“They will see how devastating those pages are.”
Source: Trump Threatens To Declassify “Devastating” Docs If Democrats Investigate Him | Zero Hedge
If only to vent his frustrations about GM, the stock market chaos, and the prospect of turning over power to the Democrats (who have gleefully bragged aboutĀ the many investigationsĀ they’re planning to launch in January), President Trump has given a series of freewheeling interviews over the past two days where he hasĀ threatened a government shutdown, expressed his regret over choosing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and even opined that Janet Yellen was “too short” to be chairwoman of the Federal Reserve.
And in his latest informal chat withĀ the New York PostĀ from behind the Resolute Desk,Ā the president threatened once again to retaliate against Democrats if they try to “play tough” by investigating him – this time by declassifying a wide swath of “devastating” documents related to the Mueller probe, whichĀ he had initially planned to do in SeptemberĀ before changing his mind.
“If they want to play tough, I will do it,”Ā Trump told the Post in an interview Wednesday.Ā “They will see how devastating those pages are.”
According to the Post, Trump would hold on to the documents and release them when it’s time for a “counterpunch”.
“Itās much more powerful if I do it then,” Trump said, “because if we had done it already, it would already be yesterdayās news.”
Democrats have threatened to investigate his business dealing, relationship with Russia and his tax returns, among other alleged transgressions – something Trump characterized as “presidential harassment.”
“If they want to go and harass the president and the administration, I think that would (be) the best thing that could happen to me because Iām a counter puncher and I will hit them so hard, theyāve never been hit like that,” Trump said.Ā “You know what? I think that will help my campaign. That will be the beginning of my campaign as president.”
Trump said he hesitated to release the documents because his lawyer, Emmet Flood, had advised him not to – instead recommending that he wait for a more politically advantageous opportunity.
“He didnāt want me to do it yet, because I can save it,”Ā Trump said.
The president also pushed back on the notion that all the Justice Department documents should eventually be released for the sake of transparency.
“Some things maybe the public shouldnāt see because they are so bad,” Trump said, making clear it wasnāt damaging to him, but to others.Ā “Maybe itās better that the public not see whatās been going on with this country.”
Speaking during what ended up being a contentious press conference on the day after the midterms, President Trump threatened to assume aĀ “war posture”Ā should Democrats try to investigate him, warning “two can play at that game,” before claiming that the American public was already suffering from “investigation fatigue.”
