June 13 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a formidable task defending against charges that he illegally kept top-secret documents upon leaving the White House in 2021, according to legal experts, who say neither the law nor the facts appear to be on his side.
National security law experts were struck by the breadth of evidence in the indictment which includes documents, photos, text messages, audio and witness statements. They said this made a strong case for prosecutors’ allegation that Trump illegally took the documents and then tried to cover it up.
“The details are pretty shocking in terms of the carelessness with which these documents were handled, and the concerted effort to keep them out of the hands of the FBI,” said Elizabeth Goitein, a national security law expert at the Brennan Center for Justice.
The problem for Trump is that even the lesser charges come with prison terms of up to 5 years. If he gets a “light sentence,” he could still be required to spend two years in prison. This isn’t something that he could handle easily.
I’m waiting to see if the Feds manage to get a change in which judge handles the case. I think they have a decent shot at it. If they get a sane judge in charge, then Trump is sunk.
