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The ABCs (and Provisions e, f, and g) of the Espionage Act - emptywheel
The CFR guidelines regarding standards for storing classified information not only dictate what type of lock one must used, but it also requires that someone inspect the Secret information stored in non-compliant closets every 4 hours, which may be why DOJ subpoenaed Trump for his surveillance...
www.emptywheel.net
When Donald Trump wrote the Acting Archivist to give Kash Patel and John Solomon access to what they have since claimed were his Presidential Archives, he made a point of emphasizing that neither had been convicted of the crime that would disqualify them from accessing the records archived in official government archives at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue and elsewhere: “a crime that involves reviewing, retaining, removing, or destroying NARA records.”
That is, as far as we know, true. Neither has been convicted of a crime specifically involving access to the Archives.Both individuals meet the requirements for access to records under 36 C.F.R. § 1270.44(a)(4).
But Solomon has long been publicly implicated in an investigation into a Dmitry Firtash-linked attempt to funnel Trump Russian-provided dirt. And The Hill’s review of his work included many details that might allow DOJ to treat him as something other than a journalist in that investigation.
As for Kash, at least in April 2021, he was reportedly under investigation for leaking classified information, something that might have led the government to strip his clearance if they hadn’t already.
Both would be wildly inappropriate people to give preferential access to Trump’s Presidential archives. But they nevertheless would qualify under statute.
But Trump wasn’t writing to give Kash and Solomon access to his Archives. His letter explicitly stated he was giving them access to, “Presidential records of my administration.” A week ago, the FBI carted away 27 boxes of “Presidential records of [Trump’s] administration” that had not been properly turned over to the custody of the Archives for safe keeping.
Those details from Trump’s letter, plus new reporting on the events of June, adds to the possibly that this letter was an attempt to retroactively justify access to classified records that, in addition to documents pertaining to the Russian investigation, also likely included even more sensitive documents.