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Notes -
Breaking Down the Trump Indictment.
Here is the charging document. It's filed in the Southern District of Florida, which could become important for jury selection reasons. The core of the case is the allegation that Trump instructed his personal assistant to move boxes containing classified documents in order to hide them from his attorneys and the grand jury.
In January 2021, while he was still president, Trump and his "body man" Waltine Nauta moved dozens of boxes containing records and documents (presumably including the classified documents at issue in this case) from The White House to Mar-a-Lago.
On two separate occasions in 2021, Trump referred to and displayed classified documents during conversations with individuals who had no security clearance or need-to-know. Trump mentioned in these conversations that he had not declassified the information and that he shouldn't be showing it to anyone.
In May 2021, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) told Trump to turn over presidential records that he kept after his presidency.
In January 2022, Nauta, on behalf of Trump, turned over some (but not all) of the boxes to NARA.
The boxes turned over to NARA contained 197 classified documents, prompting a Department of Justice criminal grand jury investigation.
On May 11, 2022, the grand jury issued a subpoena ordering Trump to turn over all classified documents in his possession, custody, or control.
In the following weeks, Nauta is seen on security footage moving 64 boxes from the Mar-a-Lago storage room and bringing them to Trump's residence, and moving only 30 boxes from Trump's residence back to the storage room.
Trump also makes numerous suggestive and mafioso-esque statements to his lawyers about how great it would be if there were no documents and praising Hillary Clinton's lawyer for deleting 30,000 of her emails.
On June 2, 2022, 'Trump attorney 1' visited the Mar-a-Lago storage room and searched through the boxes there for classified documents to comply with the subpoena. He finds 38 classified documents. Only the boxes in the storage room were searched. He then asked 'Trump attorney 3', who did not take part in the search for documents, to sign the certificate of compliance with the subpoena and turn over the 38 documents.
In July 2022, the grand jury obtained the surveillance footage of Nauta moving boxes mentioned above, prompting the court to issue a search warrant authorizing the FBI to seize all classified documents from Mar-a-Lago.
On August 8, 2022, the FBI executes the search warrant. 75 classified documents were found in the storage room, and 27 classified documents were found in Trump's office.
What is quite interesting here is that attorney-client privilege between Trump and 'Trump attorney 1' was pierced under the "crime-fraud exception". The theory is that because Trump misled 'Trump attorney 1' as to the location of the documents in order to violate the subpoena, that means his legal services were "rendered in the commission of a crime," and therefore not protected by privilege. I am curious if any of our resident lawyers can weigh in on if this meets the typical threshold, because it seems like a bit of a stretch to me.
Trump also lost the two lawyers who were representing him immediately after the indictment was unsealed. It's not clear if they quit or if they were fired. Its amazing how fast the guy burns through lawyers. It seems like half of them end up with their career in ruins too. I can't tell if Trump is a nightmare client, or if the powers that be are targeting his legal representation in order to leave him stuck with bottom-of-the-barrel attorney's to defend against federal charges.
I think in this particular case, though Trump is just a terrible client and that's why MOST lawyers leave him, I believe that here due to the timing the lawyers are dropping out on purpose to try to obtain a trial delay, thus kicking the trial as late as possible (i.e. after the election).
I could be wrong but it seems to me that the recording(s?) in and of itself contains literally 90% of the court case against Trump in one short recording. I think they have him dead to rights. It blows up intent, it blows up the classification issue (though the charges are structured so the classification status isn't all that relevant), it blows up the recipient of that intel, all at once. The relevant laws are relatively broad so I think the only true issue is one of proving intent. I think the orders to move boxes around is more than enough, and if coupled with the broken attorney privilege as you mention, it's even easier. I say that as someone who has never thought any other single legal case against Trump has been worth much.
Actually, after going back and reading more closely, it's not obvious that the recording will even be admissible at trial. Trump is not being charged with disclosure of national defense information at the Bedminster Club. He is being charged with willful retention of national defense information at Mar-a-Lago. Also, that incident happened in 2021, before the subpoena. It probably still comes in under Rule 404(b)(2), but a good attorney might be able to convince a sympathetic judge to keep it out.
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