TWGB: The Picture Worth a Thousand Takes

 

The rebuttal to the Trump filing I referred to as the "Clown Suit" from DOJ made some of the points I expected it to make, to wit--the former guy and his lawyers were lying about turning over all of the documents and they were already gone over so there was no need for a special master. It also included a picture of the kind of documents that had been found during the search, just to hammer home how clearly the top secret/classified docs were marked.  The white space is redacted. You aren't being exposed to anything other than what should be obvious to you by now--these were sensitive materials that should not have been in desk drawers or closets or boxes in a basement. They should have been in NARA's hands. 

Trump and his defenders are in denial. How dare anyone show these documents on the floor as if to suggest that was where he would carelessly leave them? Why would they take a picture of them if they were so secret? Is this how the FBI handles these docs?

Oh, for fuck's sake. This kind of picture is the story of many a bust. Cops love to pile up the evidence so people can get a tangible picture of what they were doing in a search:

In this case, the point is that you can see the clear markings on the docs, which were mixed in with random other shit and in boxes and in different rooms, because it's Trump who didn't care. The docs were on the floor (and they never did imply it was Trump who put them there) only to show the extent of what they were finding. And then those docs were put into containers and taken to where they were actually secure. The FBI didn't mishandle them--they were documenting what they saw.

It's a kind of denial, I think. The picture can't resonate with some of the Trump people because they still, after a well over a year and a half, haven't absorbed that he lost the election and isn't president anymore. There are still people telling themselves that there's one crucial (non-existent) SCOTUS case or major voter fraud discovery that will reverse everything. They want to believe in Trump's do-over--the promise of the Qanon and Mike Lindell frauds.  One magical day, their POTUS will be back, baby, and then--

The storm. And all the enemies who denied them the security of their Trumpy-bear will pay. 

They were happy to see Hillary Clinton locked up for her digital faux pas and have no trouble ignoring the bright gold and red-labeled folders in Trump's possession:

Even if it doesn't take much imagination to understand that hard copies are distributable in a way that digital files are not (re: traceability), you can determine Trump's intent: based on his and his legal team's apparent obstruction, the lying and the movement of docs start to make ill intent seem very likely. 

I also want to note that there's a parallel in Trump's defense of his document-hoarding and the Big Lie. Trump and friends are making claims in public that they won't make legally. In the 60+ cases that Trump's team made and lost challenging the election results, they never alleged fraud because they knew full well it couldn't be proved. And in these challenges, despite claiming publicly that the docs are unclassified, they aren't really claiming that in court. 

I don't know it for a fact, but I believe the likelihood of that being a lie is pretty high. FOIA requests have already been made. The thing is, and I cannot stress this enough--classification has to be memorialized. Or how would anyone know what was classified and not? 

But wait there's more: here's something one of Trump's lawyers kind of unnecessarily claims:

The same filing also includes an affidavit from Trump himself, indicating that he “authorized Alina Habba to search my private residence and personal office located at The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida for any and all documents responsive to the Subpoena.” Habba indicated she conducted similar searches at Trump’s residences and office at his Bedminster estate.

Was anyone asking about Bedminster? And since they lied about what was going to be found at Mar-A-Lago, what are they doing bringing Bedminster up? Is that a fucking dare?  Did Trump's lawyers just fucking dare the FBI to raid Bedminster too? 

Because I would watch them do it and smoke a cigar afterwards with a nice glass of port and no worries on my whole mind. I don't even like cigars, but I am old enough to know the significance of Br'er Rabbit and the Briar patch. Oh no, not Bedminster! Does he think the outrage of the search would make the FBI just not?  Given what we know, I think it would be justified and worth it TBH, since he has been dicking about this entire time. And has a habit of inadvertent confessions. 

Now, I don't know how to parse this outside of wondering if everyone around Trump has been taking crazy pills, but their response to the DOJ request to deny a special master is to say: Fuck it, Trump is president for life, of course he still has sensitive materials, you herb. 

Or at least that's how I'm reading what they are saying. 

I really feel like, no, we have one president at a time, and right now, in this timeline, Dark Brandon is our president, and Hell Naw! This is just a pointless delay of game, because that's how Trump wins--legal attrition. A reasonable person would recognize this is Trump fuckery, when that picture up top shows what is definitely the whole point--why are these things where they are?!?!?  Because he is an ex president and they should not be!

And it doesn't get simpler than that. All other takes are just that--takes. Spinning. He isn't president and those things are not his. They belong to the government:

The government of the people, by the people and for the people, not one nation under a Trump. 

UPDATE: Welp! These are the best people Trump can buy right now:

Trump attorney indicates he "frequently" has guests in his personal office at Mar-a-Lago — where the FBI just recovered extraordinarily sensitive national security documents.https://t.co/G6J3SPHl5i

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 1, 2022

Just people in and out all the time! Nothing more secure, really!