We now have new reports that not only did Trump illegally tear up many of the documents that came across his desk, he also created “burn bags” where official documents could be completely obliterated and destroyed.
Former president Donald Trump tore up "hundreds" of White House records during his administration — in clear violation of federal law — despite "multiple admonishments," the Washington Post reported Saturday.
"The documents included briefings and schedules, articles and letters, memos both sensitive and mundane," the Post reported. "He ripped paper into quarters with two big, clean strokes — or occasionally more vigorously, into smaller scraps. He left the detritus on his desk in the Oval Office, in the trash can of his private West Wing study and on the floor aboard Air Force One, among many other places. And he did it all in violation of the Presidential Records Act, despite being urged by at least two chiefs of staff and the White House counsel to follow the law on preserving documents."
Trump's practice of destroying official documents — which has long since been reported — made headlines again this week after the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection received records from the National Archives that appeared to have been taped back together.
"Interviews with 11 former Trump staffers, associates and others familiar with the habit reveal that Trump’s shredding of paper was far more widespread and indiscriminate than previously known and — despite multiple admonishments — extended throughout his presidency, resulting in special practices to deal with the torn fragments," the Post reported Saturday.
But wait it gets worse.
Continued:
Trump's team reportedly implemented protocols to deal with the torn records, which involved "jigsawing the documents back together with clear tape."
"It is unclear how many records were lost or permanently destroyed through Trump’s ripping routine, as well as what consequences, if any, he might face. Hundreds of documents, if not more, were likely torn up, those familiar with the practice say," according to the newspaper.
"One senior Trump White House official said he and other White House staffers frequently put documents into 'burn bags' to be destroyed, rather than preserving them, and would decide themselves what should be saved and what should be burned," the Post reported. "When the Jan. 6 committee asked for certain documents related to Trump’s efforts to pressure Vice President Mike Pence, for example, some of them no longer existed in this person’s files because they had already been shredded, said someone familiar with the request."
Tearing up documents that can be pieced back together is one thing, completely destroying them is something else altogether.
Also, it's really really illegal.
18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
(a)
Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
(b)
Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.
So this is bad. Real bad. Real real bad.
Trump apparently picked up this habit of ripping up the documents he’s read partially so that he would know what he’s already read and what he hasn't and also because he learned from being sued so many times that keeping documents that record is skeevy activities was a legal liability. Trump had a habit of destroying documents and even emails that were under subpoena.
Over the course of decades, Donald Trump's companies have systematically destroyed or hidden thousands of emails, digital records and paper documents demanded in official proceedings, often in defiance of court orders. These tactics—exposed by a Newsweek review of thousands of pages of court filings, judicial orders and affidavits from an array of court cases—have enraged judges, prosecutors, opposing lawyers and the many ordinary citizens entangled in litigation with Trump. In each instance, Trump and entities he controlled also erected numerous hurdles that made lawsuits drag on for years, forcing courtroom opponents to spend huge sums of money in legal fees as they struggled—sometimes in vain—to obtain records.
This behavior is of particular import given Trump's frequent condemnations of Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, for having deleted more than 30,000 emails from a server she used during her time as secretary of state. While Clinton and her lawyers have said all of those emails were personal, Trump has suggested repeatedly on the campaign trail that they were government documents Clinton was trying to hide and that destroying them constituted a crime. The allegation—which the FBI concluded was not supported by any evidence—is a crowd-pleaser at Trump rallies, often greeted by supporters chanting, "Lock her up!"
Trump's use of deception and untruthful affidavits, as well as the hiding or improper destruction of documents, dates back to at least 1973, when the Republican nominee, his father and their real estate company battled the federal government over civil charges that they refused to rent apartments to African-Americans. The Trump strategy was simple: deny, impede and delay, while destroying documents the court had ordered them to hand over.
Shortly after the government filed its case in October, Trump attacked: He falsely declared to reporters that the feds had no evidence he and his father discriminated against minorities, but instead were attempting to force them to lease to welfare recipients who couldn't pay their rent.
Just as racist then as he is now. And also a repeated and unrepentant criminal.
LOCK HIM UP.