Op-ed:

The “Boxes Hoax” on Steroids

By Diane Sori and Craig Andresen / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

The Op-ed posted here is my and my radio partner's opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com

Author's Note: Right Side Patriots stands strong in our support of President Trump in regards to this indictment, but with the left focused on trying to cover...or should we say cover-up all bases...we must play devil's advocate at times to help expose the Democrats nefarious anything but truths.

By now we all know that on the afternoon of Thursday, June 8, 2023, the Biden DOJ (as in the still Obama controlled DOJ)...upon completion of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s six month investigation into last years August 8th FBI raid on President Donald J. Trump's Mar-a-Lago home...formally issued its“49-page indictment” against our former president. Now being referred to as a “criminal defendant,” Trump was immediately summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, June 13th at 3pm, in this, a precedent setting case, revolving around what on the surface appears to be but a case of simple document mishandling. 

 

Thirty-seven charges in total have been now rendered against President Trump with 31 being “supposed”...as in yet to be proven...violations of the “Espionage Act,” with the remaining charges involving Trump's “supposed” willful detention of national defense information; his “supposed” obstruction of justice; “supposed” conspiracy; “supposed” making false statements; and “supposed” concealment under Title 18 of the US Criminal Code, as in the illegal retention of classified, and in some cases Top Secret government documents. And when broken down into more specifics the charges include Trump's being in violation of 18 USC 793, as in the gathering, transmitting or losing defense information; 18 USC 2071, the concealment, removal or mutilation of said documents; and 18 USC 1519, the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in a federal investigation.

And if the DOJ were to apply the law equally for all...as in their not selectively weaponizing federal law enforcement based upon one's political affiliation or as payback for an election lost...think 2016 here...these exact same charges would be immediately levied against Joe Biden...levied before he tries to pardon himself...more on that in a bit.

 

Now, as per the property receipt(s) for the 20 or so boxes taken from Trump's Mar-a-Lago home...serious charges were levied because of Trump's “supposed” refusal to return key documents...documents that might have been shown to visitors...documents that did contain intelligence relating to both our and our allies “defense and weapons capabilities.” In fact, there was one key set of documents very clearly marked as being “Various classified/TS/SCI documents,” which refers to top secret and time sensitive compartmented information.

And while any records recovered at this level could possibly include “human intelligence and information”...information that if disclosed could not only jeopardize relations between our and other nations, but jeopardize the safety of our troops, and place the lives of our and/or other intelligence operatives in danger...know that such information is at the time of classification given a date for declassification of up 25 years or, in certain select cases, more depending upon the duration and sensitivity of said information. 

 

In other words, some or even all of the documents taken could have already been declassified just by their timed out nature alone...could have been but apparently all were not for during a July 2021 meeting at his golf club in New Jersey, President Trump is heard on tape talking to the writers helping Mike Meadows (Trump’s last chief of staff) work on his book. On the tape Trump made note of a classified Pentagon document in his possession...a document that contained “secret” military information about a potential attack on Iran...a document he might have thought he declassified but didn't. “I could have declassified certain documents, but now I can’t!”were Trump's exact words spoken. 

And in a way, Trump has not only admitted to dereliction of duty of sorts by his not having declassified a seemingly important “classified/TS/SCI document,” but he did so after having previously claimed that he had no...to his knowledge...classified documents in his possession. But the fact remains that Trump did discuss said document with numerous individuals having no security clearance at all which could be a violation of not only federal law...as in the “Espionage Act”...but that this very action could have... but thankfully did not...put our country's national security at risk.

 

Unfortunately, while this aspect of the case is basically a simple case of bad judgment or just forgetfulness on Trump's part, that does not change what might be the most damning of all charges levied against him for every president knows well that they must never, we repeat never, discuss any classified documents with those not having security clearance. But here we must state that we truly believe this was not done by Trump on purpose nor with malicious intent, but was a careless yet serious security breech on his part. But is such a breech...especially when it seems no harm to our country was done... worthy of such an indictment, we personally think not, but we must wait to see how it all plays out in court. However, the very nature of these charges has us wondering if Obama, upon his leaving office, left certain “classified/TS/SCI documents” unattended to or talked about as well. But for Obama, we believe, any actions taken by him would have been intentionally done on purpose.

 

And yet the fact remains that if even one charge is proven, this so-called “speaking indictment”...which encompasses way more than is necessary to make any legal case...still remains but a “selectively enforced indictment” for somewhere in the 1850 boxes of documents that Biden stored at the University of Delaware alone...boxes of information from the Obama/Biden administration...surely were hidden many “classified/TS/SCI documents,” after all the Obama administration was America's enemies best friend.

The charges levied against President Trump must become part of the public discourse, because the indictment as laid out, at least on the surface, is quite damning for the fact is that the DOJ went forward with this investigation even while knowing the negative push back they would receive to what most consider to be but yet another continuation of the Trump “political witch hunt.” In other words, the DOJ believes they now have indisputable evidence as to Trump's guilt courtesy of the fact that witnesses...including his former lawyer and friend Evan Corcoran...gave statements under oath to federal investigators, and even quoted Trump's very words encouraging them and others not to look for documents or allegedly to conceal them. And they did so even while knowing, as fact, that they could and most likely would be prosecuted if said statements were proven to be false.

Simply, few would put themselves or their families in such a precarious situation unless what they stated was indeed truth. Now add in the fact that within a day of the indictment being announced two of Trump's current top attorneys, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, both of whom represented Trump in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation, went their separate ways. And why? Saying in a joint statement that, “Now that the case has been filed in Miami, this is a logical moment for us to step aside and let others carry the cases through to completion,” simply makes no sense for the best persons to handle a case such as this are the very attorneys who were directly involved with the investigation itself. Why so...because they know both the specifics and the many intricacies involved in not just putting a case like this together, but also they know the logistics of how and on what grounds the specific allegations were not only made, but in a word were made to“stick.”

And while changing attorney's midstream is not unheard of by any means, a precedent setting, historic case such as this needs on Trump's team those most familiar with the how and the why such charges were officially made. And this is especially critical when Trump's last chance to bargain for less serious charges came and went when his two lawyers met, for the last time, with justice officials just three days before the indictment went public. And while numerous allegations have been made against President Trump in the past, with most thankfully being debunked for the farce that they were, there is a certain dotting of all the “i's” and crossing of all the “t's” in this case that did not exist with any of the other charges levied against him. Simply, there is more riding on this case than on any of the other cases that came before.

So with this being a case not tried before in U.S. history for no previous nor sitting president has ever been brought up on federal charges...even Richard Nixon resigned before such charges could be brought...this case of the government alleging that Trump willfully kept “sensitive” information about U.S. and foreign defense capabilities and that he shared classified information with people who did not have security clearances, clearly sets the hallmark of being precedent in nature.

It seems, to us, that Trump's well known ego caused him to simply be careless in regards to whom he spoke to and what he shared with them. We believe Trump did what he did not to betray the country that he so loves, but to bolster said ego as a means by which to help circle the MAGA wagons around him to assure him the Republican nomination...meaning what some now deem a betrayal is actually just Trump being Trump...a patriot and our former great president whose major flaws have always been not knowing when to shut his mouth and give his tweeting finger a rest, always coupled with his need for ego boosting bravado and attention.

We know Trump was careless in his storing of documents taken, every president is...Biden even stored classified documents in his car and in his garage...but a simple case of bad judgment and carelessness does not a crime of the magnitude now being levied against him make. Remember, nothing taken from the Mar-a-Lago raid in anyway compromised our national security; no documents were taken out of Trump's home to be stored elsewhere; no one broke into his home to steal any such documents; and surely no national “secrets” were betrayed for if they had been Jack Smith and his DOJ lynch mob would have brought charges of treason against President Trump, and they did not.

And why didn't he...because Joe Biden and crew can now use President Trump's woes as a means to “divert and deflect” attention away from Biden's five million dollar bribe taking scandal, which gives them plenty of time to find the perfect excuse for replacing the ever so pathetic Biden/Harris ticket with Hillary and whomever, for it always was and remains about Democrat vote garnering. After all Trump v. Hillary round two would bring Democrat voters out en-masse, but if Trump is found guilty and sentenced to prison even though legally he can still run...Obama and his buddy Soros will have taken America down without barely having to lift a finger.

And not only that but Biden can then pardon himself, Hunter, and his fellow “crime family members” before being forced to step down...or can he for a sitting president pardoning himself is as much a precedent setting case as is the case against President Trump.

To understand the possibilities regarding likely pardons, one must first consider what the Constitution has to say on the matter. The pardon power of the president is based on “Article II, Section 2, Clause 1” of the U.S. Constitution, which provides: The President...“shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of impeachment.” The Constitution sets two clear limits on presidential pardons. First, that such pardons may only be granted for offenses against the United States which excludes any offenses regarding state or civil cases, and the second being that such pardons are disallowed “in cases of impeachment.”

That leaves defining what exactly is meant by “in cases of impeachment.” Does it mean that someone who has been impeached cannot receive a presidential pardon, as some scholars contend, or does it mean that an impeached president cannot provide a pardon as other scholars contend? The Constitution does not elaborate and thus, it is most likely that the matter would end up at the U.S. Supreme Court where a ruling would have to be rendered.

So can a sitting president pardon himself? That is the key question here and one that is truly unprecedented as no president has ever tried to employ the tactic before. Most legal scholars do agree that a president’s pardon power does not extend to forgiving crimes and misdemeanors that the House might charge in a bill of impeachment, nor does it prevent a Senate trial based solely upon a House-passed impeachment. It is also believed by numerous legal scholars that the impeachment exception provided in the Constitution precludes presidential pardons for those who have aided the president in activities that have given or threaten to give rise to a presidential impeachment.

That legal argument is based on the notion that without it, any president could conspire with others to commit crimes against the nation that would benefit himself and those engaged in the conspiracy with impunity, as the self-pardon would essentially and in reality set the president above any laws of the land. That, of course, is an opinion held by many legal scholars but not by all legal scholars, and thus it would most likely rise to the level of being in need of a Supreme Court ruling.

Potentially, the closest we’ve ever come to a presidential self-pardon was when President Nixon floated the idea to his legal counsel and Mary Lawton, the acting assistant attorney general, wrote that the president could not pardon himself because of “the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case.” That, too, was an opinion and not a ruling, and while it makes perfect sense it requires a ruling from the Supreme Court well before it could be considered law.

Making the case against presidential self-pardons even more interesting is the fact that these very questions were raised by liberals during the Trump administration as they were concerned that Trump himself might attempt a self-pardon, and liberals were set to argue against such a move based in large part on the opinion of Mary Lawton for the reasons stated above. Now, those same liberals that were dead-set against the possibility of a presidential self-pardon where Trump was concerned would likely argue in favor of the notion should Biden attempt the tactic.

So, it seems that a presidential self-pardon may well be unconstitutional, however without a Supreme Court ruling it remains murky, but what about a pardon from Joe Biden regarding Hunter Biden? Following the opinions of many legal scholars, Joe Biden would not be able to pardon Hunter Biden for any crimes in which Hunter Biden was involved in a conspiracy resulting in, or connected to, crimes committed by Joe Biden, and that presents a whole different legal conundrum. Joe could essentially pardon Hunter for crimes involving violations of federal laws like falsifying records, such as in the gun permit case, but would such a pardon be constitutionally available regarding money laundering or pay to play schemes that involved monies paid to Hunter and then transferred to Joe Biden, or with regard to tax evasion had some of the monies received by Hunter...monies not reported to the IRS then been distributed to Joe Biden?

Following the line of legal opinion that would have been employed in the attempt to disallow such pardons by President Trump but now embraced in the effort to relieve Biden of being tried for his and his son’s alleged crimes, it would seem that pardons handed out by Joe Biden to his son or to himself would be unconstitutional. It seems that way, but it is not settled law…not without a Supreme Court ruling.

That is one line of legal theory regarding presidential self-pardons. But regardless of how flat you make a pancake it does still have two sides, and the other side of this particular legal pancake has been floated by Brian Kalt, an expert on constitutional law, presidential history, and a law professor at Michigan State University. Kalt’s legal theory holds that the criminal process and the impeachment process are separate, and that a sitting president retains all of his presidential powers including the pardon power until he is convicted or his term ends. That line of legal theory means that a president can still issue pardons -- whether related to his own impeachment or not -- while he is impeached.

That line of thought holds that Biden could issue both himself, Hunter, and potentially others presidential pardons even if the alleged crimes result in Biden’s impeachment.

That of course begs the question…can a presidential pardon be overturned?

 

It would seem that should Biden pardon himself, Hunter, and/or others in matters related to any crimes involving himself, and then leave office before the rendering of a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, those pardons would stand and could not be reversed by either the courts or a future President. And this would seem to indicate that the timing of any attempt at a self-pardon by Joe Biden might well be the key, but what does that mean exactly?

It means that were Joe Biden to attempt a self-pardon and pardons for Hunter or anyone else in the mix of crimes related to Joe Biden, such a scenario might well include the issuance of said pardons followed rapidly by Joe Biden’s resignation from office, that is unless he can stall off issuing such pardons until that time frame between losing the 2024 election in November and leaving office the following January. In that case Joe Biden could wait until his final days in office to issue said pardons while not leaving enough time for a Supreme Court decision to be made, thus codifying those pardons with no chance of having them nullified.

Regardless which path of legal theory is followed by ether side of the equation all roads lead to the U.S. Supreme Court, but at what point would the nation’s highest court wade into the depths of such murky and uncharted waters? A ruling from the Supreme Court would best serve the country sooner rather than later, and while not impossible it would be unlikely that the Supreme Court would entertain the request without a “direct cause” to hear it. In other words, it would be highly unusual for the Supreme Court to take the matter up unless or until Joe Biden attempts to become the first in his position to issue a self-pardon.

The Supreme Court could act in a preemptive manner, but will they?

What’s at stake here is a constitutional matter, and in the potential case regarding Joe and Hunter Biden, it is in regards to alleged bribery which may well have compromised national security. The potential case would revolve around Biden accepting an alleged $5 million dollar bribe from a foreign national that is reportedly a Russian agent who allegedly has audio tapes of conversations between himself, Hunter Biden (who also received a $5 million payout), and Joe Biden when Joe was the Vice President...tapes that may well have been used as blackmail against Joe Biden.

Should Joe Biden pardon himself, Hunter, and anyone else involved in the alleged crimes and get away with it because of such pardons, it would set precedent that any future President would be above the law. And even if the Supreme Court were to rule against such self-pardons, in effect to not allow future presidents that option, Joe Biden would have been allowed to commit a very high crime indeed without fear of punishment for it.

Given the complex nature of both lines of legal theory regarding presidential self-pardons, the murky waters surrounding inconclusive constitutional direction and the dire nature of the alleged crimes committed by Joe Biden, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS believes that action should be taken immediately to stop the pending scenario that Joe Biden could get away scot-free, thus potentially having committed such high crimes against our nation. Our suggestion would be to have constitutional attorneys bring a case to a “friendly” federal court to at the very lease seek an injunction preventing Joe Biden from using a self-pardon to alleviate himself of any ramifications for committing such high crimes in an effort to get the case on the U.S. Supreme Court docket at the earliest possible moment.

Further, we contend that any ruling less than making a presidential self-pardon unconstitutional would then allow any future president to issue a blanket or specific self-pardon on his or her first day in office setting that president above any law as a monarch rather than as a president. But remember, just because it needs to be done post haste does not necessarily mean that the Supreme Court will do it at all.

In conclusion, the case against President Trump relies heavily on the “Espionage Act” plus a conviction on espionage charges. And this will require the DOJ to prove intent on Trump’s part as to do harm to the United States or to aide foreign adversaries with regards to keeping documents in his possession. Without said “Espionage Act” the case boils down to the ”Presidential Records Act” where it becomes difficult or nearly impossible to gain a conviction unless it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump knowingly and with malice refused to turn documents over to the National Archives while knowing that the documents were not his to keep as per the ”Presidential Records Act.”

As for Joe Biden, the “Big Guy” who acquiesced to doing favors for money while Vice President, the walls are now closing in. And in a politically impartial judicial system he would be indicted on charges of accepting bribes from a foreign national who is, in fact, a Russian agent. There is a money trail, there is testimony from a highly trusted source, there are alleged audio tapes that not only purportedly involve the bribes to Joe and Hunter Biden, but also negate years worth of statements made by Biden that he had no knowledge of or involvement in Hunter's nefarious business dealings.

But it is not a fair system...for said system has been politically weaponized...and is not the justice system as we have known it to be. It is now the system of injustice with weighted scales and overwhelming political bias. To Merrick Garland, the FBI, and for far too many in the judicial process, Donald Trump is required to prove his innocence rather than the government needing to prove his guilt, and it's all while the Biden crime family has been ignored by Merrick Garland, the FBI, and the judicial process.

Make no mistake, the outcome of these two cases will eventually determine whether or not the American people can ever again have trust in our judicial system.

Copyright © 2023 / Diane Sori  and Craig Andresen/ Right Side Patriots / All rights reserved. 

 

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