 |
| still flabbergasted that anyone believed that this was how the FBI found these documents? |
What the FBI/DOJ filings do not shed much light on was what the emergency was. What event was about to happen to expose these documents to hostile powers? Their mere presence at Mar-a-Lago had been known for weeks, what was it that on August 5th, 2022, drove the feds to get a search warrant? We still don’t know, and the staged photo doesn’t lend credibility to whatever explanation the FBI/DOJ eventually announces.
Jacobson makes the point that many people seem to want to gloss over. Whether or not the "official" designation of Mar-a-Lago as a "secured facility" both for briefings and storage was revoked or not, doesn't change the underlying reality that these documents were under lock and key, guarded by Secret Service, and watched by video.
When you claim espionage you have to have evidence that these documents were actually in danger of being sent to hostile hands. Not the possibility of it happening. Not the opportunity for something to possibly happen. But something imminent that showed that either some foreign entity had a real plan to break into Mar-a-Lago or that you had real evidence that Trump (or someone in his close circle) was about ready to give them to a hostile power.
Was there any evidence of that? Certainly neither the warrant or redacted affidavit suggests that the location was under siege from a foreign country or that they had evidence that anything was about to be provided to a hostile force. If they had such evidence, I doubt they would have waited the weeks they did before moving in.
Lastly, obstruction is only a crime if you can prove there was another crime being committed. The idea that Trump having three documents in his office (which was also technically a secured area according to White House documents) was obstruction because he was trying to hide classified information is nonsense. He had never suggested that documents were not there and has maintained all along that they were declassified. He obviously did not believe he was committing any crimes.
Oh... and need I remind everyone. The 1978 PRA makes all of these documents (by law) privileged documents and provides that the President in question has full access to them. The idea that Trump accessing his own Presidential records is "obstruction" is ludicrous.
8 comments:
The precedent of "intent" was set when the DOJ/FBI refused to pursue charges against Hillary for exactly the lack of intent.
Meanwhile we're all patiently waiting for the DOJ to illustrate Trump's intent to harm the nation by his actions.
The FBI's photo of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago was standard procedure, despite Trump's claims it was staged to make him look bad
Katie Anthony
1 hour ago
This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Department of Justice via AP
The DOJ released a photo on Tuesday of "TOP SECRET" documents found during the search of Mar-a-Lago. Trump has since railed against the federal agents, alleging the images were staged to make him look bad. A former FBI agent told Insider that taking photos of evidence is standard practice.
After the Department of Justice released a photograph showing documents labeled "TOP SECRET" splayed across the floor at Trump's Mar-a-Lago office, the former president called the image "deceiving" and his allies claimed the photo was staged to make Trump look bad.
But a former FBI agent said the evidence photo was just standard protocol.
The image shows redacted documents spread out on the carpeted floor of Mar-a-Lago, some of which have cover pages reading "TOP SECRET" and "SECRET" on them.
The photo was attached to a DOJ court filing on Tuesday, and Trump and his political allies immediately accused the FBI of impropriety.
Synchpathological liars like Scott 👍
"Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!"
Deep State FBI
They were not staged to make Trump look bad but you have lost your mind Scott 😉 IED is ugly
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A federal judge indicated Thursday that she’s seriously considering temporarily barring Justice Department investigators from reviewing material seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon suggested that she’s considering issuing that limitation, while potentially allowing an exception for the intelligence community to continue reviewing national security risks from the potential exposure of the seized documents.
They were not staged to make Trump look bad but you have lost your mind Scott
No I think they were staged and made you look stupid by thinking that is actually how they found them.
Three days and we are done with you!
But a former FBI agent said the evidence photo was just standard protocol.
Right.
And I have some oceanfront land in Nebraska for sale - cheap.
The FBI does not have a single shred of credibility left, alky.
Throughout his presidency, Trump demonstrated that he’s a big believer in that old French saying, l’etat est moi. He was not the custodian of the US government and the servant of the national interest; he was the government and his interests were the government’s interests. In this warped view, all these records belong to him and exist for his benefit. He has exclusivity and can control how they are used. Maybe he believes some of these records could help him prove one of the scads of untrue conspiracy theories he has promoted over the years. Perhaps he wants to use them for a memoir. Or to show them off to his pals in the Mar-a-Lago buffet line? Or one day place them in an exhibit in his presidential museum? (Will he charge his MAGA followers an entrance fee?) Why should anyone else possess his love letters with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un? Spite is a large part of Trump’s psychological algorithm. It’s not a stretch to envision Trump, scorned by the voters and fired from the presidency, defiantly hanging on to documents he was not allowed to keep and shooting the bird at the (Deep State!) bureaucrats and intelligence community he despised. Mine, mine, mine.
Post a Comment