DONALD TRUMP SAID he “absolutely” plans to testify in the federal government’s case against him regarding classified documents he removed from the White House. “I’m allowed to do whatever I want … I’m allowed to do everything I did,” the former president told conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt.

In an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that dropped Wednesday, the host asked Trump, “Did you direct anyone to move the boxes, Mr. President? Did you tell anyone to move the boxes?” referring to the boxes of more than 300 classified documents the federal government seized last year from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

“I don’t talk about anything. You know why? Because I’m allowed to do whatever I want. I come under the Presidential Records Act,” Trump replied, while also taking a quick detour to bash Hewitt. “I’m not telling you. You know, every time I talk to you, ‘Oh, I have a breaking story.’ You don’t have any story. I come under the Presidential Records Act. I’m allowed to do everything I did.”

  • MrBusinessMan@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    38
    ·
    1 year ago

    That’s true. A president can do whatever he wants , it’s called diplomatic immunity. Every president has it, which is why none of them have ever been tried for a crime before.

    • OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      16
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s not how diplomatic immunity works. It’s to protect them in a foreign country while they’re there. So a diplomat stationed in France can’t be tried by the French authorities. It has nothing to do with being brought up on charges in their home country, and definitely doesn’t mean they can do whatever they want.

    • SCB@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      That is very much not what diplomatic immunity is.

      Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are not subject to the jurisdiction of local courts and other authorities for both their official and, to a large extent, their personal activities.

      It’s to protect diplomats from specific laws within the nations in which they serve (often religious laws).

      • MrBusinessMan@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        16
        ·
        1 year ago

        You’re trying to tell me that no president ever did a little oopsie until trump? That’s patently ridiculous, they must have immunity or else one of them would have got in some kind of trouble. Did Jackson go to jail for doing trail of tears? No? But Trump takes a couple sheets of paper home to read on the toilet and you want to put him in jail? It’s a clear partisan bias.

    • httpjames@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      1 year ago

      The Presidential Records Act requires that all presidential records be transferred into the custody of the National Archives at the end of the administration.

      • MrBusinessMan@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        18
        ·
        1 year ago

        That doesn’t make it a crime to keep a few papers as a souvenir. Biden did the same thing btw he kept souvenir papers in the garage with his cool car. They all do it.

        • GreenBottles@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          10
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          yes it does make it a crime 100%, that’s the whole reason Trump’s being charged with stealing classified documents because it violates the presidential records act that’s how this shit works

          • MrBusinessMan@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            5
            ·
            1 year ago

            Nope, sorry losers and haters but Trump did nothing wrong at all. He got impeached for making a perfect phone call and now this? Charged for reading a few papers on the toilet? Too bad he’s gonna beat the rap and win the presidency again

    • Akasazh@feddit.nl
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      He doesn’t need you to be his lawyer. It’s not internet discussions that will prover if someone did anything outside of the law.

      If Trump was just a bit more clever he could have saved himself a lot of trouble by just complying with the request of giving the stuff back.

      • MrBusinessMan@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        7
        ·
        1 year ago

        It’s not possible for a president to do a crime and get in trouble for it, it’s never happened before in the history of presidents!

        • ArtyTester@artemis.camp
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 year ago

          Maybe it needs to happen more.

          The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.

        • Akasazh@feddit.nl
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          If it never happened before is not a guarantee it won’t happen in the future. Trump is a first in very many ways. If he had any bit of restraint in him he would have gotten away with it. He’s just the first ex president to be stubborn enough to not stop doing illegal things after leaving the office.

            • Akasazh@feddit.nl
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Not really, just the one that doesn’t know when to stop or moderate. Nixon could have been imprisoned, but knew when to bind in and tap out. Only your Orange idol is as thick that he thinks he’s forever above the law.

            • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              All of who? All the ex-presidents?

              But you wouldn’t have to do that would you, because none of them have been convicted of a crime. Probably because they’re too smart to get caught on like some people.

              The fact that Trump is the world’s biggest idiot is a big reason why he’s the first President ever put on trial. But that’s on him.