Indicted. Again.

classifieddocsJune 9, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 26) - I know that a criminal defendant is innocent until proven guilty. However, when it comes to Donald Trump, all we have to do is take his word for it to know that he is guilty of a variety of crimes. Word came out last night that a federal grand jury in Florida indicted Trump on at least seven counts related to his illegal possession of classified documents. These include documents with the highest level of classification, ones that are not supposed to be outside of highly secured areas. And yet, we've seen reports of the former president waving around documents outlining scenarios for an attack on Iran. We've also repeatedly seen Trump make the ludicrous claim that he has unlimited power to declassify documents, even by just thinking about it. He has said enough on the public record to make the federal government's case. So, presumption of innocence aside, he's guilty. The one question that remains unanswered is "why?" Why did Trump want these documents? Are they trophies for him to show off to his guests at Mar-a-Lago? Or is he planning to hand them over to our foreign adversaries, much like he did in giving Russia secret Israeli intelligence during an Oval Office meeting in 2017? Considering his mounting legal bills, there's a legitimate fear that Trump will sell American secrets to the highest bidder. It's no surprise that within minutes of Trump announcing his own indictment, the Great Grifter began fundraising off of it. You have to admit it, the defeated, twice-impeached and now twice-indicted ex-president has chutzpah. And while we are asking "why," we need to ask why so many republicans like Rep. Jim "pedophile enabler" Jordan and Sen. Josh "Sieg Heil" Hawley are willing to trash the foundations of American jurispurdence to provide political cover for a man likely to face additional criminal charges in the coming weeks? So many questions and so few answers. But we do know this: Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury comprised of his fellow citizens for crimes under the Espionage Act and for obstruction of justice. Tuesday afternoon, he will be under arrest. Again. That's a good start. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.