Donald Trump faced criticism and backlash from legal experts and critics after he made false claims about a law granting presidents the unrestricted right to take any documents upon leaving office.
Speaking at the Turning Point Action Conference in Florida, on July 16, the former president defended himself against an Espionage Act indictment related to classified documents taken from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump asserted that there was a law allowing presidents to take whatever documents they choose, insisting it was passed and signed, but legal experts quickly refuted this claim.
Laurence Tribe, a legal scholar, and Harvard professor emeritus, stated unequivocally that no such law exists. National security attorney Bradley P Moss dismissed Trump’s argument as an illegitimate political talking point that would fail in court.
This was not the first time Trump made such claims; he previously argued that a departing president had the absolute right to keep or return documents to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
However, legal experts pointed out that the Presidential Records Act, which Trump cited, actually mandates the transfer of records to NARA at the end of a presidential term.
Trump’s assertion that he could take any documents due to a standing order to automatically declassify them was also discredited.
Numerous high-ranking members of his administration, federal agencies, and even his own statements on a CNN-obtained 2021 tape contradicted this claim. The online response to Trump’s latest fabrication ranged from criticism to ridicule.
In summary, legal experts and critics condemned Donald Trump for fabricating a law that would grant presidents the unrestricted right to take any documents upon leaving office.
They emphasized that such a law does not exist and pointed to existing legislation, like the Presidential Records Act, which contradicts Trump’s claims.
Trump’s repeated false assertions have been debunked by legal experts and undermined by his own administration’s members and statements.