Donald Trump’s Bragging May Have Violated Espionage Act
Donald Trump may be facing a far grimmer fate than New York has to offer if it’s discovered that his bragging led him to violate the Espionage Act.
Tristan Green
Most of the world’s attention over Donald Trump is focused on New York lately.
After all, the former POTUS was arrested in New York and indicted on a whopping 34 felonies which could land him in prison for over 100 years in a worst-case scenario for Trump.
But there’s something else brewing that could be far more consequential.
See: PANICKED DONALD TRUMP POSTS ABOUT MEETING A RACIST TODAY
Donald Trump May Have Bragged His Way into a Violation of the Espionage Act
Special Counsel apparently looking at evidence of Trump _disseminating_ national defense info.
That could put this case into echelon of more serious charges under Espionage Act.@maggieNYT Adam Goldman & @alanfeuer reporthttps://t.co/qxwNY9zuz8
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) April 12, 2023
Donald Trump is facing a number of serious investigations.
Not just in New York – and in fact those criminal charges may be the first but the least consequential.
In Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to bring charges soon in a case about election interference in the 2020 election.
And the Department of Justice is currently looking into Trump’s culpability for the insurrection on January 6.
But the case that is the most boring on the surface may be the one with the greatest punch against the former POTUS – the DOJ’s investigation of illegal mishandling of classified documents stored at his Florida home.
Recently, Trump’s former AG Bill Barr spoke on the news and suggested it was that investigation that may hold the greatest weight.
It seemed out of context at the time, but now that we know a little more about what special counsel Jack Smith is investigating, it makes more sense.
Smith’s team is currently determining whether or not Trump showed off a map containing “sensitive intelligence information.”
Investigators have asked witnesses whether Trump showed the map in question to aides and visitors after taking it with him when he left office, four sources told The New York Times.
The New York Times reports, “One person briefed on the matter said investigators have asked about Mr. Trump showing the map while aboard a plane. Another said that, based on the questions they were asking, investigators appeared to believe that Mr. Trump showed the map to at least one adviser after leaving office.
A third person with knowledge of the investigation said the map might also have been shown to a journalist writing a book. The Washington Post has previously reported that investigators have asked about Mr. Trump showing classified material, including maps, to political donors.
The question of whether Mr. Trump was displaying sensitive material in his possession after he lost the presidency and left office is crucial as investigators try to reconstruct what Mr. Trump was doing with boxes of documents that went with him to his Florida residence and private club, Mar-a-Lago.”
It’s believed that if he did what they’re suggesting he did, he may have violated the Espionage Act.
Additionally, they seem to be considering charges related to obstruction of justice. Both are incredibly serious violations of the law and could provide a path for Congress to invoke the 14th amendment.
What is the 14th Amendment as it Pertains to Trump?
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Section 3 of the 14th amendment reads, “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”
While it seems unlikely that Congress would bar Trump from running, they have to give it serious consideration if he were found guilty of violating the Espionage Act.
After all, providing sensitive intelligence information could be seen as giving aid to the country’s enemies.
And that’s assuming that Trump isn’t found culpable for having “engaged in insurrection or rebellion,” which depends on what the DOJ finds when they sniff around the January 6 riots.
All in all, things are getting even more grim for the former POTUS.
One would assume that being indicted on 34 felonies would be as bad as it could get – but the worst may be yet to come.