Hyperventilation over Trump’s indictment gives us the latest example of how media pervert language. Almost universally, headlines refer to his being charged with “mishandling classified documents”. This mischaracterizes what he’s done, and it’s not clear why media — versus Trump voters and his acolytes in Congress — want to sugar-coat the offense.
“Mishandle” means, Oops; I goofed. In the case of people less psychotic than Trump, an apology of sorts usually follows recognition of the offense.
It’s true that Trump mishandled documents, but to suggest that that’s the end of the story misses its essence. It’s like saying the bank robber mishandled the bank’s money. Sure, but that hardly tells the whole story.
Isn’t “Trump indicted over theft of national defense documents” a more accurate headline? He took property that doesn’t belong to him and — based on what we’ve long known about multiple unsuccessful government requests — had no intention of giving it back. Prosecutors even have evidence of his extensive efforts to hide them.
The indictment charges Trump with violating 18 USC 793(e), which says, “… or willfully retains [information related to the national defense] and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it”. This should be an easy story to tell a jury: He stole — willfully retained — documents that aren’t his, which contain information related to the national defense, and which he failed to return when asked.
Yet media seem to struggle with this easy story. Not only does their use of “mishandle” obfuscate the seriousness of the crime, their reference to “classified documents” inaccurately describes the nature of the information he’s being indicted for stealing. Section 793 — commonly referred to as the “Espionage Act” — applies to information related to (a very broadly defined) “national defense;” the information need not be classified for the statute to apply. By harping on “classified documents,” the press woefully gives credence to what is guaranteed to be one of Trump’s many absurd defenses intended to distract, namely, that he declassified them while still president.
It’s likely too late in the day to expect better from the Infotainment Complex whose leaders are chasing customers. Accurately describing events (“news,” for the old-fashioned) long ago stopped being a priority.
