Trump: ‘I’m Allowed to Do Whatever I Want’ With Classified Info

Will be super interesting to see him try that under oath...

I like a petulant Trump. Means he's worried.

He can in fact do whatever he wants, he just needs to deal with the consequences of his actions.

If I was a Republican, and I fancied myself a man of wit, accountability, and maturity, I would not be able to reconcile my politics against just how absurdly juvenile, idiotic, and whiny Trump is at all times.

Candidate Trump needs to be belligerent and defiant. Defendant Trump needs to STFU.

The problem is those two things are in competition. So he has to say, Russia, Russia, Russia as candidate Trump, but that isn't a relevant or useful argument for defendant Trump. He has to say, "I'm allowed to do this thing" as candidate Trump, but as defendant Trump, I'm allowed to break the law is not a defense.

His only hope is to delay. If he goes to trial on anything, defendant Trump loses. If he can hold out, then candidate Trump will win.

This is his bet. He wins and it all goes away and the US is ruled by a guy who believes he can get away with anything.

This attitude is terrifying to people who handle national security information. Just because you might have authority to declassify something doesn't mean you should. It's reckless and irresponsible to expose sources and methods unnecessarily - not to mention the information itself. There's a reason that declassified documents still have a lot of redactions.

This type of stuff is usually in a very controlled environment with significant physical security - not a bathroom.

Holy shit I hate this man so much.

You stopped being president nearly four years ago, man. Grow up.

He's right until they prove him wrong.

I will die not understanding the allegiance this man has among his followers.

Let the courts sort out his stupidity.

….aT which point his lawyer jumped in and said the the real trump would never say that .. fake fake prank call don’t ever call here again!!

That all sounds to me like he's not trying to defend himself in court, that instead his entire plan is to win the presidency and stay there for life. All of these claims (I can do the thing, it's totally fine believe me) amount to confessions that he did what he's charged with, but are also appeals to his base that the courts are wrong and illegitimate.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Donald Trump said he “absolutely” plans to testify in the federal government’s case against him regarding classified documents he removed from the White House.

In an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that dropped Wednesday, the host asked Trump, “Did you direct anyone to move the boxes, Mr. President?

I come under the Presidential Records Act,” Trump replied, while also taking a quick detour to bash Hewitt.

The law states: “Upon the conclusion of a President’s term of office, or if a President serves consecutive terms upon the conclusion of the last term, the Archivist of the United States shall assume responsibility for the custody, control, and preservation of, and access to, the Presidential records of that President.” There is an allowance for presidents to keep records that are of “a purely private or nonpublic character” and unrelated to presidential duties, but many of the documents Trump was found to possess came from government agencies, such as the C.I.A.

When Hewitt asked Trump if he would testify in his own defense at the trial in the documents case, the former president said, “That, I would do.

In addition to discussing his legal troubles, Hewitt asked Trump for his thoughts on an unrelated topic: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The original article contains 567 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 63%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

He says a lot of shit Guarantee his lawyers won't let that happen.

Chances that Donald Trump has read any of the Presidential Records Act, or understands what it is for: 0%

Chances that it says "Former presidents can just keep whatever they want, no biggie, what are you going to do, arrest them?": Also 0%.

oh noes. the manbaby is worried! anyways...

Good grief, I just wish that donnie Bin Laden could just be put in prison and have no access to media, whatsoever.

What a ridiculous and vainglorious so-called "man". So tired of his cult members, too.

That’s true. A president can do whatever he wants , it’s called diplomatic immunity. Every president has it, which is why none of them have ever been tried for a crime before.