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The Epoch Times Profile picture
@EpochTimes
Jun 12, 2023 • 25 tweets • 15 min read • Read on X
News Analysis🧵THREAD theepochtimes.com/analysis-analy…

On June 9, 2023, special counsel #JackSmith unveiled a 38-count indictment of former President Trump and Waltine Nauta, a personal valet who works at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The first 31 counts relate to Trump alone and involve… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Espionage Act Charges

Trump is charged with having retained and not returned 31 separate documents containing, among others, information allegedly “concerning nuclear capabilities of a foreign country” and information “concerning military contingency planning of the United… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
A short transcript of the conversation is cited by Smith and suggests that Trump shared military information with the author because he wanted to debunk public claims made by a senior military official against Trump. That official is reported to be Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
In a second instance of sharing national defense information, Smith alleges that in August or September 2021, Trump showed a classified map concerning an ongoing conflict in a foreign country to a representative of his political action committee.

The representative is not named… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
While these 2 incidents look very bad for Trump, there is no concrete evidence that Trump showed the parties involved actual national defense information as opposed to just boasting.

That said, Smith does not appear to have included the incidents in the indictment for legal… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
It is also noteworthy that Smith did not charge Trump under the Presidential Records Act (PRA), nor did he cite the PRA, which requires that presidential records be turned over to the @USNatArchives at the end of a presidential administration.

Trump is alleged to have taken… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
A point that has been largely overlooked is that the grand jury subpoena was for documents with “classification markings,” meaning that the actual classification status was irrelevant to what the subpoena sought. theepochtimes.com/trump-lawyer-m…

This appears to have been a very… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
While Trump may have defenses for the Espionage Act charges—for instance, by claiming that certain documents did not need to be returned under the PRA, that he was authorized to have the documents, or that @USNatArchives itself was involved in packing boxes at the White House… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
As if to underscore this point, #JackSmith has not charged Trump with any wrongdoing for the timeframe before the grand jury subpoena was issued on May 11, 2022.

Although we do not know what would have happened had Trump complied with @USNatArchives’s request and returned all… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Alleged Process Crimes

The most serious legal jeopardy Trump faces relates to alleged process crimes in connection with the grand jury subpoena. Process crimes are crimes against the judicial process, as opposed to underlying crimes.

Put another way, the process crimes are… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Specifically, Trump and his valet, Nauta, are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, a scheme to conceal, and making false statements.

Because… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
According to #JackSmith, 2 lawyers for Trump, including Evan Corcoran, told Trump on May 23, 2022, that in order to comply with the subpoena, they would need to search all of the boxes sent to Mar-a-Lago from the White House.

According to Smith’s indictment, Trump allegedly… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
#JackSmith’s theory is that Trump removed boxes from the storage room so that Corcoran could not search them and so that relevant documents would never be returned to @USNatArchives.

Smith claims that a total of 64 boxes were moved from the storage room to Trump’s residence but… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Subpoena Certification

While it was Corcoran that conducted the search, he did not sign the subpoena certification himself. A subpoena certification is meant to certify that a subpoena has been complied with. Instead, Corcoran asked another lawyer for Trump, Christina Bobb, to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Specifically, Bobb attested to the fact that “A diligent search was conducted of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Florida” when, according to Smith, some of those boxes were never searched as they had been moved to Trump’s residence.

Bobb’s claim that “Any and… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Consequently, #JackSmith has now charged Trump with various concealment offenses with respect to moving the boxes around, as well as with lying to the grand jury and the #FBI because he allegedly knew that the certification signed by Bobb was untrue.

According to Smith, “Trump… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
As for Nauta’s role in the alleged concealment, it is not clear from the indictment how or why Nauta would have known about the grand jury subpoena or the incorrect subpoena certification.

But based on the final count of the indictment, which accuses Nauta of lying to the #FBI… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Trump is in an arguably better position than Nauta, as he can, and probably will, blame his attorneys.

Unlike Nauta, Trump did not speak to the FBI himself. Trump could argue that his lawyers handled the entire matter and that he did not know what the subpoena demanded, nor what… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Trump could further argue, as he appears to have already done on Fox News, that he had the right to look through the boxes that were under subpoena.

He could, for instance, say that he was merely recovering personal items and that he did not remove any… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Trump could claim that Corcoran never explained the parameters of the subpoena and that it was Corcoran’s task to conduct a diligent search, not Trump’s.

Similarly, he could argue that Corcoran should not have caused the certification to be signed by Bobb without searching other… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
We do not know what Corcoran will do. He might take all the blame himself or he could agree with #JackSmith that he was misled by Trump.

Ultimately, Trump’s fate with respect to the alleged process crimes appears to hinge on what Corcoran will tell the jury and whether the jury… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
What is indisputable is that Trump is in real legal jeopardy. theepochtimes.com/analysis-analy…

Unlike the flimsy charges brought by @ManhattanDA Alvin Brag in April, the charges brought by #JackSmith are serious and appear to be backed by ample documentary evidence.

There is also the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
While these events have now placed @realDonaldTrump in legal peril, it should be borne in mind that no official has ever been pursued with the same zeal as Trump.

For instance, it wasn’t until years after he left the office of the vice president that @USNatArchives became… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Similarly, no action was ever taken against former Secretary of State @HillaryClinton despite the fact that a trove of documents with classification markings was found on her private email server.

At the time, then-FBI Director @Comey infamously claimed… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
/END/

The Legal Analysis of the Trump Indictment is the topic of an episode of “Truth Over News” that will air on @EpochTV on June 14, 2023.

theepochtimes.com/c-truth-over-n… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image

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More from @EpochTimes

The Epoch Times Profile picture
Apr 3
🚨 CCP Targets Shen Yun, NYT Coverage Raises Questions

“Two years ago, we learned the CCP planned to escalate its war on us in America. Now, we’re facing legal weaponization, media smears, and threats to bomb, shoot, and rape our performers.”
— Shen Yun VP Ying Chen

🧵A ThreadImage
Sabotage Campaign. Shen Yun Performing Arts is facing mounting challenges. Recent incidents include bomb threats, sabotage such as tire-slashing, and a wave of disinformation aimed at disrupting its global performances. Evidence points to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the driving force behind these efforts. Meanwhile, the New York Times’ reporting on the group has drawn scrutiny for its alignment with Beijing’s narrative—here’s what’s happening to the U.S.-based arts group.Image
Global Tours. Shen Yun tours the world to top theaters to showcase China’s true cultural heritage through classical Chinese dance and music—traditions the CCP has tried to erase for decades. Its popularity has made it a target for attack on U.S. soil and around the world.
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The Epoch Times Profile picture
Mar 29
Thread 🧵- 20 Most Beautiful Castles in the World

1/20 Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany
Ludwig II’s 1868 vision—a Gothic dream echoing Wagner’s operas, a testament to romantic ideals.https://pixabay.com/photos/architecture-neuschwanstein-castle-3095716/
2/20 Château de Chambord, France
A Renaissance marvel by Francis I—grandeur in stone, reflecting the Loire’s golden age.https://pixabay.com/photos/chateau-loire-chambord-france-4438648/
3/20 Himeji Castle, Japan
White Heron Castle—Japan’s feudal elegance preserved, a UNESCO treasure of serenity.https://pixabay.com/photos/heritage-japan-castle-himeji-white-5430081/
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The Epoch Times Profile picture
Mar 25
THREAD 🧵
Corruption is an “endemic feature” of China under communist rule due to the opaque political system in the party-state and the lack of checks and balances, according to a recent U.S. intelligence report. Image
The report, released on March 20 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), states that bribery increases “an official’s legal earnings by four to six times.”

It also reported that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping and his family had amassed more than $1 billion in wealth as of 2012.

Since Xi assumed power in 2012, information on corruption among CCP officials has been more challenging to obtain, the report said, adding that Xi’s family is known to have held at least millions in financial investments as of last year.

Link to report: dni.gov/files/ODNI/doc…Image
The Intelligence Authorization Act of 2023 required the ODNI to produce an unclassified report for the general public on the wealth and corruption of senior CCP leaders. Marco Rubio, currently U.S. secretary of state, inserted that requirement into the bill when he was vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

intelligence.senate.gov/legislation/in…Image
Read 9 tweets
The Epoch Times Profile picture
Mar 24
THREAD 🧵
British chat forums are shutting themselves down rather than face regulatory burdens recently applied to internet policing laws.

On March 17, the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act, a law that regulates internet spaces, officially kicked into force.

The law means that online platforms must immediately start putting in place measures to protect people in the UK from criminal activity with far-reaching implications for the internet.

However, for some forums—from cyclists, hobbyists, and hamster owners, to divorced father support and more—the regulatory pressure is proving too much, and its myriad of rules are causing chat forums that have been operating for decades, in some cases, to call it a day.

Conservative Peer Lord Daniel Moylan told The Epoch Times by email that “common sense suggests the sites least likely to survive will be hobby sites, community sites, and the like.”Image
‘Small But Risky Services’

The Act—which was celebrated as the world-first online safety law—was designed to ensure that tech companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users.

For example, social media platforms, including user-to-user service providers, have the duty to proactively police harmful illegal content such as revenge and extreme pornography, sex trafficking, harassment, coercive or controlling behavior, and cyberstalking.

But what the government calls “small but risky services” which are often forums, have to submit illegal harms risk assessments to the Online Safety Act’s regulator, Ofcom, by March 31.

Ofcom first published its illegal harm codes of practice and guidance in December 2024 and had given providers three months to carry out the assignment.Riverside House is seen along the waterfront on Bankside in London on July 27, 2010. It houses the United Kingdom’s Office of Communications. Jim Linwood/Flickr, CC BY 2.0
It was given powers under the law and warned that those who fail to do so may face enforcement action.

“We have strong enforcement powers at our disposal, including being able to issue fines of up to 10 percent of turnover or £18 million ($23 million)—whichever is greater—or to apply to a court to block a site in the UK in the most serious cases,” said Ofcom.

Some of the rules for owners of these sites—which are often operated by individuals —include keeping written records of their risk assessments, detailing levels of risk, and assessing the “nature and severity of potential harm to individuals.”

While terrorism and child sexual exploitation may be more straightforward to assess and mitigate, offenses such as coercive and controlling behavior and hate offenses are more challenging to manage with forums that have thousands of users.Image
Read 7 tweets
The Epoch Times Profile picture
Mar 21
THREAD 🧵 Does gaming change the brain?

Gamers total 71 percent of the U.S. population and, on average, spend at least one month per year gaming. How does this affect emotions, cognition, and senses?

Research from over 90 medical reports highlights the impact on 15+ parts of the brain, as shown in this infographic:Image
From the Atari 2600 to the PS5, from Zelda to Fortnight, from mobile app games to gaming PCs, billions of players worldwide engage in gaming.

First, here's a quick breakdown of game design.

Game design incorporates three major strategies to keep players hooked: Image
1. Game Juice
The color, touch, and sound effects that are designed to sync with the brain’s inherent set of rules give players a rewarding sense of control over in-game changes, tricking the brain into perceiving the game world as both real and charming. Image
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The Epoch Times Profile picture
Mar 18
Looking back: As the JFK files are being released, here’s a dive into some of our relevant stories on JFK, in a thread 🧵. Image
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theepochtim.es/23c49xRuth Paine in front of her apartment at the Friend’s House in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Nov. 22, 2022. Courtesy of Orlean Koehle
A personal journey of investigating what really happened in Dallas and the surprising road it went down.
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