The Central Issue: Why It Took 18 Months

Patrick Philbin, Trump’s deputy White House Counsel, who Trump appointed to make sure Trump records ended up properly at the National archives, tried to get Trump to turn over the records. Trump refused, saying the records are “mine,” “not theirs.”https://t.co/VxIkPwBSay pic.twitter.com/fTfHyiXOfV

— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) August 16, 2022

Everything else is persiflage.

And as I keep saying about Trump and criminal investigations:

These "sources close to Trump" LITERALLY just confessed to concealing official records to thwart an investigation, which is one of the crimes under investigation, 18 USC 1519. https://t.co/EQYp3ig0Qr

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) August 16, 2022

Just to underline the point:

This is not just story #57, it is Trump confessing to the crime

If this report is accurate, Trump is saying he took these doc for his personal gain. It's no defense to say "the govt was going to be unfair." These are the govt's docs, not his. He doesn't get to hide them& benefit https://t.co/kiLmpbZH7p

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) August 16, 2022

And how are we supposed to intimidate witnesses if you won’t tell us who they are?

That's. Not. How. This. Works. https://t.co/gUpMhKMygs

— George Conway🌻 (@gtconway3d) August 16, 2022

Criminal masterminds, I tell ya.

The problem from the beginning and still today is too many people think the reality of Donald Trump is a political story and not what it really is: a crime story.

— Steven Beschloss (@StevenBeschloss) August 11, 2022