Oh boy - I wondered what this whole Mar A Lago thing was about

[essentialsaltes]

He can make all of the claims he wants *now* that he declassified something on Dec 31, 2020 (or pardoned someone), but unless he can provide *some* sort of documentation it happening then there is no reason to know that it isn't a post hoc claim made *after* the power to declassify (or pardon) expired. (And I'm sorry, but the "word" of Trump or fellow prevaricator Kash Patel is not going to cut it.)

Oh yeah?! But what about if we put Kash Patel on the stand under oath?

An aide who once claimed he was with Trump when the former president declassified government records pleaded the fifth for the DOJ's Mar-a-Lago documents probe: report

 

[Hans Blaster]

Oh yeah?! But what about if we put Kash Patel on the stand under oath?

An aide who once claimed he was with Trump when the former president declassified government records pleaded the fifth for the DOJ's Mar-a-Lago documents probe: report

I see 3 possibilities with "K$H" (as his logo merchandise styles himself).

1. He does the right thing and just testifies honestly and willingly;
2. He thinks he can get away with lying to a grand jury and perjures himself thinking he'd get away with it; or
3. His facade breaks down under the pressure of the potential perjury and spills all the beans.

1 seems unlikely and I don't have enough info to differentiate between the other two.

 

[essentialsaltes]

I see 3 possibilities with "K$H" (as his logo merchandise styles himself).

1. He does the right thing and just testifies honestly and willingly;
2. He thinks he can get away with lying to a grand jury and perjures himself thinking he'd get away with it; or
3. His facade breaks down under the pressure of the potential perjury and spills all the beans.

1 seems unlikely and I don't have enough info to differentiate between the other two.

Sorry, I should have punched up the details. He apparently

4. Asserted his Fifth Amendment rights repeatedly.

(Although it's not entirely clear what the questions were, or what answers he *did* actually give.)

 

[Hans Blaster]

Sorry, I should have punched up the details. He apparently

4. Asserted his Fifth Amendment rights repeatedly.

(Although it's not entirely clear what the questions were, or what answers he *did* actually give.)

And when the grant him transactional immunity and force him to testify I still think he is arrogant enough to lie.

 

[essentialsaltes]

And when the grant him transactional immunity and force him to testify I still think he is arrogant enough to lie.

Give that man a ceee-gar!

Former Trump aide Kash Patel is set to testify before a federal grand jury about the classified documents recovered from former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after being granted immunity for any information, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly has agreed to grant Patel immunity in order to force his testimony, after a federal judge ruled that the former Trump aide could not be compelled to testify without such a grant, according to The Wall Street Journal.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Give that man a ceee-gar!

Former Trump aide Kash Patel is set to testify before a federal grand jury about the classified documents recovered from former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after being granted immunity for any information, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly has agreed to grant Patel immunity in order to force his testimony, after a federal judge ruled that the former Trump aide could not be compelled to testify without such a grant, according to The Wall Street Journal.

And now we begin our 18 USC 1001 watch party...

18 U.S. Code § 1001 - Statements or entries generally

 

[essentialsaltes]

During May and June, the FBI separately interviewed former deputy White House counsels Pat Philbin and John Eisenberg regarding a range of topics related to the handling of classified records, according to two people familiar with their interviews

Both Philbin and Eisenberg told the FBI they had no knowledge of such mass declassification of records [as Patel has alleged in his public statements], the people close to the matter said. Eisenberg explained his view that Trump had the legal authority to declassify documents on the spot if he wished, though a subset of specific records required him to follow a statutory process, the people said. But he said Trump had not done so to his knowledge.

In fact, Eisenberg recalled to the FBI specific moments when Trump wanted to publicly tweet a classified image or fact from a top-secret document, the people familiar with the matter said. He told agents that White House officials encouraged Trump to follow a careful declassification process to ensure the intelligence or defense agency that produced the document could weigh in with concerns and assess the damage that even partial release could cause.

In one case, the people said, Eisenberg told agents that agencies quickly reviewed an image of an Iranian missile on a launchpad — a picture from a top-secret document — and removed identification markings and other tradecraft clues so that Trump could tweet it.

In handling another Trump request to tweet a national secret, Eisenberg told the FBI, according to these people, Trump was discouraged from immediately declassifying and sharing a document that could reveal human intelligence sources. Aides persuaded the president to wait for a multiagency review of the potential damage from a release, Eisenberg said, according to these people. In the end, Trump did not send the tweet.

 

[Hans Blaster]

In one case, the people said, Eisenberg told agents that agencies quickly reviewed an image of an Iranian missile on a launchpad — a picture from a top-secret document — and removed identification markings and other tradecraft clues so that Trump could tweet it.

Good grief. They "cleaned-up" the image and researchers were still able to identify which satellite in orbit took the image, deduce capabilities of the satellite in hours. All regarding a satellite that was previously only just "suspected" of being photo recon.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly has agreed to grant Patel immunity in order to force his testimony, after a federal judge ruled that the former Trump aide could not be compelled to testify without such a grant, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sometimes you must sacrifice a little fish to land a giant whale.

That seems to be the Justice Department’s strategy in granting immunity to Kash Patel, an aide to former President Donald Trump, in its investigation into the government documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. In addition, The Wall Street Journal reports, “Other Trump associates involved in the Mar-a-Lago documents matter also have been offered some form of immunity,” including Trump lawyer Christina Bobb, citing “people familiar with the matter.” The report indicated that Bobb declined the immunity offer because she said she didn’t need it.

Let's see how that works out for her.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Former Trump aide Kash Patel is set to testify before a federal grand jury about the classified documents recovered from former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after being granted immunity for any information, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Trump PAC reportedly paid legal bills of Mar-a-Lago witnesses​

Political action committee paid bills of former Trump adviser Kash Patel and valet Walt Naud, who told FBI agents he moved boxes at Trump’s direction

The payment of witnesses’ legal fees by a political group whose purse strings Trump controls, while not illegal, raises ethical concerns and poses a conflict, the Post says.

“It looks like the Trump political action committee is either paying for the silence of these witnesses, for them to take the fifth [amendment] or for favorable testimony,” he said, referring to the constitutional protection against self-incrimination.

“These circumstances should look very suspicious to the justice department, and there’s a judicial mechanism for them to get court oversight if there’s a conflict.”