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Trump's Final Defense [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-06-20
Trump recently admitted on video that he did indeed knowingly have classified government security documents in his possession that he repeatedly failed to return as is by law required. With this stunning admission of guilt, his only remaining possible defense now for his felonious behavior in the Mar-A-Lago national security and espionage pending trial is the"Purloined Letter" gambit. Edgar Allan Poe's detective C. Auguste Dupin in the eponymous story solved the case by understanding the psychology behind how the missing letter must be hidden yet available at a moment's notice.
It is easy to see how Trump's attorneys could craft a cogent defense of his actions by applying the well known principles of hiding in plain sight and misdirection. The safety of the documents was never in question because they were scattered throughout the miscellany of his post-presidential detritus. Of course peering into this litany of nothing would simply cause anyone looking to fall immediately asleep of boredom.
Just as the missing letter in Poe's whodunit was really present at all times in plain view, the protected documentation in question simply disappeared into the commonality of the items at the scene. No one would suspect anything and it would be a masterstroke of planning and adherence in protecting national security. In Poe's story, all the attention of the searchers was completely misdirected in trying to find the letter and, even though the identity of the thief was entirely suspected, the letter was missing and could not implicate the thief.
This principle could certainly be invoked by the ex-president as to the total security of how he handled the documents. His complete attention to this plan is nowhere better demonstrated than when we see stacks of the document containing boxes on stage in the ballroom! Genius! Who would ever guess that some of the most closely held secrets of the United States Government would be there in plain view of any reveling party goer? Now he would still be guilty of keeping documents he shouldn't have but in no way was national security ever compromised so it really is not a problem. No harm no foul. A small fine to make sure he remembers this for the future and we can get on with the presidential election.
I am not an attorney but there is no question this is as good a defense as he can muster. As a matter of fact if I were his defense team I would approach the DOJ with a straight forward settlement offer in mind to avoid the complexity of a trial at all. I will be very happy to take a small consulting fee in the nine figure range from Trump's legal defense team for the suggestion when they use it.
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