Among the many bizarre features of the Trump documents case is the relationship between former presidents and the National Archives. The Presidential Records Act (1978) is the defining statute. It’s entirely civil, not criminal, in nature. Disagreements between former presidents and the Archives are to be settled in civil court, and case law makes clear presidents have the sole power to declassify, though there is no universal procedure for such declassification.  The Supreme Court has dealt with the issue: 

The Supreme Court determined in its 1988 decision on Department of the Navy v. Egan that the president’s power over classified information comes from executive authority granted by Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which says, in part, that the “President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.”

“His authority to classify and control access to information bearing on national security and to determine whether an individual is sufficiently trustworthy to occupy a position in the Executive Branch that will give that person access to such information flows primarily from this constitutional investment of power in the President, and exists quite apart from any explicit congressional grant,” the Supreme Court decision reads.

Now at PJ Media, Matt Margolis reports on additional documents Judge Cannon has unsealed, documents the unconstitutionally appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith very much wanted to keep hidden:

Investigative journalist Julie Kelly found something interesting in the documents that could change everything. The first thing is testimony from an FBI agent who testified that the General Services Administration (GSA) had been in possession of Trump's boxes in Virginia before ordering Trump's team to come get them.

Graphic: X Screenshot

"So an entire pallet full of boxes that had been held by GSA somewhere outside of DC is dumped at Mar-a-Lago," Kelly notes. "Apparently these are the boxes that ended up containing papers with 'classified markings.'"

Apparently, somehow boxes in the possession of the GSA in Virginia turned up at Mar-A-Lago when the GSA told Trump’s team to pick them up. The article is not clear whether this happened before or after Trump left the White House, but considering Trump’s attorneys were in continuous negotiations with the National Archives, and considering Trump allowed the FBI unfettered access to everything he had before the raid on Mar-A-Lago, raises disturbing questions.

This development is significant because Trump has previously blamed the GSA for packing the boxes that contained the classified documents, only to later accuse Trump of essentially stealing them and using that as pretext for sending the FBI to raid his Mar-a-Lago home in August 2022.

Commenting on Kelly’s tweet, Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton noted “it was a set-up from the git-go.”

While this may not prove the Biden administration set up Trump in the classified documents case, considering the way the Biden administration has abused the legal system against Trump, no one can confidently say they wouldn't.

No kidding.

There are a number of obvious, and disturbing, questions raised by this revelation. Why would the GSA tell Trump’s people to take the boxes if the government/National Archives were so determined that Trump take virtually nothing with him when he left office, and were equally determined to retrieve everything he did take? Didn’t the GSA communicate with the Archives? Didn’t either organization inventory the contents of those boxes, and if so, why would they knowingly allow classified materials to get out of their hands? Was this an attempt they never expected to be revealed to plant evidence on Trump? Did the GSA/Archives coordinate this with the FBI? What did the FBI know and when did it know it?

Virtually every former president has taken records, including classified records, when they left office. None, prior to Donald Trump, had ever been prosecuted. Considering Joe Biden, who never had the authority to retain classified information, kept such information in multiple unsecured places, including his garage(?!) for more than 30 years, these, and more, questions must be answered. Thanks to the Hur report, we know Biden allowed others access to classified materials, yet he won't be prosecuted because he's too old and demented to be convicted but not to hold the highest office in the land. There is no evidence Trump ever allowed any ineligible person access to documents, all of which were continuously guarded by the Secret Service.

I suspect no one will be surprised if it turns out Donald Trump was set up. It would merely be part of continuing attempts to destroy him, and establish a tyranny of the majority begun before he announced his campaign for the presidency.

In the meantime, lawfare designed to deny Americans their choice for POTUS continues.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.