Donald Trump should have shut his mouth while he still could
At this point, you must wonder whether Donald Trump is as stupid as he seems or whether he honestly thinks he can get away with whatever he wants. By now, everyone has heard about “the tape.” CNN broke the story Wednesday, but by Wednesday evening, the Washington Post also reported on the issue. Some people just don’t know when to stop bragging, and that’s what Trump was doing. According to several outlets, Jack Smith now has a copy. That probably won’t help Trump with his ridiculous defenses.
No longer can Donald Trump or his attorneys claim ignorance of the declassification process or that he could magically declassify them. Trump’s former White House lawyer, Ty Cobb, said that considering this new evidence, prosecutors “have their foot on his neck.” Appearing on CNN’s “Outfront,” Cobb said: “One, it further enhances the obstruction case because it eviscerates the two defenses that Trump has put forward. … Those are out the door now because he’s admitted that he understood there were restraints on what he could do with documents.”
Trump needn’t think for a minute that Jack Smith is ignorant to the ramifications of this tape. It’s pathetic because in doing what he loves doing-bragging-Trump incriminated himself. As is typical, it is also reported that Trump is already fundraising on an expected indictment. Once Trump thinks he’s going to get away with something, he tries to use it to his advantage. He’s playing with fire, so he might want to, instead, begin trying to come up with a new defense because, obviously, his current defense won’t fly.
The document Trump held onto allegedly related to a potential attack on Iran. During his time with reporters, Associated Press reported that Trump bragged about having the documents and “wanting to share” them but “knew there were limitations” on his ability to declassify documents since he had left office. Trump knew full well he had no authority to declassify any of the documents he took with him, yet once the FBI seized the documents, he made that ludicrous claim. He was merely lying-again-and Jack Smith now has proof.
The funny thing about the media outlets reporting on this issue is that they keep saying things like “no criminal charges have been filed.” They well know that criminal cases don’t work like this. They have not been able to get one word out of Jack Smith or his team, but that doesn’t mean they’re not working on indictments. Clearly, Trump obstructed the DOJ from securing the return of these records. Is obstruction a crime? You bet it is, especially when you consider these documents hold information related to national security.
Make no mistake: Donald Trump is a crook. He has always been a crook, and nothing about that has changed. Crooks belong in jail; they should certainly not be allowed to run for president of the United States. Trump is an extremely bad influence, giving people the notion that they can do whatever they like with no consequences. There should always be consequences, no matter who you are.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years