Donald Trump said he was too “busy” to return classified documents after he left office, as a judge set an initial date for his criminal trial to begin next month.
The former US president pleaded not guilty last week to 37 charges related to alleged mishandling of government secrets.
On Tuesday, a judge set the trial to begin on Aug 14, although Mr Trump’s lawyers were expected to have that pushed back by months with a series of motions on complex legal issues.
In his first interview since appearing in court in Miami, Mr Trump – who is vying to win back the White House next year – set out his possible defence to Fox News.
He said his personal belongings, including golf shirts and shoes, had been mixed in with government documents when he left the White House.
Mr Trump said he had not returned the secret documents to the National Archives because he had not had time to remove his own “stuff” from the boxes.
He said: “In my case, I took it out pretty much in a hurry, but people packed it up and we left. And I had clothing in there, I had all sorts of personal items in there – much, much stuff. I have every right to have those boxes.”
matlaz423 on June 20th, 2023 at 11:21 UTC »
"I didn't steal any classified documents!"
"And if I did steal them, they weren't classified!"
"And if they were classified, I could unclassify them!"
"And if I couldn't unclassify them, then they were planted there by the FBI!"
"And if the FBI didn't plant them there, I was too busy to return them!"
It's amazing to me that people are this willingly stupid to believe this conman.
gdshaffe on June 20th, 2023 at 10:21 UTC »
The documents that were, let's remember, "planted".
Exhibit A that to a narcissist, the postulate of their perfection overrides all observable reality. That's how they shift from lie to lie so shamelessly and without any regard for telling a consistent story. Their entire psyche is built around the idea of "Fuck you, I was telling you the truth before, and I'm telling you the truth now, and if you sense any contradiction in that, it's only because your puny brain is incapable of grasping what my brain does."
Coco_Banana_Bear on June 20th, 2023 at 09:30 UTC »
Watching this video makes me so happy that this is moving to a court of law where facts matter.
He can argue this. Let’s see how it plays out.
“I ignored the subpoena and hid the boxes because I was busy your honor”
“Oh, very well Mr Trump, apologies for troubling you”