Ryan Goodman Profile picture
Sep 29, 2022 12 tweets 8 min read Read on X
We compiled every DOJ doc, Trump legal brief, DJT social media post and news report for this.

Tracker: Evidence of Trump's Knowledge, Involvement in Retaining #MarALago Docs

The bulleted list of key findings is alone strong evidence for a prosecution.👇
justsecurity.org/83034/tracker-… Image
2. Exhibit one

Trump staff tell FBI "Trump was a pack rat who had been personally overseeing his collection of White House records since even before leaving Washington and had been reluctant to return anything."

via @jdawsey1 @CarolLeonnig @JaxAlemany @PostRoz Image
3. Exhibit two

Former Trump WH lawyer Herschmann warned Trump late 2021 he "could face legal liability if he did not return government materials he had taken with him when he left office"..."particularly any classified material."

Trump's response: "noncommittal"

via @maggieNYT Image
4. Exhibit three

"Trump went through the boxes himself in late 2021"

via @maggieNYT @jodikantor @adamgoldmanNYT Ben Protess Image
5. Exhibit four

In returning some documents to National Archives in January 2022, "Trump had overseen the packing process himself with great secrecy, declining to show some items even to top aides."

via @washingtonpost and @PostRoz Image
6. Exhibit five

"'It’s not theirs; it’s mine,’ several advisers say Mr. Trump told them.”

via @maggieNYT

"He reacted with a familiar mix of obstinance and outrage, causing some in his orbit to fear he was essentially daring the FBI to come after him."

via @jdawsey1 et al ImageImage
7. Exhibit six

Trump's attorney told DOJ "Trump had authorized him" to allow DOJ to see storage room (after DOJ asked) "but they were explicitly prohibited from opening any of the approximately fifty to fifty-five boxes that they observed."

via DOJ filing Image
8. Exhibit seven

Trump's cooperating with Archives, FBI broke down after Tom Fitton began advising he was wrong to return documents in January and should not give up any additional records.

Trump asked Fitton to brief his attorneys.

via @GabbyOrr_ @KristenhCNN @evanperez Image
9. Exhibit eight

Trump's self-incriminating admissions on Truth Social

Several of them.👇 Image
10. Exhibit nine

"What we are talking about here, in the main, are Presidential records in the hands of the 45th President."

via Trump attorney Christopher Kise*

*Yes, those are the words of Trump's own lawyer before a federal court. Image
11. Exhibit ten

Enormous quantity, explosive content (e.g., intel on foreign country's military nuclear program), location of documents with classified markings (including intermingled with personal belongings).

Here's a comprehensive accounting.👇
justsecurity.org/83034/tracker-… Image
12. Exhibit eleven

National Archives, Department of Justice Chief of Counterintelligence, and Congress repeatedly place Trump on notice of illegality in retaining the documents.

Repeatedly.

<end>
justsecurity.org/83034/tracker-…

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More from @rgoodlaw

Jun 25
"Katie Phang ... brings this action against Todd Blanche ... claiming that he has improperly withheld information and failed to comply with other requirements in violation of the Epstein Act."

"[T]he Court GRANTS Ms. Phang’s motion."

1/🧵 Image
2/ "Ms. Phang identifies five categories of violations of the Epstein Act."

[See 5 in screenshot below.]

"The Attorney General does not respond substantively to any of these arguments."

"Accordingly, Ms. Phang is likely to succeed on the
merits." Image
3/ Corresponding to the five categories, Judge Sullivan states it is "ORDERED that by no later than July 2, 2026, the Attorney General shall" produce the documents or show cause. Image
Read 4 tweets
May 28
🚨Hegseth's Department of War opens up new military campaign in new country: Guatemala

Stephen Miller holds bimonthly "body counts" meetings

Great reporting by Maria Abi-Habib (@Abihabib) and Eric Schmitt (@EricSchmittNYT)
1/🧵 Image
2/ "Guatemala has agreed to carry out joint strikes with the United States military inside its territory to target drug trafficking groups"

President Arévalo "agreed to both airstrikes and other military action in a call with" Hegseth.

Gift link: nytimes.com/2026/05/28/wor…
3/ "Mr. Miller chairs a bimonthly meeting — called a 'wins' meeting — at which various government agencies report on recent successes, with the Pentagon’s death toll from boat strikes regularly highlighted as one of the biggest."
Read 6 tweets
Apr 17
OMG

Kash Patel a drunken national security threat

"Meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled for later in the day as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights."

"A request for 'breaching equipment'...was made last year because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors." Image
2/ How long has the White House known this and let Patel keep his job?

How long has Todd Blanche known this?

theatlantic.com/politics/2026/…
3/ Seems to have been widely known.

Sourcing: "six current and former officials and others familiar"
Read 5 tweets
Apr 11
Pete Hegseth's Defense Dept appears to be caught in a lie.

It involves deaths of 21 people (including at least 5 children), injuring 110 in Lamerd, Iran with sports hall and school.

By a U.S. missile (PrSM) never before used in combat.

NYT sources include: 3 US officials!

1/ Image
2/

Gift link to NYT article: nytimes.com/2026/04/10/wor…

Expert backgrounder on the PrSM and U.S. weapons review: justsecurity.org/135490/precisi…

Hegseth's Defense Department's flat denial from March 31 (now appears to be provably false)⤵️ Image
3/ BBC also fact checked the DoD's denial:

Six experts "all commented independently ... citing the missile's visual features, the way it exploded, its trajectory and the number of strikes in the area."

@MerlynThomas @Shayan86 @jalalisarah

bbc.com/news/articles/…
Read 5 tweets
Apr 9
Wow

Ceasefire agreement did include Lebanon.

Trump: "agreed that included Lebanon."

Mediators: "believed the ceasefire to include Lebanon."

Pakistan announced it included Lebanon.

"However, the US position shifted following a phone call between Netanyahu and Mr. Trump."

1/ Image
3/ This reporting (Lebanon was, indeed, part of the ceasefire agreement) makes JD Vance's awful statement below even worse.

The kind of ugly statement that can undermine diplomacy and is even more egregious if Vance's statement on Lebanon was false:

Read 4 tweets
Apr 2
With Todd Blanche taking over the Justice Department.

There will and should be a sharp focus on his gross mishandling/coverup of the Epstein files and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Also do a search for "Deputy Attorney General" to see patterns of misconduct.

justsecurity.org/120547/presump…
2/ Read for yourself:

After outrageous letter by Blanche and Bondi, Judge Novak (Trump appointee) wrote:

“The Court finds it inconceivable that the Department of Justice, which holds a duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States — even those with which it may have disagreement — would repeatedly ignore court orders, while simultaneously prosecuting citizens for breaking the law."

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
3/ After Blanche's chief of staff violated a court order in Mangioni case, federal judge wrote:

“The Government is also directed to advise the Deputy Attorney General, for dissemination within the Department as appropriate, that future violations may result in sanctions, which could include personal financial penalties, contempt of court findings, or relief specific to the prosecution.”

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Read 4 tweets

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