Section 793
Differing viewpoints of the same situation are interesting. The Guardian reported earlier Wednesday that the federal jury in Miami would be questioning various witnesses, and one of those witnesses was Taylor Budowich, a former aide to Trump. After giving his testimony, Budowich said the most pathetic thing: “America has become a sick and broke nation-a decline led by Joe Biden and power hungry Democrats.” He called Jack Smith’s investigation an “effort to use the power of government to ‘get’ Trump.” It’s almost humorous how the narrative has changed.
While in office, Donald Trump tried to use the DOJ as his personal lawyers and henchmen. Now that they are doing what they’re supposed to do-investigate crimes-they’re being “weaponized.” Budowich can cry “poor Trump” all he wants, but the truth is Trump took classified documents from the White House. He lied, obfuscated, and hid them from NARA, and those efforts are what led us here. This is a classic case of lying in the bed we made. Make no mistake: All the tears in the world aren’t going to stop the investigations and possible indictment of Donald Trump.
In fact, Trump’s former AG, Bill Barr, said Tuesday on CSB Mornings: “I’ve said for a while that I think this is the most dangerous legal risk facing the former president. And if I had to bet, I would bet that it’s near.” According to a late Wednesday report from the Independent, we have arrived at that moment. The Independent reported that prosecutors are preparing to charge Trump with obstruction and violation of the Espionage Act, and the outlet sounds like it knows something based on the words: “The Independent has learned that prosecutors are ready to ask grand jurors to approve an indictment against Mr. Trump for violation of a portion of the U.S. criminal code known as Section 793.” This code prohibits anyone from “gathering, transmitting, or losing” documents relating to national defense, which is exactly what Trump did.
The Independent calls the possible espionage charge “a strategic move” on the part of prosecutors, as it circumvents Trump’s claims about his nonexistent declassification of the documents he took with him. Trump knows he didn’t declassify those documents, and the DOJ knows it as well. The process to do so was not followed, and it was only after he was caught that Trump made this outlandish claim.
When the indictments will come down is anyone’s guess, but rumor has it that the grand jury will be asked to vote as early as Thursday. Even then, the public will know nothing until prosecutors are satisfied with the evidence they have presented or have tied everything up in a nice, neat package. This means that Trump may well be ranting on his Truth Social platform for another week or so, and he’s likely now concerned about reports that Mark Meadows has flipped. This is beginning to sound like a bad movie-one that Trump wrote with his outlandish, unacceptable behavior. It is only fitting that he be the star of his movie.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years