Trump Has Good Shot With Supreme Court to Get DC Case Tossed, Experts Say

What did the agents find?

Twenty boxes worth of material, according to an inventory released alongside the search warrant on Friday.

The FBI took 11 sets of classified files in total, including four that were labelled "top secret". Three sets were classified as "secret documents" and three were "confidential".

The cache also included files marked "TS/SCI", a designation for the country's most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause "exceptionally grave" damage to US national security.

Some of these files were only meant to be kept in secure government facilities, according to court documents.

But the court records do not indicate what information these documents could contain, and there is much we do not know about the items on the inventory.
For example, other items taken include a binder of photos, a handwritten note and unspecified information about the "President of France.


What crimes may have been committed?

There are several laws governing the handling of classified information and presidential records, and these come with both criminal and civil penalties.

In fact, Mr Trump increased the penalties for the removal of classified documents or materials while he was in office and it is now punishable by up to five years in prison.

The unsealed search warrant shows prosecutors are investigating three potential crimes.

These are:

* violations of the Espionage Act

* obstruction of justice

* the criminal handling of government records

None of the three criminal laws in question depend on whether the files are declassified.

This means it is uncertain whether Mr Trump's argument would hold up in court.

The former president has not been charged with wrongdoing, and it remains unclear whether criminal charges will be brought as a result of the investigation.

SOURCE : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62528709.amp

https://youtu.be/dGgkZ_lRMGg

Directly from the Department of Justice :

1.) Leader of Oath Keepers and Oath Keepers Member Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy and Other Charges Related to U.S. Capitol Breach

* Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, and Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Florida chapter of the organization, were found guilty by a jury today of seditious conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

* Three additional defendants, who were leaders and associates of the organization – Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell – were found guilty of related felony charges. The verdict followed an eight-week trial and three days of deliberations. No sentencing date was set.

SOURCE : https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-oath-keepers-and-oath-keepers-member-found-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-and-other


2.) Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 13, 2022

Leader of Oath Keepers and 10 Other Individuals Indicted in Federal Court for Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach

Eight Others Facing Charges in Two Related Cases

SOURCE : https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-oath-keepers-and-10-other-individuals-indicted-federal-court-seditious-conspiracy-and


{ Court Filings }

A.) FIRST SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT

The Grand Jury charges that, at all times material to this Indictment, on or about the dates
stated below:

Introduction

The 2020 United States Presidential Election and the Official Proceeding on January 6, 2021

SOURCE : https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1369071/download


B.) Case 1:21-cv-03267-APM

Document 94 Filed 04/01/22 Page 1 of 119
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 400 6th Street, N.W, 10th Floor Washington, D.C. 20001,

Plaintiff,
v.
PROUD BOYS INTERNATIONAL, L.L.C., 108 Durango Dr.
Aubrey, TX 76227,
OATH KEEPERS,
5130 Fort Apache Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89148,
RYAN ASHLOCK,
711 S. Spruce Cir.
Gardner, KS 66030-1632,

JOSEPH RANDALL BIGGS, 114 Camino Cir.
Ormond Beach, FL 32174,
MARC ANTHONY BRU,
10013 NE Hazel Dell Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98685-5203,
THOMAS EDWARD CALDWELL, 274 Wadesville Rd.
Berryville, VA 22611,
WILLIAM CHRESTMAN, 16393 S. Sunset St.
Olathe, KS 66062-2707,

Case No. 1:21-cv-03267
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

SOURCE : https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/Final%20Amended%20Jan.%206%20Complaint%20AS%20FILED.pdf


C.) SOURCE : https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/january-6-clearinghouse-government-memorandum-detention-edward-vallejo-january-18-2022.pdf

https://youtu.be/kZ98MoR2tXo

Chapter 115 - TREASON, SEDITION, AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES

SOURCE : https://casetext.com/statute/united-states-code/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-procedure/part-i-crimes/chapter-115-treason-sedition-and-subversive-activities

Federal Criminal Law: January 6, 2021, Unrest at the Capitol

SOURCE : https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title18/part1/chapter115&edition=prelim


18 U.S.C. 2385 - Advocating overthrow of Government

SOURCE : https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title18/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap115-sec2385


Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States or the government of any State, Territory, District or Possession thereof, or the government of any political subdivision therein, by force or violence, or by the assassination of any officer of any such government; or

Whoever, with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any such government, prints, publishes, edits, issues, circulates, sells, distributes, or publicly displays any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence, or attempts to do so; or
Whoever organizes or helps or attempts to organize any society, group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the overthrow or destruction of any such government by force or violence; or becomes or is a member of, or affiliates with, any such society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the purposes thereof—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.

If two or more persons conspire to commit any offense named in this section, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.

As used in this section, the terms “organizes” and “organize”, with respect to any society, group, or assembly of persons, include the recruiting of new members, the forming of new units, and the regrouping or expansion of existing clubs, classes, and other units of such society, group, or assembly of persons.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 808; July 24, 1956, ch. 678, § 2, 70 Stat. 623; Pub. L. 87–486, June 19, 1962, 76 Stat. 103; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(N), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)

SOURCE : https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10564


Treason, Sedition, And Subversive Activities

* 2383 – Rebellion or insurrection. Inciting or assisting a rebellion against the United States, or giving comfort to those who insight an insurrection, can be imprisoned for up to 10 years under this statute.

* § 2384 – Seditious conspiracy. If two or more people in the U.S. conspire to overthrow, destroy, or oppose the U.S. government by force or to prevent the application of the law or to take property of the U.S. contrary to its authority, they can be imprisoned for up to 20 years.

* § 2385 – Advocating overthrow of Government. Knowingly and willfully advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government or the government of any states or territories can result in a fine and up to 20 years of imprisonment. Organizing groups to overthrow the government or circulating materials aimed at overthrowing the government can also result in charges under this statute, as can conspiring to commit any of the offenses listed in 18 U.S. Code section 2385.

SOURCE : https://law.justia.com/codes/us/2012/title-18/part-i/chapter-115/section-2384


Treason Clause

SOURCE : https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/articles/article-iii/clauses/39