Attention to the Unseen

Former President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in early June 2023, as an investigation continued that led to his indictment on federal charges. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images By Joseph Ferguson, Loyola University Chicago and Thomas A. Durkin, Loyola University Chicago Former President Donald Trump’s indictment by a federal grand jury in Miami includes 31 counts of violating a part of the Espionage Act of 1917. The Espionage Act has historically been employed most often by law-and-order conservatives….

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Tess Bridgeman and Brianna Rosen write: Military plans and capabilities, for example, are some of the most zealously guarded secrets a government can hold, because the compromise of that information can put at serious risk any military operations – and the lives of members of the armed forces – related to those plans or capabilities. It is also important to pay attention to the classification markings on the documents at issue in the 31 Espionage Act counts. These markings reflect…

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Turley later: "It's really breathtaking. Obviously, this is mishandling, you know, putting classified documents into ballrooms and bathrooms is — it borders on the bizarre. … the visual and audio tape evidence is really daunting" pic.twitter.com/7ElFhW5H7l — Lis Power (@LisPower1) June 9, 2023

The New York Times reports: The criminal case against President Donald J. Trump over his hoarding of classified documents was randomly assigned to Judge Aileen M. Cannon, a court official for the Southern District of Florida said on Saturday. The chief clerk of the federal court system there, Angela E. Noble, also confirmed that Judge Cannon would continue to oversee the case unless she recused herself. The news of Judge Cannon’s assignment raised eyebrows because of her role in an…

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Mark Joseph Stern writes: Cannon has been assigned to handle at least the initial phases of Trump’s federal indictment in Florida. Her name appeared on the summons sent to the former president, as did Bruce Reinhart’s, the magistrate judge who signed off on the Mar-a-Lago search warrant. (Magistrate judges may conduct preliminary proceedings in a criminal case, like authorizing a warrant, but it’s unlikely that Reinhart will play a major role here.) Typically, federal district court judges are assigned cases…

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The National Archives and Records Administration: How much time do outgoing Presidents have to go through their papers to determine what to retain as personal documents?  The Presidential Records Act (PRA) requires the President to separate personal documents from Presidential records before leaving office. 44 U.S.C. 2203(b). The PRA makes clear that, upon the conclusion of the President’s term in office, NARA assumes responsibility for the custody, control, preservation of, and access to the records of a President. 44 U.S.C. 2203(g)(1). The PRA makes…

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David Frum writes: It’s as sincere as the grief at a Mafia funeral. Who believes that Governor Ron DeSantis—so badly trailing in the polls behind former President Donald Trump—is genuinely upset by his rival’s federal indictment? Or that Speaker Kevin McCarthy—so disgusted by Trump in private—does not inwardly rejoice to see Trump meet justice? The Fox News talkers have been trying for months to sideline Trump and promote DeSantis. Now they have a turn of events that promises both to…

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