As the FBI raided Donald Trump’s Florida residence, legal experts are weighing in to discuss the possible consequences of the raid.
A former lawyer of Hillary Clinton’s campaign believes Trump can be barred from running for the presidency if the FBI finds any classified documents in his possession.
While Trump has not made any formal announcement to seek reelection, he is likely to announce his 2024 elections plan anytime soon.
Disqualified From Holding the Presidency Again?
Marc Elias, a former lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 and John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, took to Twitter to describe the possible impacts of the FBI’s raid on Trump’s house.
Elias cited the U.S. Code Title 18, Section 2071, according to which any individual who is “willfully” involved in concealing any classified document, book, maps, papers, or official proceedings can be fined and imprisoned.
Likewise, the person involved in such an act will be “disqualified” from holding any office in the United States.
The media is missing the really, really big reason why the raid today is a potential blockbuster in American politics.👇 pic.twitter.com/3BdI9NA9Az
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) August 9, 2022
Calling the raid a “potential blockbuster in American politics,” Elias also urged the media to discuss this aspect of the FBI’s raid.
Elias acknowledged the application of this law to a former president could be relatively different compared to any other individual.
However, he stated challenging the qualification of a presidential nominee during his campaign will still be an unprecedented thing in American politics.
NARA Colluded With DOJ to Raid Trump’s House
Former presidents are supposed to deal with the official records in compliance with the Presidential Records Act of 1978.
According to this act, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) takes control of the presidential records once a president leaves the White House.
Likewise, any president, during his White House term, can only destroy those records which are of no importance, as determined by the archivist.
Trump Can be Disqualified from Running for Office If He’s Found to Have Illegally Taken Classified Documents
— PoliticsVideoChannel (@politvidchannel) August 9, 2022
Last year, the NARA found out Trump did not return all the classified documents before leaving the White House.
Some missing documents included a part of Trump’s communication with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and an official map of Hurricane Dorian, which Trump altered using a black sharpie.
After months of negotiations with Trump’s lawyers, NARA recovered 15 boxes of Trump’s White House records in January this year.
NARA insisted that some items of Trump’s White House were still missing, adding the former president took a significant number of records before leaving the White House.
While some destroyed documents were taped back, the White House officials were unable to reconstruct all the documents, NARA added.
In February this year, the NARA asked the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s handling of classified information, which is supposed to be preserved under the law.
As the federal investigators failed to retrieve more classified documents from Trump, the FBI raided his residence at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. This is the first time in American history that a residence of a former president has been raided as part of a criminal investigation.
This article appeared in Right Wing Insider and has been published here with permission.
