He now says he declassified the documents in his mind, just by thinking it, no sort of “process” being necessary. Also that the FBI, in its judicially authorized search, planted evidence. (Just what, he doesn’t say.)

The special master, Judge Dearie, chosen at the behest of Trump’s own lawyers, has given them a tight deadline to back up the claims about declassification and planted evidence, or else drop them. The lawyers, mindful of professional ethics, are silent.

But whether the documents were declassified is not the issue. Taking even non-secret government documents was an indisputable criminal offense. Likewise surely criminal was Trump’s originally lying to the government about having them (obstruction of justice).

A further issue concerns folders labeled “classified” but found empty. And there’s still no explanation for why Trump took all that stuff in the first place.

He also now says that the FBI, in searching Mar-a-Lago, may actually have been looking for Hillary Clinton’s missing emails.

I’m not making that up. The psycho actually said this, and not in jest, on Fox, to Hannity.

Meantime, New York’s Attorney General is charging Trump and his family with criminal fraud in their real estate operations. The stuff he pled the Fifth about, several hundred times. His whole business a giant tangle of scams. Among the lengthy list of allegations: he lied about the size of his inaugural crowd. Er, excuse me, the size of his own Trump Tower residence, 30,000 square feet versus an actual 10,000.

Notice that in all charges against him, Trump (and his backers) never actually claim innocence. His legal machinations never aim at clearing his name but, rather, obstructing and dragging out the proceedings. Thus that “special master” business, to handicap the FBI’s investigation of the recovered documents. And remember his forever battle to hide his tax returns?

The other strategy, of course, is to cry “witch hunt.” All investigations called politically motivated and illegitimate. Claiming that from the start, they were simply out to get him, some “deep state” conspiracy. Thus lately he more openly endorses the QAnon lunacy. The “stolen election” lie fits with this too: all of it feeding his cultist’s notion that they’re a beleaguered force for good battling to save America from corrupt, evil ones.

Here’s something perfectly encapsulating their imperviousness to reality. The PBS Newshour recently sent reporter Lisa Desjardins to interview Trump rally attendees. And one said, “If the guy had done anything wrong, it would have come out by now!”