Early this morning, FBI director Kash Patel cheekily posted on social media “NO ONE is above the law…@FBI agents on mission” as raids were conducted on the Maryland home and Washington, D.C. office of John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser in his first term. The raid was reportedly related to a classified documents probe
Apropos of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT ALL, since Bolton was fired in September 2019, he’s been a thorn in Trump’s side. Bolton’s 2020 book “The Room Where It Happened,” was sharply critical of Trump’s lack of knowledge on all things foreign policy-related. Trump threatened to jail Bolton over the book, and the DOJ launched an investigation into Bolton over the possibility that he “unlawfully disclosed classified information” in said book. That investigation was closed under President Joe Biden.
Trump also lashed out at the media for “constantly quoting fired losers and really dumb people like John Bolton.” And Trump canceled Bolton’s Secret Service detail (provided in the wake of a assassination plot) shortly after taking office in his second term. Sources close to Bolton now call the current raids “retribution, pure and simple.”
And of course, the irony meter is off the charts with news the Trump administration actually cares about how classified documents are handled. In any sane judicial system, Donald Trump himself would have stood trial for his handling of classified documents after his loss in the 2020 presidential election. But the case against Trump was assigned to Trump-appointed district judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the case last summer on the, ermmm, novel theory that special counsels are somehow illegal. The dismissal was on appeal to the Eleventh Circuit when Trump took office, after which the Department of Justice dropped the appeal.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Trump Administration Suddenly Understands Laws Protecting Classified Documents Now That It Can Be Used Against His Political Enemies appeared first on Above the Law.
Early this morning, FBI director Kash Patel cheekily posted on social media “NO ONE is above the law…@FBI agents on mission” as raids were conducted on the Maryland home and Washington, D.C. office of John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser in his first term. The raid was reportedly related to a classified documents probe
Apropos of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT ALL, since Bolton was fired in September 2019, he’s been a thorn in Trump’s side. Bolton’s 2020 book “The Room Where It Happened,” was sharply critical of Trump’s lack of knowledge on all things foreign policy-related. Trump threatened to jail Bolton over the book, and the DOJ launched an investigation into Bolton over the possibility that he “unlawfully disclosed classified information” in said book. That investigation was closed under President Joe Biden.
Trump also lashed out at the media for “constantly quoting fired losers and really dumb people like John Bolton.” And Trump canceled Bolton’s Secret Service detail (provided in the wake of a assassination plot) shortly after taking office in his second term. Sources close to Bolton now call the current raids “retribution, pure and simple.”
And of course, the irony meter is off the charts with news the Trump administration actually cares about how classified documents are handled. In any sane judicial system, Donald Trump himself would have stood trial for his handling of classified documents after his loss in the 2020 presidential election. But the case against Trump was assigned to Trump-appointed district judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the case last summer on the, ermmm, novel theory that special counsels are somehow illegal. The dismissal was on appeal to the Eleventh Circuit when Trump took office, after which the Department of Justice dropped the appeal.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
