came courtesy of left-wing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg -- and we called it as we saw it: An indictment resting on a risky and untested legal bank-shot that absolutely reeked of partisan politics. Whatever one thinks of Trump's personal conduct with Stormy Daniels, the notion that he committed a felony is preposterous. That prosecution is a disgrace. This time, the indictment comes from the feds, and it pertains to Trump's post-presidency handling of classified materials, as well as various officials' efforts to recover them.
From what we've learned since last evening, the former president faces seven charges related to this matter. Following the Mar-a-Lago raid last year, the dueling narratives that emerged after that search, and various reports and leaks about the investigation, we have a general sense of what some of the evidence against Trump might look like. But until we can read exactly what the charges are, and what the underlying evidence is, it's impossible to render an informed analysis of the strength of the case, from a legal standpoint. As a non-attorney, I'll leave much of that analysis to experts who know what they're talking about. As an engaged observer of news and politics, however, I can offer the following:
(1) I am entirely open the the possibility -- if not the probability -- that Donald Trump acted unlawfully in this case. It would not shock me in the least if the government presents a compelling case against his illegal handling of classified materials, in addition to related obstruction of justice. There are laws pertaining to such things, and those laws should mean something. No one is supposed to be above the law under our system, as illustrated by the blindfold covering Lady Justice's eyes. These appear to be very serious legal problems entirely of Trump's own making. And some of his after-the-fact, back-filling (and frankly cockamamie) assertions about his supposed preemptive but unspoken declassification actions while still president are ludicrous. In a vacuum, on the merits, Trump might be, and maybe should be, in real trouble. Details and proof matter a lot, of course, which is why I'm hedging against making too many definitive declarations.
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2023/06/09/trump-indictment-lack-of-charges-over-hillarys-server-scandal-is-highly-relevant-not-whataboutism-n2624275
