- cross-posted to:
- politics@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- politics@beehaw.org
DONALD TRUMP SAID he “absolutely” plans to testify in the federal government’s case against him regarding classified documents he removed from the White House. “I’m allowed to do whatever I want … I’m allowed to do everything I did,” the former president told conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt.
In an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that dropped Wednesday, the host asked Trump, “Did you direct anyone to move the boxes, Mr. President? Did you tell anyone to move the boxes?” referring to the boxes of more than 300 classified documents the federal government seized last year from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
“I don’t talk about anything. You know why? Because I’m allowed to do whatever I want. I come under the Presidential Records Act,” Trump replied, while also taking a quick detour to bash Hewitt. “I’m not telling you. You know, every time I talk to you, ‘Oh, I have a breaking story.’ You don’t have any story. I come under the Presidential Records Act. I’m allowed to do everything I did.”
Candidate Trump needs to be belligerent and defiant. Defendant Trump needs to STFU.
The problem is those two things are in competition. So he has to say, Russia, Russia, Russia as candidate Trump, but that isn’t a relevant or useful argument for defendant Trump. He has to say, “I’m allowed to do this thing” as candidate Trump, but as defendant Trump, I’m allowed to break the law is not a defense.
His only hope is to delay. If he goes to trial on anything, defendant Trump loses. If he can hold out, then candidate Trump will win.
This is his bet. He wins and it all goes away and the US is ruled by a guy who believes he can get away with anything.
Maybe we get lucky and he has a cheeseburger embolism between now and then and then Walter Reed docs just choose to try a little less hard that day.