News
Top National Security Lawyer Destroys Trump’s ‘Clinton Socks Case’ Defense
National security attorney Bradley Moss on Wednesday took a hatchet to one of former President Donald Trump’s favorite defenses in the Mar-a-Lago documents scandal that got him indicted on dozens of felony counts.
During an appearance on CNN, Moss was asked about Trump’s repeated invocation of the so-called “Clinton socks case” that involved right-wing organization Judicial Watch suing to get personal tapes that Clinton possessed that the group claimed contained classified information.
In that case, the courts ruled that Clinton had a right to keep those personal tapes — but Moss said that the details of the case show it is completely different from the current case with Trump.
“It has no comparison to the present situation,” he said. “So what happened in the… ‘sock case,’ they made these audio tapes and fell within the definition of personal records under the Presidential Records Act. They were never ever designated as anything other than personal records.”
RELATED: ‘He’s getting convicted’: Morning Joe panel says Trump should cut deal to avoid prison
Moss noted that the judge in the ruling said that Clinton could keep his recordings because the National Archives had chosen to let him take them from the White House and had not issued a demand for their return.
Intelligence on nuclear weapons programs, on the other hand, would never have been designated as personal records that could be removed from the White House, and Moss said that it is certainly something that the government would subpoena to get back.
“When he left the White House, under the Presidential Records Act, he was supposed to let the archivist take control of that,” Moss said. “He was not supposed to walk off with them and he couldn’t keep them in Mar-a-Lago in any of the various unsecured locations that were listed in the indictment. His team will try to raise this case in pretrial motions. It will fail.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
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.