Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

When news surfaced that former president, Donald Trump had taken records from the White House to his Florida Mar-a-Lago residence, people were shocked because no other president had done that before. Anything that is “a part” of the president’s correspondence as it applies to his official duties, is not to leave Washington. There is a law called The President’s Records Act in place to ensure that a president doesn’t take anything with him that is designated to be placed in the National Archives. It would appear that Trump as president, completely ignored the protocols when it came to “caring for” important documents, as it is alleged that he routinely tore documents into threads after he read them. Media reports say that Trump would tear up documents and strow them on the floor as if those documents were yesterday news. The National Archives is on record as telling the media that documents it retrieved, had to be taped back together. Trump, for his part, hasn’t claimed ignorance because The National Archives makes sure that every incoming administration is trained on how to handle such information. However, Trump since the moment he was sworn in, did things his way, not even understanding the privilege of what it means to be the president of the United States. Trump loves power and instead of respecting that power, he wielded it as if he was still in his offices in Trump Towers. He did things his way and had a devoted following as a businessman and television personality, that some will say that he never saw himself as a traditional politician. Trump is not the first president who tried to keep some communications and meetings private according to media reports, but Trump has gone to great lengths to keep some things to himself that may prove to be detrimental in the future. That’s what the National Archives is trying to find out.

The Archives had requested the Dept. of Justice investigate the matter, as Trump is alleged to have taken at least 15 boxes of material that is highly questionable to be found at his Florida home. What will DOJ do is an open question. Many around the nation are angry that AG Merrick Garland does not appear to be taking an “aggressive look” into Trump White House affairs, especially as it pertains to the Jan. 6 attempted insurrection. Some are saying that Trump surely will face charges because he actually broke a law. That is not in dispute. The bad thing about the Records Act law, is that it has no enforcement mechanism. According to information in the media, there is no penalty, nor can the president be compelled to comply with it. So what can be done? It’s possible say some legal experts, that since Trump destroyed federal property(documents) without cause and on federal property, that could be seen as criminal. Federal law and state/local carry different kinds of “legal weight” and tend to be more effective as written in the constitution. But Trump has shown by his actions/words on Jan. 6, that he will do whatever it takes to make sure that is all about what he wants. Even it means taking something from the “people house” that he shouldn’t have. It’s as if Trump is saying that he is untouchable.

As if taking papers, documents that he shouldn’t have wasn’t enough, Trump is alleged to have flushed sensitive documents down White house toilets, clogging up the system. The late night comedians are having a field day with “flushgate”(made that one up myself),because in the past year, Trump as president couldn’t stop talking about toilets. This reporter remembers all too well listening to Trump rave about having to flush toilets 10-15 times for them to work. It went well at his rallies because people didn’t take him seriously, they got a laugh out of it. Perhaps, there was a method to his madness. Many believe that Trump fixated on toilets because he, himself was flushing documents down the toilet in the white House, hence the clogs. Trump said that stories of him flushing documents down the toilet are “fake”. But a book about Trump called “Confidence Man”, alleges, that White House staff “often saw” paper in White House toilets clogged with documents, believing that Trump tried to get rid of some documents. Was Trump admitting that as he tried to get rid of documents, the system kept clogging up. Did he also talk about clogged toilets just to get his supporters to agree with him that they were experiencing the same problem? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, well you know the rest. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.