The FBI executed a search warrant approved by a federal judge and searched Trump’s home in Florida in search of government documents that were illegally removed from the White House when Trump grudgingly left office.
It is a felony to remove classified documents from the White House or other government offices. We like to think that “no man is above the law,” but we have seen too many exceptions. For example, it is obvious that Trump incited the attack in the U.S. Capitol. He even wanted to join the mob as it ransacked the building. Yet he says the mob acted on its own and his followers insist the mob was really Antifa. Too bad he didn’t join the mob so he couldn’t disclaim any responsility. Isn’t it a crime to incite an insurrection? But no man is above the law.
Trump issued a statement in which he whined that the FBI raid on his manor was no different from the break-in to the DNC headquarters at Watergate.
But historian Michael Beschloss explained the difference last night on MSNBC. The Watergate break-in was a criminal act. The raid on Mar-A-Lago was authorized by a federal judge and carried out lawfully in search of documents that Trump took with him from the White House. All presidential documents are supposed to be turned over to the National Archives. They are the property of the federal government, not the president’s personal property. Refusing to return them is a felony.
Trump’s loyal supporters in Congress are outraged. They believe that he is above the law.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I swear, this guy’s (der Trumpenkreatur’s) brain and how it operates? The closest comparable entity would be that of a ransom note….you know, different styled and sized letters cut from different print sources. The difference with this guy is that it’s just jumbled letters for its own sake.
Let’s hope this is the Democrats speaking softly, but carrying a big stick.
Ha ha ha ha ha.
The Dims have nothing to do with this raid.
I think that you are quite right about that, Duane. See my note, below.
There is the one minor detail that the FBI is actually part of the Department of Justice, which is now headed by a Democrat.
But sometimes an action can make all parties happy.
It is an incontestably established fact (and was well before yesterday’s raid) that Tp took classified government documents with him when he was dragged out of the White House. Can anyone imagine how the Republicans would react if a Democratic president did the same? Would Kevin McCarthy use the term “weaponizing politicization” for this illegal act? Would Marjorie Taylor Greene call for defunding the FBI (headed by a Tp appointee)?
Bravos to AG Garland and Director Wray. Happy 48th anniversary of Nixon’s resignation to all.
Sorry—looks like my *** messed up the formatting.
Once again Indiana is proving that we have IDIOTS in political positions. Trump is the “most effective president in a lifetime”? Oh no, “more than in one lifetime”.
………………………………….
News from WaPo:
Members of the Republican Study Committee, a conservative caucus of House Republicans, are planning to have dinner with former president Donald Trump at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., in what is expected to be a show of solidarity following the FBI search of his residence in Florida…
Members of the conservative group traveled to New Jersey last year to meet with Trump as well.
“We have a very close relationship with him, and the Republican Study Committee believes he’s the most effective president in a lifetime or more,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), the group’s chairman, told Breitbart News last month when plans for this year’s visit were announced…
Republicans who lionize Trump are rebranding their party as the party of racism, fascism, misogyny, xenophobia, and stupidity.
not only the party…
Those state and federal legislators and governors who a) support him openly, b) seek his endorsement and c) who refuse to speak about him have rebranded themselves.
AND those who VOTE FOR THE ABOVE have rebranded themselves!
No longer can they vote for these fools and distance themselves or rationalize their votes for them.
They got abortion, the Supreme Court, deregulation, tax breaks, and guns… No more excuses.
The timing of this search is interesting. Trump has recently hinted that he plans to announce his run for the presidency in 2024 “any day now.” Many people speculate that he feels he has to run in order to have, again, immunity from prosecution because of various cases pending against him, including the election tampering case in Florida and the fraud case regarding his property valuations in New York.
So, this raid comes hard upon his making it clear that he actually intends to run again.
Now, as I understand it, the Presidential Property Act doesn’t carry the penalty of jail time. However, it does bar the person convicted under it from running for public office again.
It ought to be obvious that if Trump is the nominee in 2024, the Repugnicans will lose. He lost the popular vote in 2016. He lost the popular vote and the Electoral College in 2020. And he has last support recently among Republican voters.
So, if you are an other-than-braindead right-winger in the U.S. today, you DON’T want to see Trump run again. And you would like to see Trump out of the way without his suffering any particularly egregious consequences. This would clear the way for DeSantis, who actually has a chance of winning.
So, this raid and the investigation of which it is part is ideal, from the right-winger’s perspective. It gives the appearance of doing something. It clears the way for DeSantis. And it creates further grievance to milk for sympathy for Trump and maintains his status as the cult of personality figure for the post-Trump presidency, fascist-inclined Republican Party.
None of which is good news, at all, for Democrats.
Herre’s what this reminds me of:
Epstein conveniently “hanged himself” in jail (or so our breathtakingly naive media keep saying).
Then, his co-conspirator in his blackmail operation, Ghislaine Maxwell, was brought to trial without any witness who could name a single major figure in politics, business, academia, or entertainment, who partook of the Epstein-Maxwell services. In other words, it really seems that the witness list was carefully curated.
And the result is that the appearance is created of having done something, but all the fat cats are protected and continue to get their wicked way in the world.
“Here’s what this reminds me of:
Epstein conveniently “hanged himself” in jail (or so our breathtakingly naive media keep saying).
Then, his co-conspirator in his blackmail operation, Ghislaine Maxwell, was brought to trial without any witness who could name a single major figure in politics, business, academia, or entertainment, who partook of the Epstein-Maxwell services. In other words, it really seems that the witness list was carefully curated.
And the result is that the appearance is created of having done something, but all the fat cats are protected and continue to get their wicked way in the world.”
Spot on to my way of thinking.
“Nobody’s above the law” implies that there’s only one set of laws that we are all compelled to abide by. This is a convenient and effective feel good distraction. The Epstein debacle is now efficiently fading in the rear view mirror.
Look no further than good ol’ Rupert’s distancing posture to get a glimpse of the other forces at work, here.
But Trump completely blindsided us in 2020. My personal is that the control interests aren’t ready to throw him under the bus, yet. And, despite his youth and rhetoric, I’m not so sure that DeSantis is such a great replacement. He’s not exactly revered in Florida.
My take is that the smarter Republicans want to preserve Trump as the godfather, the grand old man, the object of the cult of personality, but on the sidelines, while they run someone for the office who is actually electable.
Yeah…I hear you, there. “The Godfather of the New Right”.
Can you imagine statues of him, a decade down the road?
Gag me with a spoon. 🤮
Yeah, the way we have a monument on the national mall and a national airport named after Ronald Regan, who sold arms to the Iranians to fund an illegal war in Central America and was a thorough-going racist (see, for example, the recently released audio of one of his telephone conversations with Richard Nixon). The sale of arms to Iran to fund the illegal war was traitorous, and he lied about it again and again and again. Of course, all the rightwing pundits and press called the Iran-Contra charges fake, and now they have conveniently forgotten that they ever did that. And, ofc, racists have no problem with Reagan’s virulent racism. So, now they have made him into an icon, a folk hero. The racist, traitorous folk hero. You can’t make up stuff this stupid.
Reagan was almost as ignorant as Trump is. He thought that trees were the major source of air pollution. He had a freaking astrologer whom he consulted on major issues. When he was first campaigning for president, he described Social Security as Communist. His chief of staff in his second term wrote an autobiography in which he said that Regan was mostly not there because of senile dementia during his second term. So, his was very much a corporate presidency. But I have to give him this: After he became president and learned that a nuclear war was unwinnable, he reversed course and established detente with the Soviet Union, leading to a great nuclear arms deal. So, he was capable of learning. And he was avuncular and read well from teleprompters.
And that’s exactly what I suspect we shall see. DeSantis as president, Trump on the sidelines as the much-praised spiritual grandfather of the new fascist Repugnican Party, trotted out and propped up for rallies, subject of iconography. Think of the treatment of Mao in China in the old days. Same thing.
Ronnie and Iran/Contra. Ugh.
Remember Ollie North’s dramatic shift from “patriotically defiant” to “apologetically remorseful”? Wanted to see that in the J6 hearings but, surprisingly, those lead characters did not heed the summonses.
I guess I’m being pie in the sky, but I don’t see DeSantis winning. I’m thinking this new look Right is going to blow up in their faces and a shift back to sane conservatism will manifest. We’ve seen a lot in this country, but an orchestrated attack on the Capital is more than just a step too far. And it wasn’t just Trump. Could easily be wrong but my cynicism only carries so far. Heads are going to roll.
I hope you are right. Not holding my breath. Ollie, who went on to head the National Rifle Association, because he hadn’t already done enough damage in the world, got caught because he didn’t know that trashing a file on your computer just deletes the file name, not the underlying file. LOL.
I don’t know, Gita. Even after the Trumpanzee army marched into the Capitol, causing death and injury and chanting, “Hand Mike Pence,” 147 Repugnican Representatives and Senators voted with Trump and the other seditious conspirators not to certify the election results. Obviously, Trump went way to far. He defrauded in the United States by perpetrating numerous versions of his election Big Lie that he knew to be false. He committed treason by aiding and abetting several groups that wanted to overthrow the government by undoing the lawful election. He committed sedition and obstruction of an official proceeding by putting together slates of illegal “alternative electors” and by inciting a mob to attack the Capitol. Really egregious. But even AFTER ALL THIS, the Repugnican base is still largely behind him, he won overwhelming approval to run again at CPAC, and prominent Republican leaders continue to spout his election fraud lie. And all those folks doing that are conspirators after the fact, accessories to his crimes. Equal justice under law? Clearly, not. These people are all getting away with this.
“ And all those folks doing that are conspirators after the fact, accessories to his crimes. Equal justice under law? Clearly, not. These people are all getting away with this.”
Yes; this is my fear, as well.
But it’s a double edged sword. Should our justice system finally say, “enough is enough”, the brazenness of the perpetrators has exposed them in a very big way.
It’s like Trump’s call to Raffensperger: no way to recant. All on the public record. Should they decide to prosecute, the lies, threats, and bragging have made the job that much easier. The moment is here. Have to hope that we seize it.
Everything depends on Garland.
Remember when we were all awaiting the Mueller Report?
Feeling a little déjà vu?
They are breaking these laws right out in the open and with complete impunity.
The only people being punished are the little Trumpanzees with no status or power, the morons who followed Glorious Leader off this cliff. Our justice system is really, really good at going after the little guy.
I remember seeing a nude statue of Trump. I DuckDuckGo’d the topic and found out that there are MORE nude statues of him. GROSS!!
………
This Naked Donald Trump Statue Cannot Be Unseen
Aug 18, 2016
A statue of Trump in the buff popped up last night in Union Square in Manhattan, assailing innocent New Yorkers with an NSFW image they surely won’t forget anytime soon: the veins, the nips, those macaroni pubes.
Identical sculptures were also spotted in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland and Seattle.
The artworks depict Trump looking very serious and very naked, and spare no detail. The artworks address some of voters’ most probing concerns, such as ― do the curtains match the rug? And, is there a problem? According to this artist’s interpretation, perhaps. A plaque at Trump’s feet reads: “The emperor has no balls.”
Article: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/naked-donald-trump-sculpture-indecline_n_57b5d9d0e4b034dc73260c94?utm_campaign=share_email&ncid=other_email_o63gt2jcad4
“Remember when we were all awaiting the Mueller Report?
Feeling a little déjà vu?”
Trump is no longer the president and Bill Barr is no longer licking his boots. Big differences there.
But we’ve heard zilch about the confiscation of Rudy’s computers/phone/records. And it’s been over a year. Definitely reason for concern.
The fact that guilt is even in question is appalling. Which brings to mind the gist of another reply on this thread:
When people say we’re in uncharted territory (in terms of what Trump’s done), we might be only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Talking about a NYC/NJ real estate developer, here.
Scrumptious food for thought. I agree that Trump’s nomination will by itself suffice to overcome disenfranchisement and Repugnican scare tactics in 2024. Why then would Repugnican know-somethings such as Harvard Law alumnus Cancun Cruz rush to his defense? Keeping the base well fed until the midterms, after which they can roll the elephantine bus over Trump?
Meanwhile, in the know-less-than-nothing corner of the Seditious Old Party, Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted, “Defund the FBI!” (She used full caps and more exclamation points.) Ya think she knows that she was saying, “Defund the police”?
Haaaaa!
Wray is a Trump appointee, but he was given his first big government job by Bush Jr. Trump, of course, often congratulated himself on appointing “the best people.” Then, a few months later, he fired them. He had a larger turnover than any other president, by FAR. And Wray was no exception. Trump tried to oust him, too. But here, I think, Wray is simply doing the right thing. It also happens to be something that serves the interests of the Republican Party.
I would not argue that Trump does not motivate Democrats to turn out . But he also motivates the Republican base to turn out . I would hope that Garland has a lot more than stolen records . Like those records making their way to a foriegn power . The Democrats have a lot to run against Republicans on . Will they do it?
A Russian asset sat on his traitorous tuffet in the Oval Office for four years. This is without doubt the greatest failure of an intelligence and justice system ever. How sweet it would be to see this failure rectified. And THAT would be a rectification worthy of the history books.
Dear Bob,
Indeed, this raid by the FBI has attracted a great deal of attention. If the past is still a reliable guide on Trump’s behaviour, then one could reasonably conclude that the twice-impeached ex-POTUS would plot his revenge on the FBI and the DOJ if he were to reign in the oval office again.
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
If re-elected, he will make every FBI agent swear a loyalty oath …to him personally.
Dear Diane,
Perhaps worse still, he might transform the FBI into something akin to or indistinguishable from the FSB.
Given the quality and relevance of your post entitled “Reader: Why The Supreme Court Is Wrong About Abortion”, I am pleased to inform you that I have hyperlinked your post to my post entitled “🏛️⚖️ The Facile and Labile Nature of Law: Beyond the Supreme Court and Its Ruling on Controversial Matters 🗽🗳️🔫🤰🧑🤝🧑💉” so that my readers can access your post from the “Related Articles” section of my post, which is available at
You and I both know all too well that the likes of us have been witnessing so clearly the insidious nature of Trumpism, Machiavellian conservatism and inimical illiberalism perverting democracy for nefarious purposes and for justifying, obfuscating or muddying the waters of systemic sexism, racism, historical negationism, discrimination, marginalization and curtailment of civil rights. The nightmarish Orwellian reality of 1984 could indeed merely be delayed by four decades until the 2024 United States presidential election.
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
Many yers ago I was the Executive Officer for a nuclear missile unit in Germany. I was responsible for all the classified documents including top secret and NATO secret.
The unit received a surprise inspection from a much higher headquarters. Nuclear units were always being inspected for one reason or another.
Upon inspections of the classified documents a top secret document was missing. At moment I was informed that if the document could not be found that I would be charge for the loss and could receive up to ten years in a federal prison and a $10,000 fine. Of course my career would in the service would be out the window.
Luckily, we found the. document in the safe in the launch area. A fellow officer had taken the document from my safe without informing me. I was off the hook for the loss but the unit fail the inspection. I did not fair well on my next Officers Efficient Report because of what that officer did. Like Trump, nothing was done to the officer because he was the fair hair boy of the unit.
Trump should be on his way to a federal prison for removal of the classified documents already found at the Mar-A-Largo. No question.
Trump is not above the law.
Thank you for your post, moeone2015.
Yes, that dumpster should be on his way to a Federal Prison for removal of classified documents found at Mar-A-Largo.
Unfortunately, the Presidential Records Act contains no enforcement provisions beyond keeping the person who violated it from running for office again. There are other applicable federal laws, but I doubt they’ll be used. The whole point here, I suspect, is to clear the way for DeSantis because Trump is, ofc, a loser, as much as the party loves having him for the cult of personality appeal to the Trumpanzee base. So, but evoking the PRA, they get it both ways. They remove Trump from contention while keeping him around to fire up the morons.
Conveniently (but I am sure purely coincidentally), prosecution of Trump for violation of the Presidential records law would also allow Garland to avoid the much more controversial and difficult prosecution related to Trump’s involvement with the insurrection.
And since the record investigation was actually begun long ago, prosecution for that would allow Garland to claim he was adhering to the actual letter of the Barr rule regarding investigation and prosecution of candidates.
Finally, if the raid actually convinces Trump to declare his candidacy sooner rather than later, that just makes it easier for Garland to decide NOT to pursue Trump on the much more serious charges, since he can say he wants to avoid the appearance of politicization of the prosecution process.
cx: by evoking the PRA
Some (but not I, of course) might view it as a way for Garland to target Trump without really targeting Trump.
exactly
And to add to the joy of Trump’s palace being desecrated by the unholy justice avengers, we have pictures of Stefanik’s name floating on a scrap of paper unflushed in his golden bowl
Journalist or not, whoever took this picture should be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for photography.
Agreed!
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two names divulged in a yellow bowl — and I
I photographed them, like a spy
And that has made all the difference
Haaaa!!!
. . . and . . . conviction of said felony bars someone from political office! :o) (Happy days are here again . . .)
This is the Make Way for Ron Show
Random —
What is in the documents that he thought he needed to take – conspicuous and curious he didn’t shred them, he kept them?
Will PUTIN’s name show up in them? (Blackmail 101)?
Is it the “dirt” he’s got on his lackey do-nothings in Congress and candidates he wants elected under his thumb?
McConnell whined that the timing is bad and should not have taken place now so close to exPres announcing his candidacy. Seriously, Mitch? Every criminal in the U.S. will play the “I am running for President” card when arrested.
That an elected official anywhere can think this man is worthy of an ounce of “shadow of doubt” or he’s a victim is sickening.
Love letters from Kim Jong-un
Again, this sounds good, looks good. But I’m not getting my hopes up. Yes, the feds raided his Florida pad and this looks good for prosecutorial reasons, yada, yada, etc. But I’m avoiding saying, “FINALLY!” and relaxing that this is, at last, the end of this trogg. Once more, during the entire Trump presidency, corporate media outlets like CNN and MSNBC, using punditry and polling, qualifying language and legal experts, constantly held the proverbial foot over the nation’s head in the hopes that this other foot would finally drop on the now-former president. It never did. The build up, the intense scrutiny, the focus and then–nothing. It’s only an effective business model. Look at it this way: how many endless appeals in the name of Running Out The Clock or closed-door negotiations has the former president used to keep himself free? Make no mistake about it: what Donald Trump represents and stands for is the worst of everything about America; he is the spokesperson for the lowest backside of the American character; the epitome of all that is detestable and despised about Americans–at home and abroad. But he sure is getting some help from a sensationalist media when nothing happens to him, thus leaving everyone in a disillusioned, cynical mist of haplessness and dejection, eventually just giving up with a “why bother” attitude.
Exactly. It’s tiring.
It’s been 15 months since they confiscated Rudy’s computers and records. Haven’t heard anything about it since. Hoping this won’t be more of the same.
Fascist leaders are always above the law because they think laws are for everyone else but them and the fascist mob that supports the fascist leaders thinks the same way.
I still subscribe to Breaking Christian News [BCN]. Most of the time I just delete their garbage.
This is the crapola that they are putting out:
This story from breakingchristiannews.com
A defiant President Donald Trump released a new political video early Tuesday morning after the FBI raided his home at Mar-a-Lago.
The video (watch above) begins with rolling thunder as the former president lists the failures of President Joe Biden leading a “nation in decline.”
“We are a nation that in many ways has become a joke,” Trump says.
The video features Trump delivering a speech about his vision for the future, where “hard-working patriots” rebuild the country.
“We will not bend, we will not break, we will not yield, ever, ever, ever,” Trump promises in the video.
He then continues, vowing to stand against the “tyrants” and bring greatness back to the United States.
The ad concludes with words on-screen reading “…the best is yet to come” but stops short of announcing a Trump run for president in 2024.
https://?ID=35814
I read this kind of stuff, too. It’s a good idea to keep up on what the other side is saying.
Amen, except I can’t go with his conclusion. Nothing to be excited about. This is the Make Way for Ron Show.
MISSION MAR-A-LAGO: FALLOUT — The search of Trump’s Florida compound by federal agents Monday has the former president’s base rallying to stand with him — including many of his potential rivals for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
While Chris Christie and Tim Scott were among few exceptions, the reaction among potential Republican presidential candidates was to defend Trump. That included former Vice President Mike Pence, who has broken with Trump in several ways this year amid fallout from the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, before which Trump pressured Pence not to certify the 2020 election results.
Here’s a round-up of some of their responses:
Former Vice President Mike Pence: “No former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history. After years where FBI agents were found to be acting on political motivation during our administration, the appearance of continued partisanship by the Justice Department must be addressed. Yesterday’s action undermines public confidence in our system of justice and Attorney General Garland must give a full accounting to the American people as to why this action was taken and he must do so immediately.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: “The raid on [Mar-a-Lago] is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem: “The FBI raid on President Trump’s home is an unprecedented political weaponization of the Justice Department. They’ve been after President Trump as a candidate, as President, and now as a former President. Using the criminal justice system in this manner is un-American.”
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin: “A stunning move by the DOJ and FBI. This same DOJ labeled parents in Loudoun County as terrorists and failed to enforce federal law to protect Justices in their homes. Selective, politically motivated actions have no place in our democracy.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: “ This is next-level Nixonian. Never before has the country seen an Administration go to such extent to use the levers of government to target a former President and political rival. This weaponizes power to squelch dissent. Such abuses must have limits.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: “I trust that it had to have been and I hope that they understood the implications, both from a policy perspective for the Justice Department and politically, of doing something really as unprecedented as raiding the home or office of a former president,” adding that the search of Trump’s safe was “fair game.”
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott: “We need to let this play out and see exactly what happens. But we should have been stunned and surprised and shocked with what happened yesterday.”
Does trump have dirt in the republicans, I mean isn’t that how trump operates? It’s strange how they were outraged the day after the insurrection, then changed their minds, now they support his lies? Will this be the GOPS legacy, so much has already been written, discussed, analyzed. How can a political figure be so immoral and still be supported by so many?
One wonders whether the classified documents Trump hung onto were 1) to be used for vendettas against political opponents, 2) evidence of a kompromat entanglement with Putin’s regime, or 3) ditto, but this time with Kim Jong-Un.
As I’ve read it; Trump and Co are free to publish the list of that the FBI left with them. Items/documents they were looking for and what they carried off with them.
I haven’t seen that list published as of yet…or am I missing something, here?
Pence is, once again, showing his true colors.
Trump has the list of documents the FBI was looking for
Love letter to Kim and Vlad.