Former Republican President Donald Trump was raked across the coals for touting a nonexistent law that granted presidents the “absolute and unquestioned right” to take any documents with them after leaving office.
Trump, who is campaigning for a nomination in the 2024 presidential election, became the first U.S. President to face federal charges after being accused of breaking laws relating to the "hundreds of classified documents" he absconded with to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
At Saturday's conservative Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump laid into the indictment charges, and he mentioned a fabricated law that would protect him in his latest legal drama.
The twice-impeached former President falsely declared:
“Whatever documents a president decides to take with him, he has the absolute and unquestioned right to do so.”
He asserted:
“This was a law that was passed and signed."
“And it couldn’t be more clear.”
You can watch a clip of his speech here.
What was clear was the fact that Trump was lying.
Laurence Tribe, a legal scholar, and Harvard University professor emeritus, said:
“No such law exists.”
This isn't the first time Trump invoked his imaginary claim.
Last month, he maintained that an exiting President has the:
“absolute right to keep [documents] or he can give them back to NARA if he wants.”
His claim has been debunked repeatedly.
When Trump cited the Presidential Records Act in his defense as legal cover following his indictment, legal experts dismissed his claim, saying:
"This is not what that law means."
Twitter continued weighing in on Trump's lousy attempt at hoodwinking the public with his fabrication of some kind of built-in immunity.
However, attempts to debunk many of Trump's baseless claims can be futile.
According to the unsealed federal indictment report over his mishandling of the classified documents, Trump faced 37 felony charges–including conspiracy to obstruct justice, willful retention of national defense information, and making false statements.
On June 13, Trump appeared in Miami federal court and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.