Former President Donald Trump touted an “absolute right” for presidents to keep – and return – documents as they please as he peddled a familiar defense during the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference on Saturday.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty to 37 charges tied to his handling of classified documents, has previously claimed that the Presidential Records Act gives him the right to take records – a claim that legal experts have challenged, according to the Associated Press.
The former president, on Saturday, pivoted to the defense again in front of a mostly pro-Trump crowd.
“Whatever documents a President decides to take with him, he has the absolute right to take them,” Trump claimed, who evoked the act’s name earlier in his remarks.
“He has the absolute right to keep them or he can give them back to NARA if he wants, he talks to them like we were doing and he can do that if he wants. That’s the law and it couldn’t be more clear.”
Trump: Whatever documents a President decides to take with him, he has the absolute right to take them. He has the absolute right to keep them or he can give them back.. that’s the law pic.twitter.com/WaezsyQMUu
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 25, 2023
Twitter users weighed in on the Trump claims and argued the former president was “making this very easy for Jack Smith,” the special counsel overseeing the classified documents probe.
Don’t worry Mr Former President, you’re getting your day in court to make this, ahem, ‘legal’ argument. Good luck. https://t.co/wspngwIHFg
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) June 25, 2023
This delusionally insane idiocy has been debunked by *EVERYONE* who has even a shred of credibility & basic factual knowledge. He is still listening to the ramblings of @TomFitton who buried him in this mess. Plus we still don’t know why he kept SCIF level highly classified docs. https://t.co/TWQQKLMKdT
— Spiro’s Ghost (@AntiToxicPeople) June 25, 2023
This argument should be precluded at trial by the judge because it’s a false representation of the law. The Special Counsel will likely move to preclude it and would win that motion with any objective judge. https://t.co/SKqaJJG2e2
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) June 25, 2023
Keep talking you yam-dyed dumbfuck.
Jack Smith is listening.
— Jo🌻 (@JoJoFromJerz) June 25, 2023
But I thought they were planted? I can’t keep up.
— BaMFZiLLa (@Bamfzilla) June 25, 2023
