A former top lawyer in the presidential administration of George W. Bush asserted in a recent post on Twitter that the federal Justice Department is compelled by the available evidence to bring criminal charges against Donald Trump.
Richard Painter, who was making these remarks, was responding to revelations about a years-old recording that allegedly captured Trump acknowledging the still lingering classification status of materials he had with him after exiting the presidency — undercutting his much more recent assertions that everything was just declassified, whether because he had the thought of the declassification and that was enough or whatever other fairy tale. The reports in news media said that the recording captured Trump talking about a document purportedly outlining hypothetical plans for a military assault on Iran, something that some in Trump’s circles have tried to claim top military official and occasional Trump opponent Mark Milley supported.
“This is a clear violation of the Espionage Act,” Painter said. “DOJ has no choice but to indict Trump.” Painter has more recently associated himself with the Democratic Party after his years of involvement in Republican politics.
The recording that prosecutors have reportedly obtained amid the federal investigation into the handling of classified documents recovered from Trump could be damaging for him on multiple levels. For starters, it’s difficult to sustain the idea that he didn’t understand the full breadth of responsibilities for handling — and returning to the government — state secrets, considering his acknowledgment on the tape of restrictions on access by other individuals. In later circumstances, Trump is also suspected of having in fact shown some of these materials to other people, meaning the tape could directly establish that he willfully and knowingly violated federal law when doing so. Charges could come soon.
This is a clear violation of the Espionage Act.
DOJ has no choice but to indict Trump.Trump Captured on Tape Acknowledging He Kept a Classified Document on Iran -CNN https://t.co/puD72UZrim
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) May 31, 2023
