News
‘Lock Him Up’: Nuclear, Government, and Legal Experts Call for Trump to Be Indicted
Should Donald Trump be indicted for his retention and refusal to return highly classified documents and documents that “detail top-secret U.S. operations so closely guarded that many senior national security officials are kept in the dark about them?”
That’s how The Washington Post described its bombshell revelation Tuesday night, reporting that FBI agents found a “document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities,” at Mar-a-Lago when it seized over 100 classified documents last month.
“Only the president, some members of his Cabinet or a near-Cabinet-level official could authorize other government officials to know details of these special-access programs,” the Post explained.
Nuclear, government, and legal experts agree: Donald Trump should be indicted, especially given the top secret nature of the documents and what’s at stake with nuclear weapons.
“The man stole nuclear secrets and should be in prison,” wrote attorney Walter Shaub, the former Director of the U. S. Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday.
Jon Wolfsthal served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama for National Security Affairs including serving as his nuclear advisor and as senior director for arms control and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, where he set nuclear policy. Wolfsthal even worked for the United States Department of Energy as an on-site monitor in North Korea.
“I worked in the US Government on nuclear weapon issues for 11 years,” says Wolfsthal, now a senior policy advisor at Global Zero, which works for a nuclear-free world. “If anyone I worked with or I took any one of these documents home, we would be in prison. Trump must be indicted or the entire classification system will be at risk.”
READ MORE: ‘Asinine and Absurd’: Trump Wants to Conduct the First U.S. Nuclear Test Explosion Since 1992
Global Zero’s Managing Partner Derek Johnson in a statement sent to NCRM, painted a picture of what’s at stake.
“That an ousted president could run off with highly sensitive documents, in clear violation of federal law, is stunning — but the fact that these secrets are about weapons that can kill hundreds of millions of people is orders of magnitude more consequential. Americans should be demanding an investigation: How could this happen, and why were there no safeguards in place to prevent it?”
Johnson warns, “the man who carted off state secrets on a foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities is the same one who had absolute authority to launch a nuclear attack at any time — and is doing everything he can to regain that power.”
“This isn’t solely about Donald Trump: it’s an indictment of the inherent flaws and fragility of the nuclear system. Nuclear risks require an unattainable level of perfection and control. If the system to manage those risks is inadequate in the United States — and it’s impossible to conclude otherwise — the same is true in every nuclear-armed nation. The world we live in is simply too dangerous and unpredictable for nuclear weapons; the case for abolishing them makes itself.”
On Twitter Tuesday night Johnson served up a less serious response, writing: “I have a security clearance as high as Donald Trump’s, which is to say, none at all. I’d already be in prison if the government discovered I had top secret documents about nuclear weapons.”
Attorney Tristan Snell, who successfully prosecuted the Trump University case for the Manhattan DA’s Office, says, “Yes, Trump stole nuclear secrets. And US defense intel so sensitive that the president was one of the only people to know about it. Indict him. Try him. Convict him. Lock him up.”
An expert in government and media, David Rothkopf has an opinion piece in The Daily Beast Wednesday that says, “contrary to the measured pace of the [DOJ’s] investigation to date, when documents like these are stolen the issue must shift from caution and deference to a former president to swift containment of what could be a grievous national security breach. It is time for action and the severest penalties the law allows.”
Image: Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian via Flickr
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.
The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”
“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.
The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”
Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.
Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.
Image via Shutterstock
A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.
Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.
Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”
She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”
READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota
The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”
“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.
Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”
He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.
“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”
Sen. Murkowski: “When you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75%, will say, we do not think that that is a good idea. This senator from Alaska does not think it is a good idea.” pic.twitter.com/zfitY31LyF
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) January 16, 2026
READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend
Image via Reuters
Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.
Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.
“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”
“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”
The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.
Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”
Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”
READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend
Image via Reuters
Ethics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report
Republican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push
Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota
With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend
‘Unconstitutional Conspiracy’: Judge Blasts Trump Administration Officials
News2 days agoEthics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report
News4 days agoTrump on 2026 Midterms: ‘We Shouldn’t Even Have an Election’
News3 days ago‘Unconstitutional Conspiracy’: Judge Blasts Trump Administration Officials
News3 days ago‘Take Vitamins’: Johnson and White House Scramble to Keep GOP Members Showing Up
News3 days agoHouse Majority Flip Could Trigger Sweeping Probes Into Trump Inner Circle: Democrat
News4 days ago‘Chaos and Crisis’: Trump Sparks Alarm After Ramping Up Insurrection Act Threat
News2 days agoRepublican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push
News3 days agoWith Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend
