Maggie Haberman of NYT Too Nice to Trump on Why He Retained Top Secret and classified documents

She says Trump's Reasons: (1) Nice Mementos and (2) They are Mine

Maggie Haberman, the normally hard-hitting reporter for the New York Times, speculated over the same questions I explored on what reason Trump had for retaining and refusing to turn over Top Secret documents and classified documents. She identifies two rationales. First, Trump has always liked to retain small mementos of trips and events, so these were merely of equal caliber with his other mementos and were remembrances of his presidency. Second, she lists the simplistic view confirmed by numerous Trump staffers that he genuinely believed he owned all documents created in his presidency especially if he waived his declassification wand over them. As with the results of the 2020 election, numerous advisors told Trump he was wrong as those documents belonged to the American people. But Trump could not accept that documents produced while he was “king,” were really not his and were subject to the Presidential Records Act.

So, Trump approached the issues in his typical bull-in-a-china-shop approach and bellowed they are mine and I am keeping them. So, the rather bull-headed former president rejected the advice of his advisers and also refused to comply with the earlier subpoena for the documents and even told the head of US Counterintelligence in the Justice Department, who made a personal visit to Mar-a-Lago and met with Trump in June, 2022, that he would not turn over the Top Secret and classified documents. Apparently, Trump gave no reason for his position, though he might have said they are mine. The Counterintelligence chief left empty handed, but he did in August, 2022 sign the application for a Search Warrant, which was executed by the FBI and they seized and carted away the Top Secret and classified documents, or at least the ones they could find at Mar-a-Lago.

Now, I have never thought Trump acted with much brain power, and he relied on intimidation, threats, lies, maximum pressure and other psychological devices to get what he wanted. I had a construction case in the mid-1980s with an attorney for Trump, not involving Trump, and I asked him what it was like to work for Trump, and he replied it was awful as Trump lied to his lawyers and didn’t pay them without pressure after numerous delays. A lawyer’s delight.

But Trump’s usual techniques were not going to work with the US Counterintelligence Chief. So, Trump refused the request, and the search warrant was executed.

In light of these events does it really make sense that Trump held on to Top Secret and other classified documents because they made nice momentos of his presidency or were documents he owned? Perhaps, the position that these documents ”are mine” is possible, but one must be a total simpleton to believe such a position. Has Trump even heard of a Presidential Library, organized by the National Archives, or for that matter does he know what a library is, and it is doubtful he ever visited one., not even the one down Fifth Avenue from Trump Tower called the New York Public Library.

My supposition that Trump thought he could sell these Top Secret and other classified documents to foreign governments and individuals is closer to the mark in light of Trump’s efforts to monetize everything about the presidency, his fund raising over the search of Mar-a-Lago and fund raising to raise a legal defense fund which he withdrew for his own benefit and many other monetizing examples. During the two months between the Counterintelligence Chief’s visit and the execution of the search warrant, Trump could have had documents photocopied, and he may have thought if he sold photocopies of Top Secret and classified documents, who is to know?

So, is Haberman or Berk correct? I do not know. Either is possible with Trump.

If Trump is indicted, document sales may end up in the indictment, or we may learn of document sales from a disgruntled Trump employee.

To be continued.