Jonathan Turley Takes DOJ Apart for Latest Leak on Why FBI Raided Trump – Opinion

As we reported, Attorney General Merrick Garland moved to block the unsealing of the affidavit which would reveal the reasons for the FBI raid on President Donald Trump’s home. The claim was that they didn’t want the release to prejudice the investigation. Even if they did not want to release the investigation they could make redactions and/or Garland could give only the reasons for the raid. That is, if he cared about transparency and wanted to reassure the public that this wasn’t all political. But he hasn’t done that.

While Garland is trying to keep the affidavit under wraps, we’re seeing “leaks” right and left from the FBI to the media, with stories such as the one in the New York Times, claiming that officials saw things on a surveillance security tape that “alarmed them” and that there might be more material that hadn’t been turned over yet.

So while the DOJ/FBI are blocking the release of what they swore to a judge, they’re leaking things that they want to be leaked out there to the media. And who knows whether there’s any reality to any of that? Nobody is in any trouble for telling lies to the media and spreading misinformation to them. But it’s typically amorphous anyway — what does that even mean, they saw things that “alarmed them”? That’s like random reports about “nuclear” things. It’s nonsense until there are real facts on the table and not unconfirmed leaks.

It’s what we’ve always seen when it comes to Trump and the left: all kinds of nonsense leaked to the media as though it were real. It spreads quickly and is embraced by many.

Jonathan Turley from George Washington University is calling attention to the double standards of this whole thing.

Turley notes that while Garland’s people are leaking, he “has not taken even modest measures to assure the public that this is not a politically motivated investigation. Turley said it was unlikely the Court would reject the DOJ demand that the affidavit remains sealed “However, that offers little transparency while these confidential sources continue to frame the coverage through these leaks,” he said. “It is the leaking from the Justice Department that is fueling speculation. While Garland says that he is deeply concerned about people questioning the integrity of his Department, he has done little to quell such speculation or to address these concerns.”

On Thursday, the Court will hear from the Court about whether the affidavit should be unsealed. But it’s hard to argue that there’s a problem with unsealing the affidavit when the FBI appears to be leaking right and left on the subject. How can it endanger national security if they’re already spreading stuff out there?

It speaks volumes when it comes down to transparency and being politically involved.

About Post Author

Follow Us