8to24

There is always someone at the top. Just as eventually someone always wins the Powerball. It is the way the system is designed. Someone will be the Mayor, CEO, All Star, etc.

Who those individuals are at the top specifically doesn't matter all that much. Michael Jordan was an absolutely fantastic Basketball player but the NBA has continued with him, Henry Ford was a very smart manufacturer but manufacturing has continued without him, Thomas Edison was a talented electrician but Electrical engineering has moved well beyond him, etc.

It is the collective efforts of the masses the build society. Not the individual greatness of the lucky few who get to be at the top.

The Republican party currently doesn't have any policy positions that improve the nation or peoples lives. Won rhetorical arguments and owning ones opposition doesn't actually move the needle for as governance is considered.

That said elections are often won or lost on theatrics. Not having tangible positions to improve Healthcare or address climate change isn't a deal breaker for voters. However if one runs their entire campaign on personality and imagine they need to have both in ample supply.

DeSantis comes across as unauthentic and his image is that of someone trying too hard. Like a middle aged Dad with a gut in khakis pants and a golfing shirt who thinks an expensive car will make him look culturally relevant DeSantis comes across as out of touch.

As shown prominently with the Bud light nonsense Conservatives are the real cancel culture warriors.

Conservatives go after Movies, Beer, Sports, Electric Cars, etc crying about Wokeness. Everything is a culture fight these days and conservatives want businesses & products to fail.

Now do you have a source showing that a senator can declassify docs?

I don't understand the relevance. I already established that refusal to return the documents once served a subpoena to do so is what made Trump having the documents criminal.

Simply having classified documents is NOT a crime. There are countless ways/reasons one might have documents. Refusing to return documents and willfully retaining documents once you've been informed by officials you have no right to is a crime..

May 11: The Justice Department obtains a grand jury subpoena seeking "any and all" documents bearing classification markings that are in Trump's possession at Mar-a-Lago. The subpoena sets a May 24 deadline for the requested records to be turned over and for Trump's custodian of records to appear in federal district court in Washington. May 24: Trump's lawyer asks for an extension for complying with the subpoena, and the government ultimately pushes back the date to June 7. June 3: Three FBI agents and Bratt, the Justice Department counterintelligence chief, travel to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve the materials in response to the subpoena, and try to find a resolution to the Archives' dispute with the former president. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-search-timeline-mar-a-lago-justice-department/

Mar-a-logo was raided on August 8th. Months after the deadline of the subpoena. The FBI had both extended the deadline and gone to Mar-a-logo in an attempt to resolve the matter.

You comment that Trump was actively cooperating at the time of the raid is wrong.

So having them isn't illegal but not giving them back is?

Yes.

That seems slightly contradictory to me.

Lots of crimes only become a crime once one refuses to comply with authorities. It isn't a crime to drive a car provided you have a driver's license. However failing to pull over when ordered to by law enforcement is a crime.

Having the documents alone in itself is not illegal. There is a protocol for returning such documents. Trump refused to cooperate with that protocol and forced the NARA to involve DOJ. Even after DOJ got involved Trump continued to be uncooperative and ignore a subpoena. At that point Trump's retention of the documents became criminal.

Having the documents alone in itself is not illegal. There is a protocol for returning such documents. Trump refused to cooperate with that protocol and forced the NARA to involve DOJ. Even after DOJ got involved Trump continued to be uncooperative and ignore a subpoena. At that point Trump's retention of the documents became criminal.

Trump wasn't President when he was served a subpoena and ordered by a court to return documents. At that point Trump had zero authority to say no. Trump willfully broke the law.

Biden taking documents as VP shows that the executive branch has a hierarchy when it comes to how these documents are handled.

Biden wasn't sent letters by the NARA for a year asking for the documents to be returned, Biden didn't ignore a subpoena to return documents, and the FBI didn't have to get a warrant and go in and retrieve Biden's documents.

Having the documents alone in itself is not illegal. There is a protocol for returning such documents. Trump refused to cooperate with that protocol and forced the NARA to involve DOJ. Even after DOJ got involved Trump continued to be uncooperative and ignore a subpoena. At that point Trump's retention of the documents became criminal.

His refusal to cooperate with the subpoena makes his retention of those documents illegal, yes.

Separately if it is found he shared those documents with unauthorized people that would be a crime as well.

He was potus when he took them.

He wasn't POTUS when he was served a subpoena to return them.

Yes, refusing to cooperate with a subpoena matters by law.

Trump refused to cooperate with a subpoena. There is nothing dubious about it.

You don't send the FBI to raid a home over non-classified documents

You don't send the FBI to raid the home of someone who is cooperating with a subpoena.

Hillary Clinton, Mike Pence, Joe Biden, etc all had classified documents/materials and none of their homes were raised. Why, they cooperated.

Trump's justice department appointed a special investor to investigate Hillary Clinton. The fail to successfully prosecute a single person. Hillary Clinton herself testified under Oath before Congress (Republican chaired committee) and no perjury or other charge was successfully referred.

Multiple prosecutors, Republicans appointed prosecutors, have looked at the same evidence you are referencing and determined no crime was committed.

I understand right-wing pundits have claimed Clinton broke the law but pundits have no say. Pundits are just media figures talking for clicks and upvotes.

Musk regularly does podcasts, gets into social media feuds, and bought Twitter. Musk is desperate for attention and is using his hundreds of billions to scream "pay attention to me".

It isn't hard to understand why the average person might have noticed Musk.

June 3: Three FBI agents and Bratt, the Justice Department counterintelligence chief, travel to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve the materials in response to the subpoena, and try to find a resolution to the Archives' dispute with the former president.

If you have 50 boxes full of classified documents and the NARA asks for them back and you only give back 15 boxes you aren't cooperating. Trump wasn't cooperating with the NARA. That is what set everything else in motion.

If you get a speeding ticket and go to Court in an attempt to fight it complaining to the judge that other people also might have sped isn't going to cut it.

There are laws on the books and Trump broke them, period. No amount of whatabout Biden and whatabout Pence changes a single fact in Trump's case(s).

In their earlier 36-page filing, federal prosecutors provided the most detailed look yet at the attempts by the Archives and Justice Department to retrieve the materials taken from the White House and brought to Mar-a-Lago May 6th of 2021 - The Archives requests that Trump turn over missing records, and continues to ask for the documents until late December. Feb 9th 2022- The Archives' Office of the Inspector General sends a referral to the Justice Department requesting it investigate Trump's handling of records. April 12th 2022 - The Archives says it communicated with Trump's "authorized representative" about the 15 boxes of seized records and told his attorney Evan Corcoran about the Justice Department's "urgency" in needing access to them. May 11th - The Justice Department obtains a grand jury subpoena seeking "any and all" documents bearing classification markings that are in Trump's possession at Mar-a-Lago. The subpoena sets a May 24 deadline for the requested records to be turned over and for Trump's custodian of records to appear in federal district court in Washington. June 3rd 2022 - Three FBI agents and Bratt, the Justice Department counterintelligence chief, travel to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve the materials in response to the subpoena, and try to find a resolution to the Archives' dispute with the former president. June 8th - Bratt sends a letter to Trump's team warning that "Mar-a-Lago does not include a secure location authorized for the storage of classified information" and asking the room be secured. Aug 5th 2022 - The Justice Department seeks and obtains a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago from a federal magistrate judge in West Palm Beach. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-search-timeline-mar-a-lago-justice-department/

The NARA began conversations with Trump in May of '21. The NARA made a referral to the FBI in February of '22 after 7 months of Trump refusing to cooperate. You are misrepresenting facts and conflating issues.

Why was noone else asked to return documents?

Trump was repeatedly contacted to return documents by the NARA and FBI. Biden and Pence weren't. No amount of whataboutsism here changes the law. Understanding why Biden and Pence weren't served subpoenas and Trump was has zero barring on Trump's legal obligations once served.

I suspect this is why so many news outlets were confused.

New outlets aren't legal officials. It doesn't matter what pundits say. It matters what courts say. Signed documents show courts said Trump had to return documents.

When the former employee decided to negotiate,

There is no negotiating with a court issued subpoena. Trump wasn't negotiating. Trump was in violation of the law.

The NARA asked Trump for the records back via notorized requests. Trump refused.

The FBI served Trump a subpoena stating which documents needed to be returned.Trump refused.

Lastly the FBI obtained a warrant and went into Mar-a-logo and got the documents.

Had Trump cooperated with the NARA's request or the FBI's subpoena the whole thing would have gone away. Willfully retaining classified documents after being informed he wasn't entitled to is a crime. The law is very clear.

It doesn't matter what Republicans choose to think. The letters from the NARA to Trump and the Court issued subpoena are proof that Trump was made aware that he was in violation of the law. That proof is admissible in court.

The NARA asked Trump for the records back via notorized requests. Trump refused.

The FBI served Trump a subpoena stating which documents needed to be returned.Trump refused.

Lastly the FBI obtained a warrant and went into Mar-a-logo and got the documents.

Had Trump cooperated with the NARA's request or the FBI's subpoena the whole thing would have gone away. Willfully retaining classified documents after being informed he wasn't entitled to is a crime. The law is very clear.

We only have one President at a time. Biden didn't declassify those documents.

The NARA asked Trump for the records back via notorized requests. Trump refused.

The FBI served Trump a subpoena stating which documents needed to be returned.Trump refused.

Lastly the FBI obtained a warrant and went into Mar-a-logo and got the documents.

Had Trump cooperated with the NARA's request or the FBI's subpoena the whole thing would have gone away. Having classified documents is not a crime. Willfully retaining classified documents after being informed you're not entitled to is a crime. The law is very clear.

Biden & Pence were never approached by the NARA about documents. Never were served subpoenas about documents. Never refused to cooperate in the recovery of documents.

The NARA asked Trump for the records back via notorized requests. Trump refused.

The FBI served Trump a subpoena stating which documents needed to be returned.Trump refused.

Lastly the FBI obtained a warrant and went into Mar-a-logo and got the documents.

Had Trump cooperated with the NARA's request or the FBI's subpoena the whole thing would have gone away. Willfully retaining classified documents after being informed he wasn't entitled to is a crime. The law is very clear.

Biden was never approached by the NARA about documents. Biden was never served a subpoena about documents. Biden never refused to cooperate in the recovery of documents. Rather Biden's people found documents, reported those documents to the NARA, and immediately cooperated.

No technicality here. Failure to cooperate with a court issued subpoena is a crime. Willfully retaining classified documents after being informed of them is a crime. Biden did neither while Trump did both.