Yesterday ABC reported that Trump wrote to-do lists for an assistant on White House documents marked classified. The assistant was Molly Michael, who told investigators that Trump wrote directions to her on notecards that had been prepared for Trump to brief him on matters of international relations. The notecards had classification markings; Trump considered them scrap paper.
The notecards with classification markings were at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate when FBI agents searched the property on Aug. 8, 2022 — but the materials were not taken by the FBI, according to sources familiar with what Michael told investigators.
When Michael, who was not present for the search, returned to Mar-a-Lago the next day to clean up her office space, she found the documents underneath a drawer organizer and helped transfer them to the FBI that same day, sources told ABC News.
The sources said Michael also told federal investigators that last year she grew increasingly concerned with how Trump handled recurring requests from the National Archives for the return of all government documents being kept in boxes at Mar-a-Lago — and she felt that Trump’s claims about it at the time would be easy to disprove, according to the sources.
Sources said that after Trump heard the FBI wanted to interview Michael last year, Trump allegedly told her, “You don’t know anything about the boxes.”
ABC continued, “It’s unclear exactly what he meant by that.” No, it isn’t. we all know what he meant. I bet Ms. Michael knew what he meant, too. But she’s apparently too smart to waste her life defending Donald Trump.
Michael became Trump’s executive assistant in the White House in 2018 and continued to work for him when he left office. She resigned last year, in the wake of Trump’s alleged refusal to comply with federal requests, ABC News said.
Trump’s, shall we say, undisciplined work habits always remind me that he never held a real job in his life.
Former DOJ lawyer Jeffrey Clark is not, apparently, as smart. By all accounts he completely botched his bid to remove his RICO case from state court to federal court. I don’t think a decision has been made yet, but per David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo:
A federal judge in Atlanta seemed deeply skeptical that former Trump DOJ lackey Jeff Clark is entitled to removal of his RICO case from state court – and Clark didn’t give him much to work with. Highlights from yesterday’s removal hearing:
* Clark didn’t appear in person and did not testify, making it very difficult to meet the legal standard of proof for removal.
*The judge refused to admit a sworn declaration from Clark because he wasn’t there to be cross examined by prosecutors.
*The judge also rejected a sworn declaration on Clark’s behalf by Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese.
Meanwhile, DA Fani Willis called former Trump DOJ Civil Division Chief Jody Hunt to testify that Clark’s actions were outside the bounds of that role.
Clark faced a tougher slog to begin with than Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows did in his so far losing effort for removal, but Clark did little to help himself.
Note that Clark has a J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center (1995), yet seems unaquainted with law. And Ed Meese is 91 years old now, for the record.
Around the House: I keep seeing headlines with words like “infighting,” “open warfare,” “GOP Implodes Spectacularly,” “rebellion,” and “up in flames.” How long before we get to “shots ring out” and “blood in the aisles”?