Jump to content

A story about a pathetic man's downfall


Francisco 2.0

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

So this is bugging me ….

 

isn’t there some kind of tracking system for all these documents ? 
 

who checked them out and where are they going  ?

Did someone receive and sign for them ?

WERE ALL DOCUMENTS RETURNED ?

 

Someone was pulling documents  ?

Yes, there is typically a tracking system.  (FYI....I'm a SCIF custodian at my work place) 

There is usually a list of documents that the security office will keep that knows the locations of all documents kept in safes inside the SCIFs on site.  These documents also have owners who are responsible for doing inventory every year and making sure these documents are where they are supposed to be.

There is also tracking on who goes into and out of the SCIF.  From people entering the SCIF with their badges and key codes to open the door, sign in sheets upon entering if they are being escorted and sign in sheets on if you are opening the safe.  I'm going to assume that everyone in Trump's circle probably ignored all these protocols.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, speed817 said:

Yes, there is typically a tracking system.  (FYI....I'm a SCIF custodian at my work place) 

There is usually a list of documents that the security office will keep that knows the locations of all documents kept in safes inside the SCIFs on site.  These documents also have owners who are responsible for doing inventory every year and making sure these documents are where they are supposed to be.

There is also tracking on who goes into and out of the SCIF.  From people entering the SCIF with their badges and key codes to open the door, sign in sheets upon entering if they are being escorted and sign in sheets on if you are opening the safe.  I'm going to assume that everyone in Trump's circle probably ignored all these protocols.

My guess is most of this stuff wasn’t on site at the WH either, so there should be courier records for the movement from the pentagon or wherever they were stored to the WH SCIF as well. 

Edited by TXSG8R
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

So this is bugging me ….

 

isn’t there some kind of tracking system for all these documents ? 
 

who checked them out and where are they going  ?

Did someone receive and sign for them ?

WERE ALL DOCUMENTS RETURNED ?

 

Someone was pulling documents  ?

Yeah, I said it upthread, but you'd kinda like to think that someone knew these documents were missing.  And knew who last "checked them out."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

So this is bugging me ….

 

isn’t there some kind of tracking system for all these documents ? 

who checked them out and where are they going  ?

Did someone receive and sign for them ?

WERE ALL DOCUMENTS RETURNED ?

Someone was pulling documents  ?

I’ve wondered about that. Particularly, how did Trump manage to take possession of documents classified Top Secret/SCI? It’s been my understanding that those can only be viewed in a SCIF and that they remain in custody of whatever agency produced them. Some agent would bring them to the secure facility for review and then take them with them when they left. They couldn’t be checked out like a library book. For Trump to wind up in possession of the most classified of state secrets in his fucking luxury resort must mean that someone failed to do their job, right? Someone had to either be incompetent or complicit. My guess is the latter, perhaps someone in an “acting” capacity with Trump-mandated security clearance. But that’s just a guess. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Bookman said:

Are we taking bets on who the court appoints as Special Master? My money is on Ted Cruz.

It’s supposed to be someone approved by both sides. I’m not sure such a person with the necessary security clearance exists. If it gets left to Judge Cannon to decide then it will probably be someone sympathetic to Trump.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

It would be extremely funny if, after all the support Israel gave him, he sold secrets on their nuclear program and defense capabilities to the Saudis.

You know that immediately he and MAGA nation would pivot to, "Okay, even if the documents were turned over to the Saudis and we're not conceding that the FBI didn't plant those docs in the Saudi Palace because how easily you can sneak into that Palace with a dark blue windbreaker.  But even if he did, he moved the embassy back to Jerusalem so at worst, it's a total wash.  Best case, we just helped our allies shore up their arsenal and they'll thank us down the road for helping point out their vulnerabilities."  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

It would be extremely funny if, after all the support Israel gave him, he sold secrets on their nuclear program and defense capabilities to the Saudis.

The most valuable information might be the names of the human assets involved in gathering the intelligence. If the country in question was Russia then no one would pay more to get that information than Putin. And he’d have a variety of established methods of making payment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I’ve wondered about that. Particularly, how did Trump manage to take possession of documents classified Top Secret/SCI? It’s been my understanding that those can only be viewed in a SCIF and that they remain in custody of whatever agency produced them. Some agent would bring them to the secure facility for review and then take them with them when they left. They couldn’t be checked out like a library book. For Trump to wind up in possession of the most classified of state secrets in his fucking luxury resort must mean that someone failed to do their job, right? Someone had to either be incompetent or complicit. My guess is the latter, perhaps someone in an “acting” capacity with Trump-mandated security clearance. But that’s just a guess. 

He was the President. I'm pretty sure if the President orders he be given records, he is given them. As has been said often, our system of government relies a lot on the good faith of those in office. It simply isn't setup up to deal with someone in the highest office who is actively working against our interests. 

  • Hook 'Em 5
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I’ve wondered about that. Particularly, how did Trump manage to take possession of documents classified Top Secret/SCI? It’s been my understanding that those can only be viewed in a SCIF and that they remain in custody of whatever agency produced them. Some agent would bring them to the secure facility for review and then take them with them when they left. They couldn’t be checked out like a library book. For Trump to wind up in possession of the most classified of state secrets in his fucking luxury resort must mean that someone failed to do their job, right? Someone had to either be incompetent or complicit. My guess is the latter, perhaps someone in an “acting” capacity with Trump-mandated security clearance. But that’s just a guess. 

I think the WH (not just Trumps) takes more leeway wrt the discussion/handling of classified info.  The PDB for example, contains plenty of classified info, and probably takes place in the Oval Office, dining room, possibly even the residence depending on the schedule/disposition of the president. What you have to remember is the president is the original classification authority. Everyone not in the big chair gets their authority to handle classified info delegated from the president, so I’m not sure what a custodian can do if an order comes from the WH saying “send these docs, don’t expect them back.” The WH custodian should probably be on the hook for something since storage/security would fall into their lap for anything transferred, but again, if POTUS says give me this classified doc, I don’t know what that person can do or say about it.

This is another one of those not fully codified rules around the president that probably needs to be tightened up. Our system relies on a certain level of respect and trust for the office, power, and responsibilities. It’s hard to find a way to check this power without creating another avenue for partisan fuckery.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

This is another one of those not fully codified rules around the president that probably needs to be tightened up. Our system relies on a certain level of respect and trust for the office, power, and responsibilities. It’s hard to find a way to check this power without creating another avenue for partisan fuckery.

It's also hard to check this sort of inherently executive power without running afoul of the separation of powers. Congress can check power it is has delegated to the executive. It can't restrain the President in purely executive functions beyond those limits identified in the Constitution. 

Edited by Dahobbs
  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

The most valuable information might be the names of the human assets involved in gathering the intelligence. If the country in question was Russia then no one would pay more to get that information than Putin. And he’d have a variety of established methods of making payment.

The people are more valuable than info on our surveillance capabilities. It will be much easier, and quicker, to get new people in place than it will be to develop new surveillance capabilites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

It would be extremely funny if, after all the support Israel gave him, he sold secrets on their nuclear program and defense capabilities to the Saudis.

If that can be proven, we won't have to do a thing. The Israelis will make sure the whole family has an unbelievable run of bad luck. Heart attacks, plane/car crashes, skiing accidents. Hell, Trump's great-grandkids will probably accidently drown on a beach vacation some time in the 2040s. It will be worse luck than the Kennedys. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

It's also hard to check this sort of inherently executive power without running afoul of the separation of powers. Congress can check power it is has delegated to the executive. It can't restrain the President in purely executive functions beyond those limits identified in the Constitution. 

Yeah, this motherfucker is exposing (and exploiting by blunder) weaknesses in our constitutional scheme that have never really been considered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I’m curious about, does POTUS sign an NDA when setting up their handling of classified info like everyone else that gets a clearance?  I know the clearance portion is just given when taking the office, but I wonder if they still go through the paper drill with the NDA.  That would potentially be another violation they could hang him with. You agree not to discuss or reveal anything you handled post employment, for life. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

If that can be proven, we won't have to do a thing. The Israelis will make sure the whole family has an unbelievable run of bad luck. Heart attacks, plane/car crashes, skiing accidents. Hell, Trump's great-grandkids will probably accidently drown on a beach vacation some time in the 2040s. It will be worse luck than the Kennedys. 

 

A9B081F8-2C7C-4951-833C-34511B62F816.webp

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

I talked about that some above.  The Supreme Court is definitely an issue and we've hashed that out.

As far as lower court judges, Trump has appointed fewer than 30%.  So, still too many, but you have less than a 1 in 3 chance of drawing a Trump district judge, and less than that of getting a two-Trump appeal panel.

Question for you and any other law dog that cares to answer.  Do you think the "random draw" of federal judges gets gamed?

 

Edited by TwiceHorn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

I talked about that some above.  The Supreme Court is definitely an issue and we've hashed that out.

As far as lower court judges, Trump has appointed fewer than 30%.  So, still too many, but you have less than a 1 in 3 chance of drawing a Trump district judge, and less than that of getting a two-Trump appeal panel.

 

If the final arbiters (SC, and many state/circuit courts) are stacked, what difference does that make? 

Edited by TXSG8R
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, TXSG8R said:

If the final arbiters (SC, and many state/circuit courts) are stacked, what difference does that make? 

Well 90 plus-plus percent of cases are never going to the Supreme Court.  And, as stated, you have a fairly small, but not insignificant chance of getting a Trumpy majority at the court of appeals.

And, there are other conservative appointments that are less reliably MAGA than Trump appointments, and Trump appointments aren't even necessarily reliably MAGA.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So if there is some sort of tracking mechanism for classified documents, don't they already know what is missing from the empty folders? 

I'm cringing because I know deep down the government is still using the honor system or library check out system for this shit. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We will really find out who our friends are who enemies of Democracy are when the Amicus briefs come out of the woodwork.  And Trump will know who his friends are.  Does the GOP finally jettison this shitstain from itself or does it double down and reinstall him, prolonging the inevitable?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

We will really find out who our friends are who enemies of Democracy are when the Amicus briefs come out of the woodwork.  And Trump will know who his friends are.  Does the GOP finally jettison this shitstain from itself or does it double down and reinstall him, prolonging the inevitable?  

Everyone here knows the answer to this. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

So if there is some sort of tracking mechanism for classified documents, don't they already know what is missing from the empty folders? 

I'm cringing because I know deep down the government is still using the honor system or library check out system for this shit. 

Full disclosure, I never handled anything above secret and never worked in a SCIF that had anything above TS, so I may be wrong for those items. Courier folders are serialized and track what was moved between storage areas. Within a SCIF it’s really up to the custodian and handler of the CI.  Documents require a cover folder/sheet when outside of storage. Custodians are required to have an inventory of what’s in their safe, but no formal checking in/out system beyond couriers AFAIK. Inventory is annual (? Local policy could increase reqt but I think annual is minimum) Generally, if an item is in a SCIF, you as a handler are required to show your clearance and need to know for the CI. POTUS or his cabinet get to skip that second part essentially, because POTUS.  Custodians don’t sit in the SCIF like a hall monitor, because they are bound by the same need to know rules as handlers.  So if Meadows walks in and says I need document X.  Custodian opens the safe, leaves the room. So yes, the honor system is a large part of this, because the penalties for anyone not POTUS are so severe that most people don’t push it. Inventory is also more about tracking loss in a catastrophic event and less about tracking items in and out. You as a handler log in and out of a SCIF, but you don’t log items in and out of storage, at least not on standard forms. 
 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

*Knocking on TwiceHorn's window*

Hey buddy, I'm pretty sure they wrote this with you in mind:

Quote

If there were a principle that best embodies why progressives are losing ground so quickly—even as they are correct on the facts, and the law, and the zeitgeist—it must be this tendency to just keep on lawyering the other side’s bad law in the hopes that the lawyering itself will make all the bad faith and crooked law go away. But for those who are genuinely worried that democracy will rise or fall based on whether a case lands before their judges or others, merely explaining legal flaws in pointillist detail isn’t an answer. And soberly explaining that Cannon was wrong about most stuff but correct about two things is decidedly not an answer, either. You do not, under any circumstances, have to hand it to them.

 

  • Hook 'Em 6
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just thinking about who the special master would be, it's hard to think of anybody who would have the necessary security clearance and legal background outside of (1) a former president, (2) a former attorney general, or (3) a former White House counsel (and I'm not even sure about that last one).  None of those options would be particularly friendly to Trump.

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

It will be much easier, and quicker, to get new people in place than it will be to develop new surveillance capabilites.

That’s totally not true! There’s a reason why we rely so much on the Israelis for intelligence in the Middle East. If you’ve followed our “War on Terror” at all then you know how badly we’ve been hampered by a lack of human assets on the ground and a lack of brown-skinned agents who can speak their language in order to recruit them.

Do you think it’s easy to recruit someone in N. Korea who is willing to risk their life in order to share secrets with us about their nuclear capabilities? And if we find one and they get found out and are killed, do you think it’s easy to find another to take their place? No, recruiting human assets is the hardest part of the intelligence game. And we often impede our own efforts because we are inherently suspicious of our own citizens, Americans who are best qualified to do the job of recruiting and managing those assets,  because they look and talk like our adversaries. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

I'm thinking Trump stole information about Iran's nuclear defenses and sold it to the Saudis for two billion dollars to be made payable to Jared Kushner.

 

8 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Or it could be Israeli nuke secrets - Saudis and others would pay a pretty penny for that info.

 

8 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

both GIF

 

5 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

So this is bugging me ….

 

isn’t there some kind of tracking system for all these documents ? 
 

who checked them out and where are they going  ?

Did someone receive and sign for them ?

WERE ALL DOCUMENTS RETURNED ?

 

Someone was pulling documents  ?

C'mon, guys. Take off the aluminum foil hats. This is all so innocent.

You see, Melania was carefully packing their crystal ice cream dishes. You know how she is. She picked up the only dish that holds two scoops, tilted her head, smiled wistfully, and softly said, "Dis special for de Donald. I put it in Mom's Attic of U-Haul. Barron! Bring papers for wrapping!"

Barron looked around the chaos of the Trump living room and saw some sturdy wrapping materials peeping out from the top of an eight foot shelf. He had to go tippy toes, but it was worth it for Mom and for Dad's favorite dessert dish. 

"Here, Mom! These look just right for the job!"

"Thank you, Barron. You're such a good boy. Daddy loves you very much!"

Donald Jr. came in. "If that one's ready to go, I'll take it to the U-Haul!"

Barron and Melania: "Be sure to put it in Mom's Attic!"

They all had a laugh. That's how it happened. It could have happened to any average American family that loves America and hugs the American flag like Americans do.

Spoiler

spacer.pngimage.jpeg.c0876654bb41e7bc6ddae805756e3be1.jpeg

It was a cold January day, so Melania put on an old jacket to be sure the special box went to its special place.

 

Edited by RomaVicta
Two Rs in Barron.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

Just thinking about who the special master would be, it's hard to think of anybody who would have the necessary security clearance and legal background outside of (1) a former president, (2) a former attorney general, or (3) a former White House counsel (and I'm not even sure about that last one).  None of those options would be particularly friendly to Trump.

Find the most qualified, objective, unbiased person to do the job and I guarantee the Trump team will object to them. To Trump you are either biased for him or you are biased against him. There is no objective middle ground. (Sort of like how Dubya foreshadowed Trump when he declared that you’re either with us or you’re with the terrorists.)

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

*Knocking on TwiceHorn's window*

Hey buddy, I'm pretty sure they wrote this with you in mind:

 

I mean, what else are you going to do?  Appeal is impractical as it involves more delay than the Special Master?  And that's before you even get to the potential for the 11th Circuit to fuck it up.

There's no court-packing plan, that, even if successful, would address this particular matter, let alone in time.

Edited by TwiceHorn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think what infuriates me the most (and most people that handle CI) is the complete gaslighting by the right on how this is NBD. The definition for classified info always contains “unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause x damage to the national security.”  You don’t punish based on actual damage, you punish based on expected damage to national security. These aren’t overdue library books. These aren’t a paperwork issue. It’s a serious fucking crime and we don’t have enough people making that point.  Congressional committee silence is deafening. 
 

This is another example of what should be a slam dunk bipartisan issue. I get politicians like Rand Paul being partisan shitheels over this, but people that served in the military or on committees with national security concerns should be losing their shit over this. The “HilLaRy wAs WorSE” people saying digital stuff was a bigger risk are also completely full of shit. Yes, there is a larger risk surface for exposure, but it’s also much easier to forensically analyze said exposure and nail down who accessed what, for how long, etc. Physical media in the wild like this just needs to be presumed to be lost to all adversaries, because there is no way to trace who has accessed it, duplicated it, etc once it’s out of a SCIF. That presumption should be a huge factor in indictment and punishment. 
 

Biden needs to sign an EO that formalizes a way to track physical media in and out of a SCIF (digital controls are already pretty tight). Create a new SF with material logging and third party (custodian) verification. It also needs to formalize the return of all CI at the end of a president’s tenure with third party auditing prior to the president and his cabinet’s personal belongings being shipped out of the WH grounds. Yes, this will create all kinds of hell for custodians, but the trust system has been exposed.  Fix it. 
 

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

I think what infuriates me the most (and most people that handle CI) is the complete gaslighting by the right on how this is NBD. The definition for classified info always contains “unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause x damage to the national security.”  You don’t punish based on actual damage, you punish based on expected damage to national security. These aren’t overdue library books. These aren’t a paperwork issue. It’s a serious fucking crime and we don’t have enough people making that point.  Congressional committee silence is deafening. 
 

This is another example of what should be a slam dunk bipartisan issue. I get politicians like Rand Paul being partisan shitheels over this, but people that served in the military or on committees with national security concerns should be losing their shit over this. The “HilLaRy wAs WorSE” people saying digital stuff was a bigger risk are also completely full of shit. Yes, there is a larger risk surface for exposure, but it’s also much easier to forensically analyze said exposure and nail down who accessed what, for how long, etc. Physical media in the wild like this just needs to be presumed to be lost to all adversaries, because there is no way to trace who has accessed it, duplicated it, etc once it’s out of a SCIF. That presumption should be a huge factor in indictment and punishment. 
 

Biden needs to sign an EO that formalizes a way to track physical media in and out of a SCIF (digital controls are already pretty tight). Create a new SF with material logging and third party (custodian) verification. It also needs to formalize the return of all CI at the end of a president’s tenure with third party auditing prior to the president and his cabinet’s personal belongings being shipped out of the WH grounds. Yes, this will create all kinds of hell for custodians, but the trust system has been exposed.  Fix it. 
 

The "overdue library book" argument, made in court, is galling and offensive.  

We all know that isn't the case and I think the result of the special master review will demonstrate that that argument is absolutely laughable.

I thought this was an apt spin on the thing.  Mariotti is a pretty good legal twatter.  https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/06/trumps-lawyers-special-master-indictment-00054926

Quote

But now Trump’s attorneys have managed to help him get into a legal jam the likes of which he has never faced. Whether out of incompetence or a desire to please their notoriously rules-averse client, they have committed a series of unconscionable errors that turned the government’s document recovery effort into an ongoing criminal investigation of the former president that could result in an unprecedented criminal indictment. Monday’s ruling by a judge agreeing with Trump’s request to appoint a third party to review the documents might look like a win, but it is a limited response to a catastrophe that they could have avoided.

Mariotti is a non-MAGAT, or liberal or whatever you want to call him, that blogs/tweets about the increasingly fascist 5th Circuit without being a defeatist.

Edited by TwiceHorn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I’ve wondered about that. Particularly, how did Trump manage to take possession of documents classified Top Secret/SCI? It’s been my understanding that those can only be viewed in a SCIF and that they remain in custody of whatever agency produced them. Some agent would bring them to the secure facility for review and then take them with them when they left. They couldn’t be checked out like a library book. For Trump to wind up in possession of the most classified of state secrets in his fucking luxury resort must mean that someone failed to do their job, right? Someone had to either be incompetent or complicit. My guess is the latter, perhaps someone in an “acting” capacity with Trump-mandated security clearance. But that’s just a guess. 

Kash Patel was chief of staff to the acting secretary of the DoD. It’s not a huge mystery 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

I talked about that some above.  The Supreme Court is definitely an issue and we've hashed that out.

As far as lower court judges, Trump has appointed fewer than 30%.  So, still too many, but you have less than a 1 in 3 chance of drawing a Trump district judge, and less than that of getting a two-Trump appeal panel.

Question for you and any other law dog that cares to answer.  Do you think the "random draw" of federal judges gets gamed?

 

Isn't that why tfg filed in this Court?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

Just thinking about who the special master would be, it's hard to think of anybody who would have the necessary security clearance and legal background outside of (1) a former president, (2) a former attorney general, or (3) a former White House counsel (and I'm not even sure about that last one).  None of those options would be particularly friendly to Trump.

bill barr is clearly auditioning and we’re gonna fucking fall for it because of course we will. 

  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Isn't that why tfg filed in this Court?

Well, I think he had to file in SD Fla because that's where the warrant issued.

There are 27 judges there, without regard to divisions, and 13 Seniors, that may not be in the "regular rotation." Best I can tell, only five are Trump appointees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

bill barr is clearly auditioning and we’re gonna fucking fall for it because of course we will. 

I thought the same exact thing.  He's trying to lull reasonable people into thinking that he's found his spine and is on the right side of this, but it's all a bunch of horseshit.  Just like everything else that comes out of his mouth.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Bozo_Casanova changed the title to Poll: President Trump's Major Announcement


×
×
  • Create New...