Just wondering out loud, can he run while he's not been convicted yet? And if either he or another Republican wins the next presidential election, can he be pardoned?

Yes.

Fuck.

Yeah, but no pardon for state & local crimes or relief from payouts to plaintiffs in dozens of civil lawsuits to come. If all that doesn't make Melania a widow sooner rather than later, this p-o-s will die savagely broke and maybe even in prison too. :pray: :sweat:

Just wondering out loud, can he run while he's not been convicted yet? And if either he or another Republican wins the next presidential election, can he be pardoned? — Benkei

Yes. :scream: — 180 Proof

Heck, he can be made even the Speaker of the House.

Which is unlikely (because he wouldn't give a rats ass about the job), but all things are possible in the US. I assume he doesn't get some immunity or legal privileges from the post, otherwise he might consider it (just like in Russia gangsters prefer seats in Parliament as to get immunity).

(Newsweek, last year) Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida reignited chatter of Trump becoming speaker of the House if Republicans reclaim the chamber in 2022 on Tuesday, telling reporters he's spoken with Trump about the possibility. Historically, the speaker of the House has been a member of Congress, but the majority party can pick whoever they want.

So, theoretically, Republicans could choose to put Trump in the speaker's chair by a majority vote. However, Trump's been noncommittal on the idea and it's possible he wouldn't even want the position if it was offered to him.

FBI searched Trump’s home for classified material about nuclear weapons: report

FBI agents searched for classified material about nuclear weapons, among other items, when they served a warrant at former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida earlier this week, the Washington Post reported Thursday night.

Citing sources familiar with the investigation, the Post reported that government officials were deeply concerned that the nuclear documents believed to be stored at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence could fall into the wrong hands.

Separately, the New York Times reported the documents were related to some of the most highly classified U.S. programs, and that officials feared they were vulnerable to be stolen from Trump’s home by foreign adversaries.

The Post said their sources did not give details about the nuclear documents, such as whether it involved U.S. weapons or those of foreign countries.

Sensitive information about U.S. nuclear weapons is usually restricted to a small number of government officials, the Post reported, noting that material about U.S. weapons could be an intelligence coup for adversaries, and that other nations could see classified U.S. information about their nuclear programs as a threat.

Jesus. Imagine they don't find them. What if Trump sold them to Saudi Arabia.

"But I declassified them before I left" would hardly justify it.

Meanwhile Republicans are like the raid was "disturbing and dangerous".

Jesus. Imagine they don't find them. What if Trump sold them to Saudi Arabia. — Michael

HAHAHAA!

That would be soooo fitting to the Trump administration. They already reinstated the Taliban into power by stabbing in the back the Afghan regime they created, so this wouldn't be anything new. Yeah, Saudi's desperately want a nuclear weapon IF Iran has one. Perfect opportunity to get some bucks from the tech transfer: better have that cash going to the US (and family Trump) than to Pakistan, or North Korea.

And then of course a revolution happens in Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda comes into power and Saudi Islamic Arabia is the worst nightmare to the US, perfect bogeyman with the vast majority of 9/11 terrorist already having come from there.

Meanwhile Republicans are like the raid was "disturbing and dangerous". — Benkei

Well, raiding a house of a previous president and a potential presidential candidate does raise eyebrows. But so does Trump himself also.

HAHAHAA! — ssu

There's nothing remotely funny about this so I'm puzzled by your reaction.

Well, raiding a house of a previous president and a potential presidential candidate does raise eyebrows. — ssu

Yes, so since it would be political suicide if this were directed by the Democrats or done without probable cause, we can be confident there actually was a smoking gun.

There's nothing remotely funny about this so I'm puzzled by your reaction. — Benkei

Why? Whatever Trump does, it doesn't matter for his supporters. Because it's all just fake news, even if they hear about the issues. What would change their minds, other than Trump going full liberal?

A guy that gives such a backstabbing blow to America's own protege, the Afghan government, with a "peace deal" that basically was a surrender and then makes a video of Joe Biden where he accuse Sleepy-Joe of losing Afghanistan, simply isn't on the scale of ordinary political assessment. Just to make one point of one policy issue. But Trump is simple beyond ordinary assessment, he is just a vehicle of polarization now.

Yes, so since it would be political suicide if this were directed by the Democrats or done without probable cause, we can be confident there actually was a smoking gun. — Benkei

Ask that from @NOS4A2. I think he's not confident about that.

I'm just happy that I am not an American.

This user has been deleted and all their posts removed.

Why? Whatever Trump does, it doesn't matter for his supporters. Because it's all just fake news, even if they hear about the issues. What would change their minds, other than Trump going full liberal? — ssu

What exactly is funny about Saudi Arabia getting nuclear weapons information?

FBI seized classified records from Mar-a-Lago during search of Trump residence

According to the property receipt, reviewed by Fox News, FBI agents took approximately 20 boxes of items from the premises, including one set of documents marked as "Various classified/TS/SCI documents," which refers to top secret/ sensitive information.

The property receipt also shows that FBI agents collected four sets of top secret documents, three sets of secret documents, and three sets of confidential documents.

Interesting quote from here:

The former president does not have authority to declassify such documents, intelligence sources say, because they are classified under statute rather than by executive order.

(@NOS4A2)

Hey Trumptards, this is what TREASON looks like:

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/12/search-warrant-shows-trump-under-investigation-for-potential-obstruction-of-justice-espionage-act-violations-00051507

LOCK PUTIN'S BITCH UP! :mask:

The NY Times has a copy of the search warrant used to search Trump's home in Florida, if you have a subscription.

:clap: :rofl: hey trumptards ...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/13/nuclear-or-not-classified-or-not-mar-a-lago-files-spell-out-jeopardy-for-trump

happy friday :party:

@Benkei –

The stated predicates for the 8 August 2022 search and seizure warrant for Individual-1's Florida residence is recovery of evidence of the following (ongoing) Federal crimes:

18 USC 793 (re: Espionage Act) > min. 10 years in prison / offense

18 USC 2071(re: to hide, damage or destroy Government Records) > max. 3 years in prison / offense + lifetime ban from federal office

18 USC 1519 (re: to falsify, destroy or cover up government records to Obstruct ... Justice) max. 20 years in prison / offense

Addendum to

Trump Lawyer Told Justice Dept. That Classified Material Had Been Returned

The lawyer signed a statement in June that all documents marked as classified and held in boxes in storage at Mar-a-Lago had been given back. The search at the former president’s home on Monday turned up more.

I wonder why they lied. :chin:

I suspect the lawyer is so bad, he didn't actually check and simply asked Trump and accepted his answer as true.

Quoting RM from elsewhere

Republicans are promising to investigate Hunter Biden in Congress. Since when was the House of Representatives a criminal investigation unit purposed to investigate civilians? The only purpose would be to embarass Hunter's father, and hence that would be yet another Republican abuse of power.
The Jan 6 investigation is in contrast legitimate because it involved an assault on Congress instigated by another branch of government. — RM

RM?

Trump wanted to start a war with Iran to avoid leaving office

Trump Claims He Had A 'Standing Order' That Made It OK To Take Classified Docs

Former President Donald Trump’s response to the federal raid on his Mar-a-Lago home this week ricocheted from conspiracy to whataboutism: First, he suggested the FBI could have planted the top-secret material it found at his South Florida residence. Then he shifted focus to his predecessor, Barack Obama, whom he said had done the same thing, only worse ― a claim the National Archives was moved to debunk on Friday.

Trump now appears to have landed on an old standby, claiming victimhood because he supposedly didn’t do anything wrong to begin with. He had already declassified everything that had been taken to Mar-a-Lago, Trump argued on Truth Social, the platform he founded after being kicked off Twitter.

On Friday evening, Trump’s camp sent a statement to Fox News elaborating on that defense.

“As we can all relate to, everyone ends up having to bring home their work from time to time. American presidents are no different,” the statement read.

It continued: “President Trump, in order to prepare for work the next day, often took documents, including classified documents, to the residence. He had a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them.”

They really are just trying everything to try to get him off the hook.

Do you really believe there is any government anywhere on the planet where variations of the same thing aren't happening? — ArielAssante

Well, at least here the normal bickering over normal political issues (taxes, immigration, economic policy, etc.) is similar, yet when shit hits the fan (pandemic, February 24th) the left and the right, or basically the administration and the opposition can quickly reach a consensus on the most important issues and act as like "Team Finland". With the most important issues done, then the political parties can (and will) go to the usual critique and political arguments. But as no party can think of getting absolute majority and have to work with other parties is coalition governments, they cannot go in the mudslinging so far to portray the other parties as raving maniacs that will destroy democracy or to insane conspiracy theories like Pizzagate.

In the US it has gone down that rabbit hole and I don't know how it will get back.

What exactly is funny about Saudi Arabia getting nuclear weapons information? — Benkei

The whole US Middle East policy has been for a long time an absolute train wreck. It's not a tragedy, it's a tragicomedy.

They really are just trying everything to try to get him off the hook. — Michael

Now the focus is on Trump. And when Trump decides it's in his best efforts to declare that he is seeking Presidential candidacy, I fear nobody will dare to compete with him. And then he can brush of this as a politically motivated witch hunt, which not only @NOS4A2 thinks it is. Likely the GOP would want him to do it after the midterms, but I'm not sure Trump will wait for it.

Yes, they are doing everything...and even if many don't look at TV anymore, Fox News has more viewers that MSNBC or CNN.

And then he can brush of this as a politically motivated witch hunt, which not only @NOS4A2 thinks it is.

What else can it be?

What else can it be? — NOS4A2

We're all baffled. :grin:

What else can it be? — NOS4A2

A fact that he illegally possessed classified documents and defied a subpoena by not returning them all.

According to his defense he had a standing order to declassify documents so he could take them for work at Mar-a-Lago. The FBI suspiciously waited until before the midterms to retrieve those documents, making a show of it no doubt. This is the same FBI that deceived the country and foreigners like @ssu with Russiagate.