The more we find out about the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago, the more ridiculous — and ominous — the story becomes. Now, Donald Trump claims agents “stole” his three passports, one of which was expired. What’s next — are they going to go after his birth certificate for harassing Barack Obama about his?
If true, does this mean Merrick Garland’s Justice Department actually considers Trump a flight risk?
Trump stated this in a Truth Social post:
Wow! The FBI of Mar-a-Lago raided my house and took three passports, one expired. This attack is unprecedented in the history of our Country on a political rival. Third World
Trump is correct in the sense the raid on the former president’s home was unprecedented. And if Garland ordered Trump’s passports to be seized, we have a whole new ballgame.
— Dr. Hold My Beer’s Ministry of Truth (@RealLibSmacker) August 15, 2022
After last Monday’s raid, confusion reigned over what the FBI was looking for.
While the Washington Post claimed the raid was over nuclear secrets — which Russia claims it has read — others said it was about still-classified documents that should have been in the National Archives. Trump demanded immediately that the warrant be released and the seal removed.
Nick Arama (my colleague) reported on Friday that a Florida court had released the search warrant. The Wall Street Journal reports that FBI agents found 11 sets classified documents. These documents included documents considered top-secret and intended to only be available at special government facilities.
Breaking: FBI agents searching Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home removed 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked as top secret and meant to be only kept in special government facilities, according to a copy of the inventory reviewed by WSJ https://t.co/n6veD2OVSt
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 12, 2022
The warrant details the address and locations to be searched, including, “The locations to be searched include the ‘45 Office,’ all storage rooms, and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available to be used by FPOTUS and his staff and in which boxes or documents could be stored, including all structures or buildings on the estate.”
We also reported Friday that the warrant included a list of items that were to be taken.
Any physical records and documents that constitute evidence, contraband or fruits of crime. §§ 793, 2071 , or 1519, including the following:
a. Physical documents marked with a classification along with containers/boxes with contents (including additional documents) where such documents may be found. Also, any containers/boxes which are combined with or found with the above documents/boxes.
b. Communication information, in all forms, concerning the retrieval and storage of national defense information, classified material, or their transmission;
c. Government and/or Presidential Records that were created between January 20, 2017, & January 20, 20, 2021
d. Evidence of knowing alteration or destruction of government or Presidential records, and documents bearing classification markings.
Just me, or is “Donald Trump’s passports” missing from the above list?
Trump asserts that both documents covered under attorney-client privilege, as well as documents which could have been protected by executive privilege were seized by the FBI during the raid. Trump is demanding they be returned.
But again, passports? It is so Orwellian, if it’s true. Not that this whole fiasco wasn’t already that — given that Trump is being investigated under the U.S. Espionage Act of 1918.
The Act prohibits, in part “obtaining information, recording pictures, or copying descriptions of any information relating to the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information may be used for the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.”
Bottom line:
Regardless of what one thinks about Donald Trump, the 2020 election, January 6, or the raid on Mar-a-Lago, this is the same Justice Department that labeled parents as “terrorists” for demanding that Loudoun County schools stop indoctrinating their children with Marxist-derived so-called “critical race theory” and concealing incidences of sexual abuse against their children
This is the same Justice Department that failed to enforce federal law to protect Supreme Court justices and their families in their own homes, following the Court’s overturn ofRoe V. Wade
This is the same Justice Department that continues to take selective, politically motivated actions against Donald Trump, former Trump associates Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, and others, while having ignored Hillary Clinton’s private server and deleted email scandal, and continues to do its best to avoid indicting Hunter Biden, despite an indisputable amount incriminating evidence.
It is this same Justice Department, which has no place within our democracy.
About Post Author
You may also like
-
What Your Startup Should Know About Using a Local SEO Agency
-
The Importance of Professional Tree Removal
-
From Science to Storytelling: How Sara Winokur Brings Forensic Genetics to Life in Ivory Bones
-
What is an Electronic Flight Certificate? A Clear Explanation
-
Faith and Tattoos: Exploring the Intersection of Belief and Body Art