If you think today was a bad day for Trump. Tomorrow and the days after will be infinitely worse.

-that’s not me exaggerating. That’s me being brutally honest. Trump has literally zero defenses or excuses. His Response is worse than a 1st year law student would write. It’s EGREGIOUSLY PATHETIC

Point of Personal Privilege: earlier I explained to my readers that it would be unlikely that I’d have the prerequisite bandwidth (or intellectual stamina) to publish an article on Thursday or Friday of this week. Perhaps I may have been premature but I know my readers trust my “hawt takes” —my time management skills meant I drafted this article shortly after 8PM DC local time on August 31, 2022 but I specifically set the publish time for September 1, 2022 at 12:13AM and then I opted to publish this article at 9:33PM —mainly because my meta is petty AF and I’m hoping to thwart my insomnia….by preemptively publishing this article tonight…

All Defendants are afforded competent representation;

For weeks (actually I can remember as far back at March 2017) that some of us opined that Trump consistently fails to hire a competent attorney. The fact that Trump fails to consistently do the prerequisite vetting, is also very telling. Apparently if you vigorously defend him on a Cable News program that’s an instant “hire” —Notwithstanding the fact that Trump recently hired Chris Kise that should tell you a few things. In my non-binding opinion that name Chris Kise should ring a bell.

• December 2018 Kise released the text messages surrounding (now disgraced) gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum. Read more here importantly though is Kise is extraordinarily close to Governor #DeSatan and that could muck up the run up to 2024 general election

• In early 2020 Kise “helped the Nicolás Maduro administration fight U.S. sanctions”

• Overnight the firm: Foley & Lardner appears to have scrubbed any mention of Chris Kise from their website, see here -also see the WayBack Machine archive for Foley & Lardner and Chris Kise

Again our judicial system mandates that any defendant is entitled to adequate representation. And while some might think Ttump doesn’t deserve this right, I’d argued that yes of course he does. That our judicial system (and Constitution) mandates this. In short this is my way of telling you that I genuinely hope Trump has adequate representation. I do think that you should mentally prepare yourselves for the inevitable Trump’s dirty tricks. In my industry, clients typically hire an attorney that best reflects their own personal behavior and conduct.

However I’m not saying Kise is a bad attorney, in fact Kise’s Martindale-Hubble CV is pretty impressive. Yes that’s a database that most in the legal community take pride in, especially the Peer Reviews section. What I am suggesting is you need to prepare yourself for advance level subterfuge and arguing the semantics because that’s the only move left for Trump

And shortly before 8PM DC local time, Trump’s response hit the docket:

• Plaintiff's REPLY to 48 Response/Reply (Other) to United States' Response to Motion for Judicial Oversight and Additional Relief by Donald J. Trump -see ECF or via my Scribd Account

To say my previous warning is likely an understatement, allow me to refer you to page 1 of Trump’s response. Full disclosure I read the first paragraph and literally tilted my head toward the sky and the very last of my Fs escaped my lips with little to zero resistance. All while while simultaneously snort laughing….because that’s one helluva disinformation and misinformation opening salvo. The point is some of those documents are highly sensitive and could harm our Intelligence Communities “sources and methods” —as previously noted the “TK” is likely related to our Country’s satellite. Remember in 2019 Trump tweeted a picture a satellite images (see 2019 NPR article) Back to Trump’s response —like I said the opening salvo is an interesting argument… said no reasonably sane person, ever;

Three weeks after an unprecedented, unnecessary, and legally unsupported raid on the home of a President—and possibly a candidate against the current chief executive in 2024—the Government, represented by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the United States Attorney’s Office, has filed an extraordinary document with this Court, suggesting that the DOJ, and the DOJalone, should be entrusted with the responsibility of evaluating its unjustified pursuit of criminalizing a former President’s possession of personal and Presidential records in a secure setting.

“When thelaw is on your side, argue the law; when the facts are on your side, argue the facts; when neither the law nor the facts are on your side, just argue!”

Trump: the DOJ misrepresentations of June 2022 meeting…

In an unbelievable argument, see page 2 footnote # 1 it’s there in black and white. Trump crosses the dangerous rubicon of stating that FBI Agents lied to the Magistrate Judge. Which reads as follows:

Movant does not at this time address every misleading or incomplete statement of purported “fact” made by the Government in its Response at pages 3 to 14. However, Movant will simply highlight that one specific event – the June 3, 2022, meeting – has been significantly mischaracterized in the Government’s Response. If the Government provided the same untrue account in the affidavit in support of the search warrant, then they misled the Magistrate Judge.

Literally that’s something that’s actually known in the legal industry. And we are now seeing this colloquialism come to fruition vis-a-vis Trump’s response to the Government’s August 30th late night filing —here Trump argues that the Government’s conceding the PRA and NARA and further buttressed the Government’s use of the Espionage Act. Trump still fails to fix the flaw in his argument. Here Trump is hoping to strictly argue the PRA (Presidential Records Act, I wrote about this in February 2022, found here) however finally Trump’s attorneys cited the Michael Cohen search warrant and special master;

the Government’s standing argument challenges Movant’s underlying right to seek a Special Master in the first place. But the law substantially supports Movant’s entitlement to seek judicial review of the motion presently pending before the Court.

… the Government does not cite any precedent for its assertion that Movant lacks standing to request the appointment of a Special Master. Courts assessing past requests for the appointment of a Special Master have seemed to assume—rightly—that the target of a search and seizure has standing to seek neutral review of seized materials.

Movant has not yet sought to challenge the warrant or ensuing search…

As previously noted Trump’s Motion was filed two weeks after the fact. His original motion is akin to an attorney getting their JD from Trump University. And no matter how much lipstick you put on a pig, it’s still a damn pig…notwithstanding I can actually admit that Trump makes a quasi-intelligible argument concerning the Government’s position on lack of standing and jurisdiction… accordingly on pages 4 thru 6 Trump attempts to argue both the constitutionality of the search and seizure warrant…but here they are threading the wrong needle, strictly focusing on the PRA versus the grave National Security issues presented by Trump stealing troves of classified materials:

Government reads into the Presidential Records Act an enforcement provision that does not exist; the law exhorts a former President to interface with the Archivist to ensure the preservation of Presidential records, but it does not oblige the former President to take any particular steps with respect to those records. Even accepting as true the Government’s account of its discussions with Movant and Movant’s representatives, the trajectory of this case does not demonstrate “inequitable conduct” on the part of Movant—and certainly not to such an extent that the Court need decline to exercise its equitable jurisdiction here.

…Movant continues to have rights related to the assertion of executive privilege…

On its face this particular argument by Trump is galling and offensive —mainly because Trump’s (uniformed) interpretation that some how he is the executive and therefore executive privilege is Trump and Trump’s alone. Not only is that dead wrong it’s a nonsensical hill for Trump to die on. The last statement was figuratively speaking because I don’t want Trump to prematurely die, in fact I want him to live a long life, preferably in a maximum security federal prison. (I mean. I did tell you that my meta is petty AF) The likelihood that everyday since August 8th Trump wakes up in a panic, that absolutely delights me. Especially when you read his near daily mental melt downs on “Truth” social.

I’m not a medical professional with any expertise in the mental health discipline but it certainly appears Donald J Ttump is losing his ever loving mind. And I am here for it, all of it.

On page 7, we can observe Trump’s pathetic position that he some how retains Executive Privilege. Should you be inclined you can read previous articles concerning Trump’s assertion of Executive Privilege, found here, more specifically the January 2022 SCOTUS ruling. Again this is where you can observe Trump’s absurd argument(s) concerning a privilege that Trump is no longer entitled to. To be clear SCOTUS has held “in very narrow instances a former president may retain some executive privilege”

But the footnote is hilarious no really it states the following. Haaalp I’ve fallen from my home office chair and I’m presently on the ground snort laughing uncontrollably because #SpyDipShit007 actually stated:

“…Movant reserves the right to contest the ODNI review and to seek discovery as to exactly how and why the facilitation took place…”

I mean I thought that Donald Trump and more broadly his domestic terrorist (damnit why do I keep typing that) are rational and logical human beings but as you can observe, there’s nothing rational or logical about the flawed Executive Privilege arguments Trump continues to make. What I’d like to point out though is how nuanced Trump’s argument(s) really are. He’s clearly of the “say it enough and people will believe it’s true” doctrine…

But I think the most egregious part of Trump’s arguments is the ongoing besmirching of the FBI and more broadly the DOJ. As noted in early August Attorney General Garland is striving for a Department of Justice investigating sans “fear or favor” which is DC speak for undue political influence. During the Trump administration many of us correctly noted how Trump’s weaponizing the DOJ would lead to many Americans distrusting our preeminent law enforcement, specifically the countless and largely nameless hard working FBI agents. Nothing in the DOJ’s recent actions infer that deviated from the CFRs and laws when they opted to investigate Trump’s stealing of government documents.

If this is the best Trump’s legal team argues, holy mother of lodestars what an incredibly weak argument

Trump wants Special Master and it’s possible he’ll get it…

Again it’s possible the Judge might (operative word) approve a special master but the fact is at no time did Trump proffer any evidence that Trump had declassified any of the massive tranche of documents clawed back by the Government in Jan/Feb 2022 and the subsequent August 8th search warrant. Because Team Trump is bending itself backwards to explain why he had any of these documents. Trump has failed to proffer any evidence that he had declassified any of the documents. Nor has Trump offered any logical argument of how these documents made their way to an un-secure tacky Country Club —of

“The entire suggesting that the DOJ, and the DOJ alone, should be entrusted with the responsibility of evaluating its unjustified pursuit of criminalizing a former President’s possession of personal and Presidential records in a secure setting”

“The FBI planted evidence”

The problem with Trump’s argument is he initially and falsely stated (with zero evidence or case law) that the “FBI planted evidence” but now his new argument is the DOJ/FBI grotesquely included a “staged” photograph in yesterday’s filing

The fact that Trump refers to the Exhibit F —well here’s another take. One could competently argue that Mar-A-Largo is an actual crime scene. And the viral photograph is actually standard practice during a criminal investigation. Notice the ruler? Well that’s because law enforcement almost always photograph “the evidence” —therefore Trump’s argument concerning that photograph is beyond intentional misinformation, it’s another low key siren call to his domestic terrorist, I mean the MAGA-GOP. After all, a cult of personality needs their acolytes to take action, when called upon. Do you remember the time when any other former POTUS “residence” was considered a crime scene? Yea me neither.

Summary:

Trump admits that he was in procession of highly confidential documents, that Trump renewed his “ask” for an unredacted copy of the Affidavit. And Trump argues that the Government property seized should be returned to him. I would watch this hearing carefully because the scope of the impact of giving the “criminal target” unfettered access to the evidence the Government has collected would mean our entire Rule of Law would be upended… again you can pull the Trump’s response down from my Scribd Account

Generally speaking Trump’s Responsive filing is incredibly light on actual case law, it’s renewed demand for a special master (and the un-redacted) Affidavit —coupled with the basic misinterpretation of both the PRA and Espionage Act —this is especially problematic because to date Trump has yet to explain;

• why he stole these documents.

• Why Trump & his attorneys mislead the DOJ (in May & June 2022) basically lying to them about the stolen documents.

• Nor does Trump at any time proffer a logical argument why he still thinks he enjoys the benefits of “executive privilege”

…the latter being the most problematic because either Trump is clinically insane or he’s purposefully amplifying disinformation and misinformation that he won the 2020 General Election. The “good faith” argument isn’t the least bit believable mainly because we now know that within a few hours the FBI found some 3e boxes of classified materials that ran the entire gauntlet.

Again if Trump made a colorable argument on the aforesaid questions then perhaps his recent response would hold some weight. He did not. He stole a bunch of government property. And now he’s facing the uncharted accountability waters. And I am here for it, all of it….

Lastly FTR I don’t think I over sold the Instagram post. One of the things my grief counselor is hell bent on me accepting is that I take a few moments everyday and just enjoy the beauty of life.

file411_dc

A post shared by File411 (@file411_dc)

Again it unlikely that I’ll have the bandwidth to publish articles on Thursday or Friday but in the slim chance that my schedule avails some free time, I’ll do my level best to publish an informative and spicy article. Again you can read the Trump response here -also note at no time in his response does Trump address the “obstruction of justice” —in short Trump’s response is a rancid word salad while simultaneously failing to address the actual facts in this matter. I do think that Trump’s ultimate goal is part of his Triple D strategy, in short Delay, Deny and Distract because Trump’s actions point to numerous acts of criminality.

…Trump’s tomorrow and days after will be far worse than his today…