As we wait for a judge to unseal the search warrant tied to the raid at President Trump's Florida resort, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise is doubling down on his defense of President Donald Trump.
Rep. Scalise (R-Jefferson, LA-2) told WWL's Newell Normand that the Justice Department's treatment of Trump amounts to a double standard.
"Whether or not Donald Trump had documents that he shouldn't have had, there are 10 different ways you can resolve that dispute," Rep. Scalise said."
Rep. Scalise also said the Justice Department could have found other ways to resolve what he called that "dispute" over documents the National Archives says are public.
"Other presidents have had same issues, and not one of them ended with 30 federal agents breaking into the president's house," Rep. Scalise said.
Rep. Scalise rebuked arguments that Trump could put the issue to rest by releasing the search warrant himself. He also rejected claims that President Trump hurt his case by turning over boxes of documents--including classified information--to the National Archives in February.
"I thought we had a presumption of innocence in this country," Rep. Scalise said.
Rep. Scalise hypothesized that Trump complied with the National Archives in February in the hopes of getting the documents back.
"Well, if they say they want them back and you want to give them back to them because you're complying with them," Rep. Scalise said. "Maybe they were look at them to give them back to Trump later."
Scalise said the episode is part of a political hit job.
"What warrants this unprecedented action, and is the law being applied equally?" Scalise asked.
The 1988 Supreme Court decision Department of Navy v. Egan gives the sitting president broad authority over classified documents including declassifying them. The question now is: when did President Trump attempt to declassify the documents in question, and what processes did he follow?
