Trump had multiple opportunities to end the documents investigation, It's so bizarre.

[fightforfreedom]

Trump knew he had secret documents and he knew people were looking for them. In January he tried to fool people by returning many documents, and hiding others, it did not work.

A few months later he got subpoenaed. This was the moment Trump should have realized it was time to return everything. He did not, he played the same foolish game. he returned some and hid others. It did not work an the FBI raided his resort.

For many months people around Trump were warning him he was breaking the law and he did not listen. He was determined to keep some of the documents.

Now Trump has put himself in great legal jeopardy and everyday he makes things worse. He keeps talking, gives interviews, where his words can be used as evidence. He continues to mock the justice system. He delays, obstructs the investigation into the secret documents which has pissed off the people who are investigating him. Trump is not making friends, he is making enemies of people who are investigating him. That is insane.

I believe there is much more to this story, investigation, than meets the eye. Time will tell.

[FalloutShelter]

1. It seems that

What does not kill him makes him stronger.
The electoral base of the GOP worships his depravity. They see him as the embodiment of their own lust for power and total lack of shame and conscience.
Take it from my cold dead hands has become their entire ethos from guns to political office.
We are in trouble.

[Takket]

2. he owes people.

Scary people. People who hack up their enemies with bone saws, or dose them with radiation, or push them out of windows when they least expect it. He isn't working with the FBI because he can fight them in court and end up in prison if he loses. A lot better prospect than not making good on hid debts and promises that he sold out his country to fulfill.

[Kaleva]

3. TFG is the best weapon we have to fight against Trump

He could have set himself up for a legit 2024 run had he conceded the election but stressed there needs to be better voting security. By saying he could have won but the procedures in place put the outcome in doubt in the minds of many.

Campaigning on election reform instead of trying to do a redo of the 2020 election would have been the better route.

[SoCalDavidS]

5. He KNEW There Would Be NO Consequences

He still knows.

[Merlot]

6. He's always looking for publicity - doesn't matter if it's good or bad

He knows he can milk the victimhood angle to engage his diminishing base. And he knows hiw to tangle up everything in the courts forever. Why would he pass up this golden opportunity?

[Irish_Dem]

7. What do you think is going on?

You end your post by saying that there is more than meets the eye.

[fightforfreedom]

8. I don't know what Trump was doing.

Secret documents laying around a resort for 18 months. Who looked at them. Did Trump sell , share them with other people. Did Trumps staff, employees, have access to them. Did the person who cleans Trumps office see the secret documents in his desk.

This whole situation does not make any sense. Trump knew he was being investigated and he didn't even try to hide the documents. He left them right in his desk, in a not so secure store room. It's completely fucking crazy.

[Irish_Dem]

9. It is a fairly straightforward situation:

1. Trump is a psychopath and career criminal.

2. He is all about making money illegally. Having easy access to classified
documents worth $billions was too tempting for him to ignore.

3. Of course many many people had access to the documents.

He left them unsecured in a hotel/resort/party venue.
We know by the large number of witnesses who came forward to the FBI
that many have seen the docs. Foreign agents were on the MAL premises as well.

4. Trump has no conscience so the damage to individuals and the country mean nothing to him.
Hence he sold them, gave them away in return for favors, and just left them unsecured.

5. Trump would have stolen material that turned a profit, return for favors, blackmail, leverage,
bragging rights, and prurient interest.

6. He was casual and matter of fact about all of it because he knows he is above the law
and people are afraid to go after him.

[fightforfreedom]

10. There is a lot we don't know, yet.

[Irish_Dem]

11. We know a lot of the major pieces. Trump commits his crimes in plain view with witnesses.

And when you understand the clinical picture of con artists and psychopaths,
it is easy to understand what he is doing.

[chriscan64]

12. It is all self-inflicted.

He got away with Impeachment I and Impeachment II, along with various offenses along the way. It's Jan. 20th, 2021 - he has no bills to sign or veto, no state dinners to embarrass himself or the country, all he has to do is go home with no more new investigations of his behavior as president.

The only available crime is to take government documents home, so he does that. As for why, we are left to speculate but with Trump the wildest speculations are possible. He made things worse for himself by doing it in the first place, and then like you say returning partials and lying about it.

I would say he is a common criminal, but most don't go to the Supreme Court to suppress evidence. He uses the Court like a fast-food drive-up window for all his legal needs.