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"No such law exists": Legal experts call out Trump for new made-up Mar-a-Lago defense

"It'll fail in court," national security attorney Bradley Moss warned

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Published July 17, 2023 10:29AM (EDT)

Former US President Donald Trump arrives on stage to speak at the Turning Point Action conference as he continues his 2024 presidential campaign on July 15, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Former US President Donald Trump arrives on stage to speak at the Turning Point Action conference as he continues his 2024 presidential campaign on July 15, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Former President Donald Trump was chided by legal experts over the weekend for seemingly making up legislation that he stated had authorized him to take national security documents home to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. 

During a speech at the Turning Point Action conference in West Palm Beach on Saturday, Trump complained about his classified documents indictment and claimed, "whatever documents a president decides to take with him, he has the absolute and unquestioned right to do so."

"This was a law that was passed and signed," he added. "And it couldn't be more clear."

Legal experts quickly rejected Trump's claim.

"Nope. No such law exists. Period." wrote longtime Harvard legal scholar Laurence Tribe. 

Related

Legal expert: Trump may be "overplaying his hand" — and it may get Judge Cannon "taken off the case"

National security lawyer Bradley Moss tweeted that Trump's claim was "not a legitimate legal argument," but rather a "political talking point."

"It'll fail in court," he predicted. 

"Say you've never read the Presidential Records Act without saying you've never read the Presidential Records Act," wrote former CIA analyst Gail Helt.

"No such law exists. Generally, laws granting rulers 'absolute' power aren't a thing in U.S," journalist Jeff Sharlet tweeted,

Related

"There is no basis in law for this": Experts trash Trump's "desperate" bid to disqualify Fani Willis

HuffPost reported that Trump's latest assertion is only the latest in a number of erroneous statements made in the past about what a sitting president is allowed to do. Last month, for example, in referring to the National Archives and Records Administration, he argued that he maintained the "absolute right to keep [documents] or he can give them back to NARA if he wants." 

Legal experts were quick to quash the ex-president's claim, refuting his defense as "ludicrous."


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Trump has tried to argue that the Presidential Records Act, which governs the handling of presidential records, is a defense against charges that he violated the Espionage Act by mishandling national security information.

"Trump isn't charged with any violations of the Presidential Records Act," former Assistant U.S. Attorney William "Widge" Devaney told Salon last month. "Trump is charged with having secret and top secret information, refusing to turn it over, obstructing the government's attempts to turn it over and causing people to lie about those records. I mean, it's really apples and oranges."

Read more

about the Mar-a-Lago case

  • "Borders on frivolous": Legal experts say special counsel filing "embarrasses" Trump's lawyers
  • Legal experts: Second Trump aide may be charged after Jack Smith says he may have "perjured himself"
  • "Very telling": Experts say Trump filing to delay trial is a test of Judge Cannon's "favoritism"

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Gabriella Ferrigine is a former staff writer at Salon. Originally from the Jersey Shore, she moved to New York City in 2016 to attend Columbia University, where she received her B.A. in English and M.A. in American Studies. Formerly a staff writer at NowThis News, she has an M.A. in Magazine Journalism from NYU and was previously a news fellow at Salon.

MORE FROM Gabriella Ferrigine


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Aggregate Donald Trump Jack Smith Mar-a-lago Politics

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