Following comments in the media that the indictment document was “a readable narrative” as opposed to a dull legal document, I downloaded it for a read-through. Here is a link to the indictment “USA vs Trump & Nauta“.
The first 27 pages of 49 provide a detailed narrative. In fact readable. You cannot read this without being quite convinced that the Feds have a huge pile of information about Trump’s illegal retention of the secret documents, that he knew that his possession was illegal and that he conspired to prevent the government from recovering them.
By the way, the last 22 pages recite the details of the 38 charges against Trump with many more details of facts to back them up.
You might think of Mar-a-Lago as a private mansion where the documents would not have been exposed to many people. The indictment describes a very public complex where over an 18-month period, “The Mar-a-Lago Club hosted more than 150 social events, including weddings, movie premieres, and fundraisers that together drew tens of thousands of guests”. This while over a hundred boxes of documents were stored on stage in a ballroom, bathrooms, showers, closets, and so on.
Besides the lies, conspiracy, and other illegal acts, it is Trump’s almost continuous pawing through the hundred-plus boxes of papers he removed from the White House that surprised me. He had boxes delivered to his office and living spaces regularly. He actively conspired with Walt Nauta (and probably others) to hide these boxes. In preparation for a trip from Mar-a-Lago to his NJ golf club, a Trump family member warned Nauta that Trump couldn’t take so many boxes because the plane would be filled with luggage. So, Trump definitely has a somewhat obsessive relationship with these secret documents. Perhaps this should not be surprising. Much has been made in the past of Trump’s demi-hoarder nature.
Much has also been made of his narcissistic obsession with his image and self-image.
Here is Trump in his office in 2016 from a NYTimes article:
Note how many images of Trump and the Trump name are easily observed.
