As Donald Trump prepares to be arraigned on federal charges in Miami, MAGA Republicans have rushed to his defense as the former president stares down a damning indictment loaded with evidence that he not only mishandled classified documents, but plotted to keep them from the government.
One piece of said evidence is a now-viral photo of a Mar-a-Lago bathroom stuffed to the brim with boxes of documents. They’re even in the shower. However, Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, who’s rumored to be a potential running mate for Trump’s 2024 run, has offered a ridiculous defense of the former president storing classified intel in the can.
Here’s what Donalds told CNN This Morning via The Daily Beast:
“You guys are throwing up the pictures about they were in a bathroom or on a stage,” the pro-Trump congressman declared. “As somebody who has been to Mar-a-Lago, you can’t walk through Mar-a-Lago of your own accord because Secret Service is all over the place. So if the documents are in a place, they are in a room, depending on the time of year, you can’t even get into said room.”
It just got better from there.
“There are 33 bathrooms at Mar-a-Lago!” Donalds exclaimed. “So don’t act like it’s in some random bathroom that the guests can go into. That’s not true!”
To be clear, Donalds is arguing that storing classified documents in a bathroom is fine because Mar-a-Lago has a lot of them. While that doesn’t change the laws on storing top secret intel, at least Donalds didn’t go the Kevin McCarthy route and argue that bathroom doors have locks on them. Which is true, but only from the inside.
These guys might want to workshop a few of these defenses before taking them live. Just a thought.
(Via The Daily Beast)