{"id":1951439,"date":"2023-06-19T20:37:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T00:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-defends-handling-of-boxes-in-first-interview-since-arraignment\/"},"modified":"2023-06-19T20:38:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T00:38:40","slug":"trump-defends-handling-of-boxes-in-first-interview-since-arraignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-defends-handling-of-boxes-in-first-interview-since-arraignment\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump defends handling of boxes in first interview since arraignment."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-defends-handling-of-boxes-in-first-interview-since-arraignment%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1951439&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<h2>Trump Defends Retention of Classified Documents in Exclusive Interview<\/h2>\n<p>In the first part of a two-part interview with Fox News\u2019 Brett Baier, former President Donald J. Trump passionately defended his retention of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/roger-stone-announces-he-will-sue-those-who-arrested-him-and-put-him-in-front-of-a-kangaroo-court\/\" title=\"Roger Stone Announces He Will Sue Those Who Arrested Him and Put Him In Front of a Kangaroo Court\">classified documents<\/a> from his presidency. This controversial topic has become one of many legal battles that Trump faces as he campaigns for the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything was declassified because I have the right to declassify,\u201d Trump confidently told Baier in the interview broadcast on June 19.<\/p>\n<p>The interview marks Trump\u2019s first public appearance since his arraignment in Miami on June 13, where he faced charges of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-director-calls-legit-criticism-of-corrupt-fbi-violence-but-we-werent-born-yesterday-2\/\" title=\"FBI Director Calls Legit Criticism Of Corrupt FBI \u2018Violence,\u2019 But We Weren\u2019t Born Yesterday\">mishandling classified documents<\/a>. The indictment, issued by special counsel Jack Smith, can be read <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.flsd.648653\/gov.uscourts.flsd.648653.3.0_2.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges, with 31 of them falling under the Espionage Act. Each charge corresponds to a separate document that Trump is accused of improperly retaining in boxes he removed from the White House during the presidential transition process.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5324513\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/09\/id5324513-documents-in-mar-a-lago-bathroom-1200x1054.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Trump firmly believes that he has the right to retain these boxes. \u201cThis is purely a Presidential Records Act [thing]. This is not a criminal thing,\u201d he explained to Baier, reiterating his consistent defense of his actions.<\/p>\n<p>In support of his argument, Trump referenced a lawsuit filed by the conservative legal organization Judicial Watch against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The lawsuit involved tapes recorded by former President Bill Clinton with historian Taylor Branch, which Clinton stored in his sock drawer. Judicial Watch claimed that the tapes should have been handed over to NARA at the end of Clinton&#8217;s term.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee to the D.C. district court, dismissed the lawsuit, stating that NARA does not have the authority to designate materials as &#8220;Presidential records.&#8221; Trump referred to this case as the &#8220;Clinton socks case.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3466892\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/08\/19\/bill-clinton-1200x676.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt basically said that a president has every right to keep whatever he wants, and that includes me,\u201d Trump confidently told Baier, referring to Judge Jackson&#8217;s decision.<\/p>\n<p>However, some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-judge-open-to-claims-abortion-drug-wasnt-properly-vetted-reports\/\" title=\"Texas judge open to claims abortion drug wasn't properly vetted: Reports\">legal experts disagree<\/a> with Trump&#8217;s interpretation, emphasizing the differences between the materials retained by Clinton and Trump. Peter Margulies, a professor at Roger Williams University\u2019s School of Law, explained, \u201cThe Clinton materials were audiotapes of conversations with a historian that incidentally recorded some calls on official business. In contrast, the documents that Trump kept were all presidential records from the moment they arrived at the Oval Office from other parts of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chris Farrell from Judicial Watch believes that the decision in the &#8220;Clinton socks case&#8221; directly relates to Trump&#8217;s situation. He stated, \u201c[It\u2019s] okay for Bill Clinton, but when you apply the same standard to Donald Trump, suddenly everybody develops amnesia. Nobody knows what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the interview, Trump and Baier engaged in a heated discussion about the &#8220;Clinton socks case&#8221; and its relevance to Trump&#8217;s alleged violations of federal law. Baier pointed out that the question of whether <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-defends-handling-of-boxes-in-first-interview-since-arraignment\/\" title=\"Trump defends handling of boxes in first interview since arraignment.\">highly classified government national security documents fall<\/a> into the same category will be fought in the courts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s already been fought. There\u2019s a decision strongly that you can keep. But I wouldn\u2019t have kept\u2013but they [the FBI] raided my house,\u201d Trump responded.<\/p>\n<p>Trump also criticized NARA, referring to it as a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/video-shows-fcc-nom-gigi-sohn-attending-far-left-net-neutrality-protest\/\" title=\"Video Shows FCC Nom Gigi Sohn Attending Far Left 'Net Neutrality' Protest\">radical left group<\/a>.&#8221; However, NARA\u2019s former acting head, Debra Steidel Wall, described the organization as &#8220;fiercely non-partisan&#8221; in August 2022.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5056789\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/02\/14\/GettyImages-51106514_web-1200x750.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Epoch Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fox News&#8217; Brett Baier in the first of a two-part interview. Trump justified keeping classified documents from his presidency, a legal issue he confronts while campaigning for 2024. He asserted, &#8220;I possess the authority to declassify, hence everything was declassified.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":1951440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[23267,11613,4549,9164,6234,3634],"class_list":["post-1951439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times","tag-arraignment","tag-boxes","tag-defends","tag-handling","tag-interview","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1951439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1951439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1951439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1951440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1951439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1951439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1951439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}