Trump's actions in new report 'significantly strengthen the criminal case' for indictments: legal expert

In a series of tweets on Saturday afternoon, NYU law professor and former Department of Defense special counsel Ryan Goodman claimed the reporting in a bombshell report in the New York Times earlier in the day -- if proven true -- contains details that could push the DOJ to file criminal charges against the former president.

Earlier in the morning, the Times reported that Trump pushed his aides and lawyers to help him delay returning sensitive documents he took with him to his Mar-a-Lago resort -- with the former president later coming up with a plan to use them in trade with the government.

As the Times' Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt wrote, "Mr. Trump, still determined to show he had been wronged by the F.B.I. investigation into his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia, was angry with the National Archives and Records Administration for its unwillingness to hand over a batch of sensitive documents that he thought proved his claims. In exchange for those documents, Mr. Trump told advisers, he would return to the National Archives the boxes of material he had taken to Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla. "

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According to Goodman, those lawyers could become witnesses against the former president.

Linking to the New York Times' story, Goodman explained, "Several of Trump's actions in this new NYT report (via @maggieNYT @nytmike) significantly strengthen the criminal case — and are the type of aggravating factors that push DOJ toward indictment."

As "Exhibit 1" he submitted, "Trump proposed to his aides to tell Archives he'd give back MAL docs in exchange for Archives’ releasing Russia docs. @JoyceWhiteVance : 'Sounds very extortion-y.' Agreed Aides rejected proposal as 'non-starter since the government had a clear right to the material.'"

He continued, "Exhibit 2: Alex Cannon's legal advice was the boxes 'needed to be shipped back as they were, so the professional archivists could be the ones to sift through the material.' What did Trump do? Trump 'went through them' himself. Goes to knowledge, concealment, and 18 USC 1519."

"Exhibit 3," he continued, " What we knew before: In Sept 2021, Trump's delegates to Archives made a false statement to Archives General Counsel that boxes contained nothing sensitive; only 'news clippings.' What we did not know: If that false statement came from Trump," then adding, "Legal significance of Exhibit 3: False statements to Archives is activity that may violate 18 USC 1519 (cited in DOJ search warrant). It's also the type of aggravating factor that can push DOJ toward indictments. [Mark] Meadows also has some legal exposure here."

He concluded, "Exhibit 4: We knew this before, but NYT report puts in perspective important part of timeline: Soon after Trump goes through boxes himself, he tells his lawyer to make the (false) statement to the Archives that Trump has now returned everything."