Should Trump go to jail for mishandling classified information?

[meaner gene]

Trump is a lowlife degenerate capable of anything including selling this Country down the river. The Country that he hates. He's out for revenge because his ass was thrown out of office.

I have a feeling that Trump taking the top secret documents was his "insurance policy". That if they threaten to indict him for any of his numerous crimes, he would blackmail the country by telling them to drop the charges, or he would release all the top secret information.

 

[ABikerSailor]

While the folders marked with classification levels aren't in and of themselves classified, they ARE considered sensitive, meaning there has to be accounting for them, and they are generally stored in a central place, usually in a secure area.

And no, not once in my career were empty folders with classification markings on them left just lying around. If there was a folder with a classification marking on it, or cover sheet, it usually had material in it. When the material was taken out, the folders or cover sheets were returned to the secure area for storage. We NEVER let them just lay around. Matter of fact, if a folder or cover sheet was found on someone's desk without anything in it, the first thing the supervisor asked was 1) why was the folder/cover sheet just lying around, and 2) where was the material that was attached to it? Questions were asked, and searches were made to make sure that the folder/cover sheet was in fact unused, and it was promptly returned to it's storage space. If nobody knew why it was there, everything stopped and a search was made to make sure that classified documents weren't just lying around uncovered. Usually, finding a classified cover sheet/folder without anything in it resulted in an ass chewing for the person who last had it in their possession for not properly returning it. So yeah, while empty folders and cover sheets aren't classified in and of themselves, they are still treated as sensitive, and steps are made to make sure they are accounted for.

Some even have serial numbers which are logged in so that proper accounting can be made for the material they contain.

 

[meaner gene]

LOL I had a desk full of them at one time.

And if they ordered you to return anything marked classified, would you have continued to hold onto them?

So long as my job required me to have them I would have kept them as soon as that was no longer true I would have turned them in.

Article 92 Failure to Obey an Order | Articles of UCMJ

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ARTICLE 92 – FAILURE TO OBEY AN ORDER
Failure to obey other lawful order:

That a member of the armed forces issued a certain lawful order;
That the accused had knowledge of the order; and
That the accused had a duty to obey the order; and
That the accused failed to obey the order

The maximum punishment for a violation or failure to obey lawful general order or regulation is dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for two years.

 

[Missouri_Mike]

Who's stoooooopid enough to believe that Gangster Trump took empty folders to Florida?

So you’ve never moved. Not even from your moms house?

Well, if you ever do move you end up hauling some shit that should have just went in the trash.people helping you pack and the guys loading the truck don’t know, they just put it all in. Then you arrive and start unpacking and find all kinds of shit you didn’t intend to take. We hauled the kitchen ******* trash, in the trash can, from Az to Mo. Why? Because some packer just threw it on the truck.

Shit happens. Holy ****.

 

[Lastamender]

I have a feeling that Trump taking the top secret documents was his "insurance policy". That if they threaten to indict him for any of his numerous crimes, he would blackmail the country by telling them to drop the charges, or he would release all the top secret information.

Really? You must think our government has been ******* us over. Your right.

 

[Markle]

Hillary did not have TOP SECRET Documents

That would be Trump

Either you have a very short memory or you are even more desperate than you appear.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

It depends on intent and what comes out of the investigation.

I would want why he kept them and what he intended to do with them.

That Trump was in unlawful possession of military intelligence and national security documents not properly secured alone warrants criminal prosecution – regardless the documents’ classification status or intent.

Not to mention likely obstruction of justice.

 

[Missouri_Mike]

While the folders marked with classification levels aren't in and of themselves classified, they ARE considered sensitive, meaning there has to be accounting for them, and they are generally stored in a central place, usually in a secure area.

And no, not once in my career were empty folders with classification markings on them left just lying around. If there was a folder with a classification marking on it, or cover sheet, it usually had material in it. When the material was taken out, the folders or cover sheets were returned to the secure area for storage. We NEVER let them just lay around. Matter of fact, if a folder or cover sheet was found on someone's desk without anything in it, the first thing the supervisor asked was 1) why was the folder/cover sheet just lying around, and 2) where was the material that was attached to it? Questions were asked, and searches were made to make sure that the folder/cover sheet was in fact unused, and it was promptly returned to it's storage space. If nobody knew why it was there, everything stopped and a search was made to make sure that classified documents weren't just lying around uncovered. Usually, finding a classified cover sheet/folder without anything in it resulted in an ass chewing for the person who last had it in their possession for not properly returning it. So yeah, while empty folders and cover sheets aren't classified in and of themselves, they are still treated as sensitive, and steps are made to make sure they are accounted for.

Some even have serial numbers which are logged in so that proper accounting can be made for the material they contain.

So by your own admission someone accidentally grabbed a box of empty pre-made classified folders.

Well ****. We solved that case.

 

[meaner gene]

Standard Forms

These standard security forms are used in administering the security classification programs in Government.

www.archives.gov

**NOTE** The following forms are available to U.S. government agencies, but cannot be placed on the website because of unique construction. It can be ordered by calling Global Supply customer assistance

The following three cover sheets are placed on top of documents to clearly identify the classification level of the document and protect classified information from inadvertent disclosure.
SF-703 Top Secret Cover Sheet
SF-704 Secret Cover Sheet
SF-705 Confidential Cover Sheet

 

[Missouri_Mike]

Some were empty indicating the contents may have been destroyed or moved

Are you having trouble understanding that they found dozens of Classified Documents?

Or, get this. They were empty ******* folders.

 

[ABikerSailor]

So long as my job required me to have them I would have kept them as soon as that was no longer true I would have turned them in.

You're right, as long as your job required you to have them, you would have kept then until you were no longer required to have them. HOWEVER...................while keeping those documents, you would have had to have a secure area for storing them such as a safe or lockbox that only you and others required to have access to the information could get to. There were many classified things that I had to keep as part of my job (Navy Wide Advancement exams and classified messages mainly), and I was required to keep them in a safe that only I and the Division Officer and Department Head had access to. In that safe were also kept blank DD214's, which were not classified, but they were considered to be sensitive documents and also had to be kept locked up.

 

[meaner gene]

So you’ve never moved. Not even from your moms house?

Well, if you ever do move you end up hauling some shit that should have just went in the trash.people helping you pack and the guys loading the truck don’t know, they just put it all in. Then you arrive and start unpacking and find all kinds of shit you didn’t intend to take. We hauled the kitchen ******* trash, in the trash can, from Az to Mo. Why? Because some packer just threw it on the truck.

Shit happens. Holy ****.

Nice story, but you example should have included an example like they packed up his mothers jewelry box, or his dads gun collection by "accident".

 

[Markle]

Russia and Chinese nuclear missiles based on American technology given by our politicians and others.

100% correct.

Well known, is the fact that President Clinton made our rocket engines and guidance systems available for the Chinese to purchase legally.

Until then, China could not hit the China Sea with its rockets. After Clinton made our technology available, they have pinpoint accuracy, nuclear submarines with nuclear-tipped rockets, and rockets with the proven capability to destroy satellites.

What could go wrong?

 

[Dragonlady]

Did Hillary?

There's your answer.

Hillary didn't "mishandle" classified information, and the law for doing so was only a misdemeanor at the time. Trump signed the law making mishandling classified information at felony.

Imagine that, Trump will be going to jail for violating a law that he created.

It's so delicious it has to be fattening.

 

[ABikerSailor]

So by your own admission someone accidentally grabbed a box of empty pre-made classified folders.

Well ****. We solved that case.

Your reading comprehension sucks, as there is nothing like what you are trying to say in my post. I said that IF a classified folder/cover sheet was lying around the office with no information attached to it, we checked to make sure that there was no classified material lying around without a cover sheet, and if it was determined that the cover sheet/folder wasn't being used, it was promptly returned to it's storage area to be kept until it was needed again. NO, we did not keep boxes of classified folders just lying around, they were usually kept in a locked drawer of the supervisor's desk or safe. And, we also figured out who had used it and left it lying around, and that person received an ass chewing from the supervisor.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

I would like no why. Not intentional disregard but WHY he took them, WHAT he intended with them, AND who else may have been access to them.

Criminals are often prosecuted where there is no understanding as to why they committed their crimes.

The fact is that there is no legitimate reason why Trump would be in unlawful possession of government documents; there is no justification concerning Trump’s actions or intent that would mitigate his being subject to prosecution – save that of being a former president, unfortunately.

 

[Woodznutz]

While stationed in Korea I was a courier between my artillery Battery and Division HQ. I carried 'secret level' documents often. When it was discovered that I only had a 'confidential' security clearance my courier days ended. No one was called to account, to my knowledge. That's an example of how sloppy the military was about security... in Korea no less.

 

[Dragonlady]

So you’ve never moved. Not even from your moms house?

Well, if you ever do move you end up hauling some shit that should have just went in the trash.people helping you pack and the guys loading the truck don’t know, they just put it all in. Then you arrive and start unpacking and find all kinds of shit you didn’t intend to take. We hauled the kitchen ******* trash, in the trash can, from Az to Mo. Why? Because some packer just threw it on the truck.

Shit happens. Holy ****.

Yes, that might explain how it got to Mar-a-Lago, but why was it still there 18 months later? Why didn't Trump return it when they asked for it back? Why did he lie to the FBI and say all the classified stuff had been returned. What was he doing with TOP SECRET SCI files at an unsecured location at a golf resort?

And what was in all of the empty TOP SECRET files the FBI found in Trump's office, and where is that stuff now?

 

[meaner gene]

You're right, as long as your job required you to have them, you would have kept then until you were no longer required to have them.

The question asked was, what if he was ordered to turn over all his materials, would he continue to hold onto them?

And if they ordered you to return anything marked classified, would you have continued to hold onto them?

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

The Left are the ones talking about arresting a former president over paperwork. That the highly crooked DOJ/FBI cooked up.

So yeah, that will do it.

This is a lie.

The ‘left’ is doing no such thing.

It’s the illiberal, authoritarian right that seeks to destroy our democracy with lies about the 2020 election being ‘stolen,’ with voter suppression efforts, and with advocacy of lawlessness and violence.