The Espionage Act of 1917 prohibited obtaining information, recording pictures, or copying descriptions of any information relating to the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information may be used for the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.
If you are convicted of gathering and delivering defense information in order to aid a foreign government, you could be sentenced to life in prison or face a death sentence. Economic espionage can also lead to 15 years imprisonment and a fine up to $5 million.
It's kind of a high bar to prove a violation of this part. But Trump can go to prison just for having the material in his possession, no matter what his intent or reason (I hate using that word in association with the dolt).
The next question is: Who in the White House helped Crooked Donnie pick out and amass this huge stash of top-secret files? He wouldn't have been able to identify them himself, plus he'd have to go through layers of security to get at them. Who were the guards? Did it have anything to do with Donnie replacing national security and military staffers during those last few months?
Trump is caught by the short and curlies. If he does a runner do you suppose wifey is looking forward to becoming a resident of Moscow Oblast, and taking the weekend summer commute to the dacha. Somehow not. She will give a cheery wave from the clifftops as he heads over the horizon. Somehow I do not think he can go anywhere. A helicopter or jet will be instantly greeted by an air force jet, who can be very persuasive about compliance. I don't think his boatie would argue with a rubber dingy full of marines. Inevitably, it is a lock-up. Dear me!
As more comes out it looks like trump could be the most damaging spy in this country’s history.
The first inventory reports by the New York Times mention 'compartmentalized' records but don't specifically mention nuclear files, though maybe they are included in that category. Even if (and especially if) nuclear files weren't found, that could mean Psycho Donnie already unloaded them on foreign governments who could use them.
Do you recall the pile of money bin Salman gave Jared for "financial consulting services," over the objection of Saudi's officials who knew Jared wasn't qualified to do any such thing? It's also been brought up that Donnie's early administration was trying to figure out how to transfer such information to the Saudi's.
The background information in the affidavit would sure make for interesting reading, though it doesn't sound like we'll get it before charges are brought.
News reports are that it was SAP (special access program) level weapons information. If that’s true, that is grievously serious but we will almost guaranteed never know what he actually had, but you can guarantee that others do know and fully understand the implications - including clues as to why trump was holding that stuff.
My guess is it was either a full on exfiltration of information to hostile foreign governments, or it was an insurance policy in case he decided he had to leave the country to stay out of jail for his many other crimes.
There’s not many reasons to hold that material especially after its return was demanded months ago.
Mar-a-lago has been a hotbed of spying. Trump used to socialize with a Chinese spy who ran/runs? a massage parlor just down the road, another Chinese spy was caught trying to sneak in electronic equipment to get access to trump’s computers, and god only knows what his pals the Russians have been up to there. And there’s trump, stupid as a cow with his hands out for any money he can get and in possession of documents classified above top secret about nuclear weapons?
The fucktard isn’t in a position to build his own or personally use weapons information in any way - except to betray the country while personally profiting. There is no other explanation for him having kept that kind of information.
I said recently trump could end up being the most damaging de facto spy in US history. Now I have to fall on the side of him being a full-on, country-betraying, country back-stabbing, country-killing spy who did whatever he has done out of pure greed and grift without regard to consequences for this country.
Hopefully the consequences for him are huge.
Edit - this also pretty much ruins trump. At this point, I’d say trump is officially a flight risk if he understands classified above top secret. SAP is deep in the land of do not fuck around and trump was possibly even giving access to foreign governments already. News reports say he loved showing the documents around. The level of infraction involved is totally out of the ballpark. Trump really might try to run now.
Also to add to the edit, this could also implicate Rick Perry. He was head of the DOE under trump and could have (no idea) made sure trump knew which information would be most valuable. Perry needs a klieg light colonoscopy to see what he knew and what his interactions were.
And fucking shame on Rubio, Paul, and the rest of them piling on trying to get investigations derailed. They should be investigated as well. There’s reasons they all go to the mat for trump and it’s high time we find out why. Graham, McConnell, and the rest of trump’s protectors and defenders who might have their own kompromat forcing them into positions they thought they could justify.
They are traitors. Knowing or unknowing. Still traitors.
Death sentence PLEASE