Jay Bratt, representing special counsel office, confirmed the "crime" began that day because as a former president, he was entitled to retain the documents.
Cannon again asked for historical precedent as to when a former president or vice president faced charges for similar conduct. Bratt of course said there is none.
She added "vice president" on numerous occasions for a reason--Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Mike Pence all skated on criminal charges. Trump is the only one who has not.
Cannon: "Arbitrary enforcement...is featuring in this case."
Cannon also addressed the "foreseeability" as to Trump's awareness he was committing a crime by keeping classified/national defense information.
"Given the constellation of what happened before"--meaning no criminal prosecution of former presidents including Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan and vice presidents--Cannon suggested Trump could have reasonably expected he was in the clear.
https://x.com/julie_kelly2/status/1768310989403930891?s=20
Also of interest: Jay Bratt claiming there is no official process for a president to obtain or keep a security clearance. His argument is Trump's clearance automatically expired at the end of this term--which contradicts how former government officials maintained clearances long after their service ended.
Trump's elimination of John Brennan's clearance was raised.
But there is a problem. The Dept. of Energy, learning of Smith's indictment against Trump in the summer of 2023, retroactively revoked Trump's "Q" security clearance.
Bratt says the government has emails and a draft memo to revoke Trump's clearance.
Cannon's counterargument is--but if there is no formal process for authorizing or removing a president's security clearance--why did DOE need to memorialize it post-indictment.
Bratt didn't really have an answer.
https://x.com/julie_kelly2/status/1768312398698422359?s=20
