• Catching a burglar

    From micky@21:1/5 to All on Sat Feb 3 13:06:04 2024
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking
    about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    --
    I think you can tell, but just to be sure:
    I am not a lawyer.

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  • From Rick@21:1/5 to micky on Sat Feb 3 21:21:10 2024
    "micky" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking >about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.


    Only if you have a legitimate imminent fear that the person will commit
    deadly force to harm you or someone else - otherwise I don't think even a police officer can just shoot someone who isn't an immediate threat to
    commit deadly force against someone.

    --

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  • From Barry Gold@21:1/5 to micky on Sun Feb 4 11:29:28 2024
    On 2/3/2024 1:06 PM, micky wrote:
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    IANAL, but my take is that a gun is "deadly force", and it's probably
    illegal for you to actually shoot somebody who isn't an imminent threat
    to someone's life or bodily integrity.

    --
    I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From micky@21:1/5 to Gold on Sun Feb 4 13:55:22 2024
    In misc.legal.moderated, on Sun, 4 Feb 2024 11:29:28 -0800 (PST), Barry
    Gold <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/3/2024 1:06 PM, micky wrote:
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking
    about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    IANAL, but my take is that a gun is "deadly force", and it's probably
    illegal for you to actually shoot somebody who isn't an imminent threat
    to someone's life or bodily integrity.

    I really had in mind people like Fani Willis and Jordan Fuchs, who need
    to not just repel current attackers but scare others from trying.

    --
    I think you can tell, but just to be sure:
    I am not a lawyer.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From micky@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sun Feb 4 13:54:48 2024
    In misc.legal.moderated, on Sat, 3 Feb 2024 21:21:10 -0800 (PST), "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:

    "micky" wrote in message news:[email protected]... >>
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking >>about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.


    Only if you have a legitimate imminent fear that the person will commit >deadly force to harm you or someone else - otherwise I don't think even a >police officer can just shoot someone who isn't an immediate threat to
    commit deadly force against someone.

    Darn. The scenario included a fear that he'd be back, twice as angry
    because I shot his friend, but it wouldn't be imminent.

    (In fact, I don't even have a gun, but I could spray him with seltzer.)

    --

    --
    I think you can tell, but just to be sure:
    I am not a lawyer.

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  • From Stan Brown@21:1/5 to Barry Gold on Mon Feb 5 17:10:30 2024
    On Sun, 4 Feb 2024 11:29:28 -0800 (PST), Barry Gold wrote:
    On 2/3/2024 1:06 PM, micky wrote:
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    IANAL, but my take is that a gun is "deadly force", and it's probably
    illegal for you to actually shoot somebody who isn't an imminent threat
    to someone's life or bodily integrity.

    Not only that, even if a sympathetic jury acquits you, there's still
    the possibility of a ruinous civil suit by the burglar you shot
    without justification.

    --
    Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
    Shikata ga nai...

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  • From RichD@21:1/5 to Barry Gold on Sat Feb 10 21:38:31 2024
    On February 4, Barry Gold wrote:
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking
    about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    IANAL, but my take is that a gun is "deadly force", and it's probably
    illegal for you to actually shoot somebody who isn't an imminent threat
    to someone's life or bodily integrity.

    The gummit pursues cases they believe they can win.

    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    So there ya go, senility can be a mixed blessing -

    --
    Rich

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  • From RichD@21:1/5 to micky on Sat Feb 10 21:38:00 2024
    On February 3, micky wrote:
    you shoot one of them, and the other runs, can you shoot him to
    stop him from leaving? I'm not talking
    about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    oh boy, someone has watched too many Clint Eastwood movies -

    --
    Rich

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  • From Rick@21:1/5 to All on Sun Feb 11 07:54:52 2024
    "RichD" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

    On February 4, Barry Gold wrote:
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking
    about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    IANAL, but my take is that a gun is "deadly force", and it's probably
    illegal for you to actually shoot somebody who isn't an imminent threat
    to someone's life or bodily integrity.

    The gummit pursues cases they believe they can win.

    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    So there ya go, senility can be a mixed blessing -

    --
    Rich

    Too senile to go to trial but not to run the country. Sounds about right...

    --

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  • From Stuart O. Bronstein@21:1/5 to RichD on Mon Feb 12 08:02:53 2024
    RichD <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

    On February 4, Barry Gold wrote:
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not
    talking about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    IANAL, but my take is that a gun is "deadly force", and it's probably
    illegal for you to actually shoot somebody who isn't an imminent
    threat to someone's life or bodily integrity.

    The gummit pursues cases they believe they can win.

    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    Actually that was in the commentary. The actual finding that there was evidence that he intentionally retained classified material, but no
    evidence that he did it illegally. There was no evidence of intent (a necessary element of most crimes), and he fully cooperated with the investigation.


    --
    Stu
    http://DownToEarthLawyer.com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From micky@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Feb 12 09:57:01 2024
    In misc.legal.moderated, on Sat, 10 Feb 2024 21:38:31 -0800 (PST), RichD <[email protected]> wrote:

    On February 4, Barry Gold wrote:
    If two men kick the front door in to your house and come in, wearing
    masks maybe, holding guns maybe, and you shoot one of them, and the
    other runs, can you shoot him to stop him from leaving? I'm not talking
    about killing him. Maybe aiming for his butt/legs.

    IANAL, but my take is that a gun is "deadly force", and it's probably
    illegal for you to actually shoot somebody who isn't an imminent threat
    to someone's life or bodily integrity.

    The gummit pursues cases they believe they can win.

    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    I don't think that's a fair summary.

    In addition to what Stuart said, the report said there were innocent explanations for what he had done and they were unrebutted. That alone
    seems enough to end the investigation.

    So there ya go, senility can be a mixed blessing -

    I'd want to see video before I accepted Hur's description. Esp. when
    he expected a prompt answer after asking him about the death of his son.
    Hur has a lot of nerve. Hur expects a quick answer while Biden is
    thinking, "Why did Beau have to die? I really miss him. He should have
    lived to see his children grow up. Have I done enough to get rid of the
    burn pits that probably killed him? And who does this jackass think he
    is asking me about Beau?"

    --
    I think you can tell, but just to be sure:
    I am not a lawyer.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Roy@21:1/5 to All on Mon Feb 12 10:01:06 2024
    Change the subject if you want to continue this thread

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Stan Brown@21:1/5 to Stuart O. Bronstein on Tue Feb 13 12:11:19 2024
    On Mon, 12 Feb 2024 08:02:53 -0800 (PST), Stuart O. Bronstein wrote
    (in the then-active thread titled "Catching a burglar):
    RichD <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

    [quoted text muted]
    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    Actually that was in the commentary. The actual finding that there was evidence that he intentionally retained classified material, but no
    evidence that he did it illegally. There was no evidence of intent (a necessary element of most crimes), and he fully cooperated with the investigation.

    According to the _New_York_Times_, the report included a statement
    that there was no reason to bring any kind of charges, and wouldn't
    be even if Biden were not President. This makes it clear that even
    the former Trump official who ran the investigation wasn't giving
    Biden any kind of pass because he's President. The Justice
    Department's policy of not indicting an incumbent president
    (seriously misguided, in my opinion) didn't come into play.

    BTW, According to Charles Rembar in his fascinating
    _The_Law_of_the_Land_ (1980), that policy, which has not a shred of Constitutional backing, is a legacy of Nixon(*) and Watergate:

    "... the [special prosecutor's] office functioned poorly on a
    patently strong case. Consider Jaworski's ex cathedra pronouncement
    that a President cannot be indicted, and his reduction of the charge
    against Kleindienst, an Attorney General who, under oath, lied on a
    question of the gravest import, and then received a minimal sentence,
    and even that suspended."

    (I don't know why the _Times_ didn't report the "no charges
    appropriate, President or not" bit with their initial coverage of
    "old man", but maybe they did and I failed to see it.)

    (*) And we thought _that_ Republican was a threat to democracy.
    Looking back, by comparison he was a textbook case for democracy
    working in a crisis, albeit painfully slowly. But 50 years ago, of
    course, both parties believed in it. Elected officials and numerous
    citizens, from both parties, called for him to go, and a delegation
    of leaders of his own party told him he had to resign or be impeached
    for certain and probably convicted.

    --
    Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
    Shikata ga nai...

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  • From Roy@21:1/5 to Roy on Tue Feb 13 15:30:01 2024
    On 2/12/2024 10:01 AM, Roy wrote:
    Change the subject if you want to continue this thread


    This thread is closed. I have rejected several postings for it.

    I found them interesting but please post it on a different subject

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  • From Rick@21:1/5 to All on Tue Feb 13 21:46:12 2024
    RichD <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

    [quoted text muted]
    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    Actually that was in the commentary. The actual finding that there was evidence that he intentionally retained classified material, but no
    evidence that he did it illegally. There was no evidence of intent (a necessary element of most crimes), and he fully cooperated with the investigation.

    But doesn't that beg the question of how could someone in his position and
    with his extensive experience not know that you can't take classified
    documents with you when you leave a government position and just leave them
    in your garage? This isn’t someone in his first government job but a person with several decades of experience in the federal government who should know perhaps better than anyone what a classified document is and what the proper way to store that document is. The logical inference is he either did it knowing fully well it was illegal or his mind had deteriorated to the point where he literally no longer saw any illegality in what he'd done.

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  • From Barry Gold@21:1/5 to Rick on Wed Feb 21 20:41:02 2024
    On 2/13/2024 9:46 PM, Rick wrote:
    But doesn't that beg the question of how could someone in his position and with his extensive experience not know that you can't take classified documents with you when you leave a government position and just leave them in your garage?  This isn’t someone in his first government job but a person
    with several decades of experience in the federal government who should
    know
    perhaps better than anyone what a classified document is and what the
    proper
    way to store that document is.   The logical inference is he either did it knowing fully well it was illegal or his mind had deteriorated to the point where he literally no longer saw any illegality in what he'd done.

    Except that he's not the only ex-Vice-President(or ex-President ) to
    bring classified documents home at the end of his term. People tend to
    pack in a hurry. The crime of mishandling docs requires intent, not mistake.

    --
    I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Barry Gold@21:1/5 to RichD on Wed Feb 21 20:40:32 2024
    On 2/10/2024 9:38 PM, RichD wrote:
    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    Actually the report said that he didn't have the requisite intent ("mens
    rea" in law). He took some classified documents home with him. When he discovered them, he returned them to the government.

    Some other Presidents and VPs have done the same. And they either
    returned the docs unasked, or cooperated when the government asked for them.

    By contrast, Trump intentionally hid some of the documents. He even
    conspired with someone else to hide them. He didn't turn over everything
    he had until the government agents showed up with a search warrant and
    searched Mar-a-Lago.

    The comment about Biden's senility was completely irrelevant to the
    purpose of the investigation (whether or not he committed a crime) and
    was gratuitously added by a Trump appointee who was given the job of investigating Biden's handling of classified documents to make sure that
    nobody could legitimately claim it was a cover-up.

    --
    I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From micky@21:1/5 to Gold on Thu Feb 22 08:16:49 2024
    In misc.legal.moderated, on Wed, 21 Feb 2024 20:40:32 -0800 (PST), Barry
    Gold <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2/10/2024 9:38 PM, RichD wrote:
    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    Actually the report said that he didn't have the requisite intent ("mens
    rea" in law). He took some classified documents home with him. When he >discovered them, he returned them to the government.

    Some other Presidents and VPs have done the same. And they either
    returned the docs unasked, or cooperated when the government asked for them.

    By contrast, Trump intentionally hid some of the documents. He even
    conspired with someone else to hide them. He didn't turn over everything

    No. Heard this about 2 weeks ago: There is clear evidence he still has
    not turned over everything. There was one closet which he had the
    previous day ordered someone who worked there to change the locks, and
    when the FBI came they found it locked and did not have the key (as they
    used to aiui) and did not get the key from trump or his staff. It was
    not searched.

    And there was a hidden closet off his bedroom that they did not know
    about and did not search.

    By the time Jack Smith was involved months later, what the radio or tv
    said is that they would need a new warrant and they didn't have
    sufficient evidence to say that there was still something there they
    were entitled to. Given the prior shenanigans, I find that hard to
    believe, but whatever the truth is, those two closets were not searched
    and it's assumed that by now the contents have been moved again and are
    not there.

    Perhaps the honorable mr. trump will sell them to pay the court
    judgements against him.

    he had until the government agents showed up with a search warrant and >searched Mar-a-Lago.

    The comment about Biden's senility was completely irrelevant to the
    purpose of the investigation (whether or not he committed a crime) and
    was gratuitously added by a Trump appointee who was given the job of >investigating Biden's handling of classified documents to make sure that >nobody could legitimately claim it was a cover-up.

    Absolutely. A violation of the policy of the DOJ (and all other
    prosecutors' offices???) and of his professional ethics. Hur disgraced himself, but Mr. Trump will remember and show gratitude. No, wait. He
    won't.

    --
    I think you can tell, but just to be sure:
    I am not a lawyer.

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  • From Rick@21:1/5 to Barry Gold on Fri Feb 23 08:03:41 2024
    "Barry Gold" wrote in message news:ur6cf9$3g0jk$[email protected]...

    On 2/13/2024 9:46 PM, Rick wrote:
    But doesn't that beg the question of how could someone in his position
    and
    with his extensive experience not know that you can't take classified
    documents with you when you leave a government position and just leave
    them
    in your garage? This isn’t someone in his first government job but a
    person
    with several decades of experience in the federal government who should
    know
    perhaps better than anyone what a classified document is and what the
    proper
    way to store that document is. The logical inference is he either did
    it
    knowing fully well it was illegal or his mind had deteriorated to the
    point
    where he literally no longer saw any illegality in what he'd done.

    Except that he's not the only ex-Vice-President(or ex-President ) to bring >classified documents home at the end of his term. People tend to pack in a >hurry. The crime of mishandling docs requires intent, not mistake.


    That's a reasonable legal argument for an average Joe who packs up in a
    hurry by himself to get out of his apartment before the lease runs out, but this is an especially un-average Joe who has a staff and advisors and all
    kinds of helpers to pack his stuff up and get it moved to his residence. I find it less than credible that classified material could "accidentally" get packed away and then left in a garage without anyone realizing it at any
    point. Surely, when you move possessions from a high-security government location like the President or VP's office and living quarters there must be procedures in place to audit and record what gets moved. And then add in
    the fact that Biden apparently was using the materials in writing his
    memoirs, it just adds to the idea that "lack of intent" is a hollow
    argument.

    To Trump's credit, he at least freely admitted to taking the documents and didn't pretend it was a mistake. He gave a pretty bogus explanation - that
    he could magically declassify documents by just "thinking about it" - but at least he gave a reason. Biden pretending that he somehow didn't realize
    what he was doing just seems really disingenuous.

    --

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Rick@21:1/5 to Barry Gold on Fri Feb 23 08:06:19 2024
    "Barry Gold" wrote in message news:ur6can$3g0jk$[email protected]...

    On 2/10/2024 9:38 PM, RichD wrote:
    Speaking of which, the Biden investigation is apposite.
    The report states that the evidence is the Prez broke the law.
    But he's a drooling old man, and a jury would likely sympathize
    for his condition, hence the chance of a conviction is slight.

    Actually the report said that he didn't have the requisite intent ("mens
    rea" in law). He took some classified documents home with him. When he >discovered them, he returned them to the government.

    Some other Presidents and VPs have done the same. And they either returned >the docs unasked, or cooperated when the government asked for them.

    By contrast, Trump intentionally hid some of the documents. He even
    conspired with someone else to hide them. He didn't turn over everything he >had until the government agents showed up with a search warrant and
    searched Mar-a-Lago.

    The comment about Biden's senility was completely irrelevant to the purpose >of the investigation (whether or not he committed a crime) and was >gratuitously added by a Trump appointee who was given the job of , >investigating Biden's handling of classified documents to make sure that >nobody could legitimately claim it was a cover-up.


    The comment wasn't about Biden's senility per se (and I don't think the
    words senile or senility appear in the statement) - it was about giving an opinion on whether the case should be prosecuted against Biden. In this
    sense, Hur was following the precedent set by James Comey (an Obama
    appointee, btw), who made a similar comment to the effect that no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against Hillary Clinton for illegal possession
    of classified emails. Hur went further than Comey in explaining that the reason he wouldn't prosecute Biden was that he would use the defense of
    being an "elderly man with a poor memory." But the sub-text in Comey's statement was pretty clear that Hillary would use a defense of ignorance
    that she was doing anything wrong in hosting the emails.

    --

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From John Levine@21:1/5 to All on Fri Feb 23 13:08:31 2024
    According to Rick <[email protected]>:
    ... Surely, when you move possessions from a high-security government >location like the President or VP's office and living quarters there must be >procedures in place to audit and record what gets moved.

    You might think so but I wouldn't count on it. Changeover day between presidents is quite chaotic. Mike Pence took classified stuff home,
    too. As did Jimmy Carter.

    Like Biden, and unlike Trump, they all promptly returned the documents
    when they discovered them.

    --
    Regards,
    John Levine, [email protected], Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
    Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Stuart O. Bronstein@21:1/5 to John Levine on Fri Feb 23 20:34:34 2024
    "John Levine" <[email protected]> wrote:
    According to Rick <[email protected]>:

    ... Surely, when you move possessions from a high-security government >>location like the President or VP's office and living quarters there
    must be procedures in place to audit and record what gets moved.

    You might think so but I wouldn't count on it. Changeover day between presidents is quite chaotic. Mike Pence took classified stuff home,
    too. As did Jimmy Carter.

    Like Biden, and unlike Trump, they all promptly returned the documents
    when they discovered them.

    I wonder if Biden could have properly taken those documents home while he
    was VP, and just forgot he had them.


    --
    Stu
    http://DownToEarthLawyer.com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Jethro_uk@21:1/5 to Stuart O. Bronstein on Sat Feb 24 08:00:25 2024
    On Fri, 23 Feb 2024 20:34:34 -0800, Stuart O. Bronstein wrote:

    "John Levine" <[email protected]> wrote:
    According to Rick <[email protected]>:

    ... Surely, when you move possessions from a high-security government >>>location like the President or VP's office and living quarters there
    must be procedures in place to audit and record what gets moved.

    You might think so but I wouldn't count on it. Changeover day between
    presidents is quite chaotic. Mike Pence took classified stuff home,
    too. As did Jimmy Carter.

    Like Biden, and unlike Trump, they all promptly returned the documents
    when they discovered them.

    I wonder if Biden could have properly taken those documents home while
    he was VP, and just forgot he had them.

    Who hasn't left a job, and found some small should-have-been-returned
    property some way down the line ?

    A year after I left my last job, I was got around to firing up my
    personal laptop. In the bag was my ID/swipe card from that job.

    In my current role, I manage IT. First task was to standardise the
    leavers process. I uncovered dozens of accounts that had not been deleted
    - some over 2 years old.

    So to stay on topic, I would quite happily accept mistake over malice.
    Even (or especially :) ) in Trumps case.

    It is fascinating that wherever he goes in law, he seems to add a "Trump premium" for his behaviour. My understanding of his NY woes is that if
    he'd just put his hands up and said "Oops, my bad" way back when, he'd be
    well in the clear now.

    Hubris ? Or as I can only conclude his advisors are all secretly working
    for the Democrats. That can only explain Alina Habba surely ?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Rick@21:1/5 to All on Sat Feb 24 08:09:59 2024
    "Stuart O. Bronstein" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

    "John Levine" <[email protected]> wrote:
    According to Rick <[email protected]>:

    ... Surely, when you move possessions from a high-security government >>>location like the President or VP's office and living quarters there
    must be procedures in place to audit and record what gets moved.

    You might think so but I wouldn't count on it. Changeover day between
    presidents is quite chaotic. Mike Pence took classified stuff home,
    too. As did Jimmy Carter.

    Like Biden, and unlike Trump, they all promptly returned the documents
    when they discovered them.

    I wonder if Biden could have properly taken those documents home while he
    was VP, and just forgot he had them.



    You're overlooking the important point from the Hua report that Biden had �willfully retained and disclosed classified materials to his ghost writer (Zwonitzer) after his vice presidency� for his memoirs. So that tends to undermine the argument that he either forgot about the documents or didn't realize he still had them.

    --

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Barry Gold@21:1/5 to All on Sat Feb 24 11:57:51 2024
    On 2/24/2024 8:00 AM, Jethro_uk wrote:
    So to stay on topic, I would quite happily accept mistake over malice.
    Even (or especially 🙂 ) in Trumps case.

    Yes, but what about his persistent refusal to return the documents after
    the government asked for them?

    --
    I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Roy@21:1/5 to All on Sat Feb 24 12:19:24 2024
    What I would like to find out is how this happened with all of these cases.

    Many years ago I was in the Army as an intelligence analyst studying the
    Warsaw Pact armies equipment.

    When my service was over (1974) I had hundreds of classified documents
    ranging from from TS/SCI to Secret. Every one of those had to be
    inventoried and reassigned to another person. I only had a few TS/SCI
    but after transferring them to a coworker, I left the SCIF and was
    checked to make sure I wasn't carrying anything out. Finally my name
    was removed from the access list. In the crypto vault everything Secret
    and TS (documents, encryption keys, coding equipment) was inventoried
    and the combination lock on the door was changed. My officemate
    individually signed for all the Secret documents in my two safes (around
    500) and then the combinations were changed. All of that took several
    days. Security verified I had turned everything over and I left the
    office to get my final paycheck.

    So who cleared all of the documents Biden, Trump, etc to leave?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From micky@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Feb 24 13:21:19 2024
    In misc.legal.moderated, on Sat, 24 Feb 2024 12:19:24 -0800 (PST), Roy <[email protected]> wrote:

    What I would like to find out is how this happened with all of these cases.

    Many years ago I was in the Army as an intelligence analyst studying the >Warsaw Pact armies equipment.

    When my service was over (1974) I had hundreds of classified documents >ranging from from TS/SCI to Secret. Every one of those had to be
    inventoried and reassigned to another person. I only had a few TS/SCI
    but after transferring them to a coworker, I left the SCIF and was
    checked to make sure I wasn't carrying anything out. Finally my name
    was removed from the access list. In the crypto vault everything Secret
    and TS (documents, encryption keys, coding equipment) was inventoried
    and the combination lock on the door was changed. My officemate
    individually signed for all the Secret documents in my two safes (around
    500) and then the combinations were changed. All of that took several
    days. Security verified I had turned everything over and I left the
    office to get my final paycheck.

    So who cleared all of the documents Biden, Trump, etc to leave?

    Trump would take documents up to the "residence" and no one had nerve
    enough to tell him not to. I don't think they were inventoried at all.
    But that does not account for the scores of cartons of documents he
    eventually stole.

    I don't think the President has to go to a SCIF to look at them.
    (Similar ,maybe? to the fact that he doesn't have to pass an FBI
    security test) Maybe not the VP either.

    I think Biden expressed surprise that any of the papers ended up in his
    garage. I think he said he thought there were all going to the same
    library where most of them went. I don't know how big his garage is,
    or how often he goes in it. Even when out of office for 4 years, did
    the Secret Service let him drive. If he did some of the driving, did
    he park his car in the garage or outside? If he went into the garage,
    were the boxes noticeable or were the coveed with a tarp or behind other things? I keep finding things at my house that I don't remember
    getting, although all of those are from many more than 4 years ago.

    --
    I think you can tell, but just to be sure:
    I am not a lawyer.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Roy@21:1/5 to micky on Sat Feb 24 15:37:37 2024
    On 2/24/2024 1:21 PM, micky wrote:
    In misc.legal.moderated, on Sat, 24 Feb 2024 12:19:24 -0800 (PST), Roy <[email protected]> wrote:

    What I would like to find out is how this happened with all of these cases. >>
    Many years ago I was in the Army as an intelligence analyst studying the
    Warsaw Pact armies equipment.

    When my service was over (1974) I had hundreds of classified documents
    ranging from from TS/SCI to Secret. Every one of those had to be
    inventoried and reassigned to another person. I only had a few TS/SCI
    but after transferring them to a coworker, I left the SCIF and was
    checked to make sure I wasn't carrying anything out. Finally my name
    was removed from the access list. In the crypto vault everything Secret
    and TS (documents, encryption keys, coding equipment) was inventoried
    and the combination lock on the door was changed. My officemate
    individually signed for all the Secret documents in my two safes (around
    500) and then the combinations were changed. All of that took several
    days. Security verified I had turned everything over and I left the
    office to get my final paycheck.

    So who cleared all of the documents Biden, Trump, etc to leave?

    Trump would take documents up to the "residence" and no one had nerve
    enough to tell him not to. I don't think they were inventoried at all.
    But that does not account for the scores of cartons of documents he eventually stole.

    I don't think the President has to go to a SCIF to look at them.
    (Similar ,maybe? to the fact that he doesn't have to pass an FBI
    security test) Maybe not the VP either.

    ...

    Ever see any pictures of safes in the Oval Office? All those documents
    were stored somewhere secure. In the case of TS/SCI it was a SCIF.
    Somebody had to sign for them. Every Secret or higher document was
    inventoried and separately numbered. All of those workers, secretaries, assistants had security clearances, including with being told how to
    handle the stuff.

    Perhaps the intelligence agencies are just anal about that stuff. When
    I got a report about a Russian electronics van, someone had to stick
    their neck out to get that info.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Stuart O. Bronstein@21:1/5 to Roy on Sat Feb 24 17:40:53 2024
    Roy <[email protected]> wrote in
    news:urduc8$1equj$[email protected]:

    On 2/24/2024 1:21 PM, micky wrote:
    In misc.legal.moderated, on Sat, 24 Feb 2024 12:19:24 -0800 (PST),
    Roy <[email protected]> wrote:

    What I would like to find out is how this happened with all of these
    cases.

    Many years ago I was in the Army as an intelligence analyst studying
    the Warsaw Pact armies equipment.

    When my service was over (1974) I had hundreds of classified
    documents ranging from from TS/SCI to Secret. Every one of those had
    to be inventoried and reassigned to another person. I only had a
    few TS/SCI but after transferring them to a coworker, I left the
    SCIF and was checked to make sure I wasn't carrying anything out.
    Finally my name was removed from the access list. In the crypto
    vault everything Secret and TS (documents, encryption keys, coding
    equipment) was inventoried and the combination lock on the door was
    changed. My officemate individually signed for all the Secret
    documents in my two safes (around 500) and then the combinations
    were changed. All of that took several days. Security verified I
    had turned everything over and I left the office to get my final
    paycheck.

    So who cleared all of the documents Biden, Trump, etc to leave?

    Trump would take documents up to the "residence" and no one had nerve
    enough to tell him not to. I don't think they were inventoried at
    all. But that does not account for the scores of cartons of documents
    he eventually stole.

    I don't think the President has to go to a SCIF to look at them.
    (Similar ,maybe? to the fact that he doesn't have to pass an FBI
    security test) Maybe not the VP either.

    ...

    Ever see any pictures of safes in the Oval Office? All those
    documents were stored somewhere secure. In the case of TS/SCI it was
    a SCIF. Somebody had to sign for them. Every Secret or higher
    document was inventoried and separately numbered. All of those
    workers, secretaries, assistants had security clearances, including
    with being told how to handle the stuff.

    Perhaps the intelligence agencies are just anal about that stuff.
    When I got a report about a Russian electronics van, someone had to
    stick their neck out to get that info.

    I think I heard that it's the National Archive that is supposed to keep
    track of the documents. That's how they knew Trump didn't give back all
    the ones he'd taken - but they didn't know about all of them. So yeah,
    there must be a flaw in the system somewhere that allows some documents
    to get out without being logged.


    --
    Stu
    http://DownToEarthLawyer.com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From micky@21:1/5 to Rick on Fri Mar 1 22:20:08 2024
    In misc.legal.moderated, on Sat, 24 Feb 2024 08:09:59 -0800 (PST),
    "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:

    "Stuart O. Bronstein" wrote in message >news:[email protected]...

    "John Levine" <[email protected]> wrote:
    According to Rick <[email protected]>:

    ... Surely, when you move possessions from a high-security government >>>>location like the President or VP's office and living quarters there >>>>must be procedures in place to audit and record what gets moved.

    You might think so but I wouldn't count on it. Changeover day between
    presidents is quite chaotic. Mike Pence took classified stuff home,
    too. As did Jimmy Carter.

    Like Biden, and unlike Trump, they all promptly returned the documents
    when they discovered them.

    I wonder if Biden could have properly taken those documents home while he >>was VP, and just forgot he had them.



    You're overlooking the important point from the Hua report that Biden had >�willfully retained and disclosed classified materials to his ghost writer >(Zwonitzer) after his vice presidency� for his memoirs. So that tends to >undermine the argument that he either forgot about the documents or didn't >realize he still had them.

    I'm not overlooking that, and I don't think the prosecutor's report said
    that happened. That refers to his own hand-written notes and not other documents.

    What the Hur report says about Biden�s �willful retention� of documents Notebooks used for a memoir

    .....Biden kept notes on key meetings and then worked with a ghostwriter,
    Mark Zwonitzer, on a book, �Promise Me, Dad,� which covers a 14-month
    period of his vice presidency during which his older son, Beau, died.
    The report says �the evidence shows convincingly� that Biden knew the
    notebooks contained classified information.

    �During many of the interviews with his ghostwriter, Mr. Biden read from
    his notebooks nearly verbatim, sometimes for an hour or more at a time,�
    the report says, quoting from audio recordings and transcripts. �At
    times during these interviews, Mr. Biden took steps to ensure that
    Zwonitzer did not read or have access to the classified portions of the notebooks. � At other times, however, Mr. Biden read his notes from
    classified meetings to Zwonitzer nearly word-for-word.�

    The report notes that one defense Biden would have for retaining the
    notebooks is that the Justice Department took no action after it was
    discovered that former president Ronald Reagan had kept eight years�
    worth of handwritten diaries that contained classified information. In
    his interview with Hur, Biden brought up the Reagan example.

    The report says that Biden could credibly claim he thought his notebooks
    were his personal property and that he was allowed to take them home
    after his vice presidency. As a result, the report said, �we do not
    believe there are viable criminal charges against Mr. Biden for
    willfully retaining classified information in the notebooks.�

    Biden also retained some notecards, contending in an interview with
    Zwonitzer that they were in a �gray area� and did not to have to go the National Archives. �That Mr. Biden was mistaken in his legal judgment is
    not enough to prove he acted willfully, which requires intent to do
    something the law forbids,� the report says.

    The report says that there is evidence that Biden, on three occasions,
    may have disclosed classified information to Zwonitzer, who did not have clearance. But, the report says, �we do not believe the evidence
    supports charges of willful disclosure beyond a reasonable doubt.�
    That�s because Biden, while speaking to Zwonitzer, indicated uncertainty
    about whether the passages in his notebook that he was reading were
    classified. As a result, �we conclude that the evidence does not
    establish that Mr. Biden willfully disclosed national defense
    information to Zwonitzer.�

    Bottom Line: This is the strongest example of Biden possibly mishandling classified information. But the report concludes that the case would be
    weak, given the Reagan example and given that Biden generally appeared
    to be careful to not repeat classified information to someone not
    cleared to receive it.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/10/what-hur-report-says-about-bidens-willful-retention-documents/?utm_campaign=wp_fact_checker&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_fact

    This seems like a comprehensive article, and iiuc, goes over all the allegations discussed by the report and gives similar answers to all of
    them, that clear Biden.



    --
    I think you can tell, but just to be sure:
    I am not a lawyer.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Rick@21:1/5 to micky on Sat Mar 2 12:48:54 2024
    "micky" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

    In misc.legal.moderated, on Sat, 24 Feb 2024 08:09:59 -0800 (PST),
    "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote:

    "Stuart O. Bronstein" wrote in message >>news:[email protected]...

    "John Levine" <[email protected]> wrote:
    According to Rick <[email protected]>:

    ... Surely, when you move possessions from a high-security government >>>>>location like the President or VP's office and living quarters there >>>>>must be procedures in place to audit and record what gets moved.

    You might think so but I wouldn't count on it. Changeover day between
    presidents is quite chaotic. Mike Pence took classified stuff home,
    too. As did Jimmy Carter.

    Like Biden, and unlike Trump, they all promptly returned the documents >>>> when they discovered them.

    I wonder if Biden could have properly taken those documents home while he >>>was VP, and just forgot he had them.



    You're overlooking the important point from the Hua report that Biden had >>“willfully retained and disclosed classified materials to his ghost writer >>(Zwonitzer) after his vice presidency” for his memoirs. So that tends to >>undermine the argument that he either forgot about the documents or didn't >>realize he still had them.

    I'm not overlooking that, and I don't think the prosecutor's report said
    that happened. That refers to his own hand-written notes and not other >documents.

    What the Hur report says about Biden’s ‘willful retention’ of documents >Notebooks used for a memoir

    .....Biden kept notes on key meetings and then worked with a ghostwriter, >Mark Zwonitzer, on a book, “Promise Me, Dad,” which covers a 14-month >period of his vice presidency during which his older son, Beau, died.
    The report says “the evidence shows convincingly” that Biden knew the >notebooks contained classified information.

    “During many of the interviews with his ghostwriter, Mr. Biden read from >his notebooks nearly verbatim, sometimes for an hour or more at a time,” >the report says, quoting from audio recordings and transcripts. “At
    times during these interviews, Mr. Biden took steps to ensure that
    Zwonitzer did not read or have access to the classified portions of the >notebooks. … At other times, however, Mr. Biden read his notes from >classified meetings to Zwonitzer nearly word-for-word.”

    The report notes that one defense Biden would have for retaining the >notebooks is that the Justice Department took no action after it was >discovered that former president Ronald Reagan had kept eight years’
    worth of handwritten diaries that contained classified information. In
    his interview with Hur, Biden brought up the Reagan example.

    The report says that Biden could credibly claim he thought his notebooks
    were his personal property and that he was allowed to take them home
    after his vice presidency. As a result, the report said, “we do not
    believe there are viable criminal charges against Mr. Biden for
    willfully retaining classified information in the notebooks.”

    Biden also retained some notecards, contending in an interview with
    Zwonitzer that they were in a “gray area” and did not to have to go the >National Archives. “That Mr. Biden was mistaken in his legal judgment is >not enough to prove he acted willfully, which requires intent to do
    something the law forbids,” the report says.

    The report says that there is evidence that Biden, on three occasions,
    may have disclosed classified information to Zwonitzer, who did not have >clearance. But, the report says, “we do not believe the evidence
    supports charges of willful disclosure beyond a reasonable doubt.”
    That’s because Biden, while speaking to Zwonitzer, indicated uncertainty >about whether the passages in his notebook that he was reading were >classified. As a result, “we conclude that the evidence does not
    establish that Mr. Biden willfully disclosed national defense
    information to Zwonitzer.”

    Bottom Line: This is the strongest example of Biden possibly mishandling >classified information. But the report concludes that the case would be
    weak, given the Reagan example and given that Biden generally appeared
    to be careful to not repeat classified information to someone not
    cleared to receive it.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/10/what-hur-report-says-about-bidens-willful-retention-documents/?utm_campaign=wp_fact_checker&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_fact

    This seems like a comprehensive article, and iiuc, goes over all the >allegations discussed by the report and gives similar answers to all of
    them, that clear Biden.




    Unfortunately, the article you cite is behind a paywall, and I don't feel compelled to subscribe to the Washington Post at present. However the
    actual Hur report is in the public domain and can be accessed for free here:

    https://www.justice.gov/storage/report-from-special-counsel-robert-k-hur-february-2024.pdf

    The first paragraph of the Executive Summary states pretty clearly:

    "Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully
    retained
    and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private
    citizen. These materials included (1) marked classified documents about military and
    foreign policy in Afghanistan, and (2) notebooks containing Mr. Biden's handwritten
    entries about issues of national security and foreign policy implicating sensitive
    intelligence sources and methods. FBI agents recovered these materials from
    the
    garage, offices, and basement den in Mr. Biden's Wilmington, Delaware home.
    "

    To me that's pretty definitive. As to the point that "Biden could credibly claim he thought his notebooks were his personal property and that he was allowed to take them home after his vice presidency" - I could maybe buy
    this If you were talking about someone with lesser experience, and
    particularly someone with no legal background. But this is Joe Freakin' Biden, one of the most experienced people who has ever held the VP and Presidency – a person with roughly 50 years experience in the federal government, including several years as Chair or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary committee. If anyone would understand what constitutes
    classified material, it would be Biden, who in his prime had probably one of the best legal minds in the Senate. Go back and watch Biden in his
    younger years sparring with potential Supreme Court candidates and you'll
    see what I mean.

    And yes, Reagan did it also and got away with it, but Reagan was not and
    never came close to being a lawyer or having a lawyer's mind. Reagan was
    also experiencing clear mental decline in the later years of his presidency
    and was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease just over five years after leaving office (his son Ron said he first experienced symptoms while still
    president). So I'm not sure comparisons to Reagan are a good strategy for Biden.

    To me there are only two choices: either sharp legal mind Biden knew the materials were classified and did it anyway, or Biden showing serious mental decline did it without realizing what he was doing. You can't have it both ways.

    --

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Stan Brown@21:1/5 to Rick on Sat Mar 2 21:18:01 2024
    On Sat, 2 Mar 2024 12:48:54 -0800 (PST), Rick wrote:
    To me there are only two choices: either sharp legal mind Biden knew the materials were classified and did it anyway, or Biden showing serious mental decline did it without realizing what he was doing. You can't have it both ways.

    What's the statute of limitations for mishandling classified
    materials?

    --
    Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
    Shikata ga nai...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Rick@21:1/5 to Stan Brown on Sun Mar 3 20:24:14 2024
    "Stan Brown" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

    On Sat, 2 Mar 2024 12:48:54 -0800 (PST), Rick wrote:
    To me there are only two choices: either sharp legal mind Biden knew the
    materials were classified and did it anyway, or Biden showing serious
    mental
    decline did it without realizing what he was doing. You can't have it
    both
    ways.

    What's the statute of limitations for mishandling classified
    materials?


    I believe it's five years unless espionage is involved, which isn't being alleged here. But this is also not an isolated offense like robbing a bank, but what's referred to as a continuing offense. It's not just the taking of the documents, but the ongoing possession of the documents. So in this
    case, I think the statute of limitations clock would start on the last date
    the documents were held illegally. See here:

    https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-651-statute-limitations-continuing-offenses



    --

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)