Shit gets real for Donnie

[JAFF]

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-i...-where-1732283

The raid on Mar-a-Lago was based largely on information from an FBI confidential human source, one who was able to identify what classified documents former President Trump was still hiding and even the location of those documents, two senior government officials told Newsweek.

The officials, who have direct knowledge of the FBI's deliberations and were granted anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters, said the raid of Donald Trump's Florida residence was deliberately timed to occur when the former president was away.

donald trump
A confidential informer told the FBI what documents Donald Trump was hiding at Mar-a-Lago, and where. The former president at a rally on August 05, 2022 in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

FBI decision-makers in Washington and Miami thought that denying the former president a photo opportunity or a platform from which to grandstand (or to attempt to thwart the raid) would lower the profile of the event, says one of the sources, a senior Justice Department official who is a 30-year veteran of the FBI.

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The effort to keep the raid low-key failed: instead, it prompted a furious response from GOP leaders and Trump supporters. "What a spectacular backfire," says the Justice official.

"I know that there is much speculation out there that this is political persecution, but it is really the best and the worst of the bureaucracy in action," the official says. "They wanted to punctuate the fact that this was a routine law enforcement action, stripped of any political overtones, and yet [they] got exactly the opposite."


Both senior government officials say the raid was scheduled with no political motive, the FBI solely intent on recovering highly classified documents that were illegally removed from the White House. Preparations to conduct such an operation began weeks ago, but in planning the date and time, the FBI Miami Field Office and Washington headquarters were focused on the former president's scheduled return to Florida from his residences in New York and New Jersey.

"They were seeking to avoid any media circus," says the second source, a senior intelligence official who was briefed on the investigation and the operation. "So even though everything made sense bureaucratically and the FBI feared that the documents might be destroyed, they also created the very firestorm they sought to avoid, in ignoring the fallout."

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A "Florida For Trump" flag outside Mar-a-Lago
A "Florida For Trump" flag being displayed outside Mar-a-Lago following the FBI search.
EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/GETTY
On Monday at about 10 a.m. EST, two dozen FBI agents and technicians showed up at Donald Trump's Florida home to execute a search warrant to obtain any government-owned documents that might be in the possession of Trump but are required to be delivered to the Archives under the provisions of the 1978 Presidential Records Act. (In response to the Hillary Clinton email scandal, Trump himself signed a law in 2018 that made it a felony to remove and retain classified documents.)

The act establishes that presidential records are the property of the U.S. government and not a president's private property. Put in place after Watergate to avoid the abuses of the Nixon administration, the law imposes strict penalties for failure to comply. "Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined" $2,000, up to three years in prison or "shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States."


The act, and concerns about the illegal possession of classified "national defense information" are the bases for the search warrant, according to the two sources. The raid had nothing to do with the January 6 investigation or any other alleged wrongdoing by the former president.


The road to the raid began a year-and-a-half ago, when in the transition from the Trump administration to that of President Joe Biden, there were immediate questions raised by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as to whether the presidential records turned over to the federal agency for historical preservation were complete or not.

In February, Archivist David Ferriero testified before Congress that his agency began talking with Trump's people right after they left office and that the Trump camp had already returned 15 boxes of documents to the Archives. Ferriero said that in those materials, the Archives discovered items "marked as classified national security information," unleashing further inquiries as to whether Trump continued to possess classified material.

Will Trump Do Time? What It Would Take to Convict the Former PresidentREAD MORE Will Trump Do Time? What It Would Take to Convict the Former President
The basic outlines of the facts surrounding this timeline have been confirmed by the former president. He has previously said that he was returning any official records to the Archives, labeling any confusion in the matter as "an ordinary and routine process to ensure the preservation of my legacy and in accordance with the Presidential Records Act." He also claimed the Archives "did not 'find' anything" in what he had already been returned, suggesting that there was nothing sensitive. He said the documents had inadvertently shipped to Florida during the six-hour transition period in which his belongings were moved.

According to the Justice Department source, the Archives saw things differently, believing that the former White House was stonewalling and continued to possess unauthorized material. Earlier this year, they asked the Justice Department to investigate.


In late April, the source says, a federal grand jury began deliberating whether there was a violation of the Presidential Records Act or whether President Trump unlawfully possessed national security information. Through the grand jury process, the National Archives provided federal prosecutors with copies of the documents received from former President Trump in January 2022. The grand jury concluded that there had been a violation of the law, according to the Justice Department source.

In the past week, the prosecutor in the case and local Assistant U.S. Attorney went to Florida magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in West Palm Beach to seek approval for the search of Donald Trump's private residence. The affidavit to obtain the search warrant, the intelligence source says, contained abundant and persuasive detail that Trump continued to possess the relevant records in violation of federal law, and that investigators had sufficient information to prove that those records were located at Mar-a-Lago—including the detail that they were contained in a specific safe in a specific room.

"In order for the investigators to convince the Florida judge to approve such an unprecedented raid, the information had to be solid, which the FBI claimed," says the intelligence source.


According to experts familiar with FBI practices, Judge Reinhart reviewed the prosecutor's evidence and asked numerous questions about the sources and the urgency. The judge signed a search warrant allowing the FBI to look for relevant material and the FBI then planned the operation, wanting to conduct the raid while Trump was spending time at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. A Secret Service source who spoke on background said the Secret Service director was given advance warning and was later told the specifics of the raid.

Because the Secret Service is still responsible for protecting the former president, his family, and his property, the FBI had to coordinate with the Secret Service to gain access to the grounds.

A convoy of unmarked black SUVs and a Ryder rental truck filled with about three dozen FBI special agents and technicians entered the gates in the early evening. Heavily armed Secret Service agents were also visibly present at the gates. The Palm Beach Police Department was also present at the scene.


The entire operation was conducted relatively stealthily. No FBI people were seen in their iconic blue windbreakers announcing the presence of the Bureau. And though local law enforcement was present, the Palm Beach Police Department was careful to tweet on Tuesday that it "was not aware of the existence of a search warrant nor did our department assist the FBI in the execution of a search warrant."

According to news reports, some 10-15 boxes of documents were removed from the premises. Donald Trump said in a statement that the FBI opened his personal safe as part of their search. Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, who was present during the multi-hour search, says that the FBI targeted three rooms—a bedroom, an office and a storage room. That suggests that the FBI knew specifically where to look.

READ MORE
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Fact Check: Did Trump Appoint Judge Who Approved FBI Mar-A-Lago Raid?

"This unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate," former President Trump said in a statement. He called the raid "prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don't want me to run for President in 2024."

Though Trump and his Republican Party allies are portraying the raid as politically motivated, it is likely the unprecedented nature of the raid on the property of a former president will have the greatest reverberation. Even Trump's political rivals have rallied in condemning the FBI.

Former Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that "no former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history." Mike Pompeo, Trump's Secretary of State and CIA director, tweeted that Attorney General Merrick Garland "must explain why 250 yrs of practice was upended w/ this raid. I served on Benghazi Com[mittee] where we proved Hillary possessed classified info. We didn't raid her home."


The Biden White House says the president was not briefed about the Mar-a-Lago raid and knew nothing about it in advance. "The Justice Department conducts investigations independently and we leave any law enforcement matters to them," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday afternoon. "It would not be appropriate for us to comment on any ongoing investigations."

Merrick Garland
As U.S. President Joe Biden, appearing via teleconference, looks on, Attorney General Merrick Garland attends a meeting of the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access during an event at the White House complex August 3, 2022 in Washington, DC.
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
The senior Justice Department source says that Garland was regularly briefed on the Records Act investigation, and that he knew about the grand jury and what material federal prosecutors were seeking. He insists, though, that Garland had no prior knowledge of the date and time of the specific raid, nor was he asked to approve it. "I know it's hard for people to believe," says the official, "but this was a matter for the U.S. Attorney and the FBI."

[JAFF]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/polit...ent/index.html

In his first public statement since federal agents searched former President Donald Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday said that the Justice Department had filed in court a request that the search warrant and property receipt from the search be unsealed.

Garland also said he "personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter."
He noted that the department did not comment on the search on the day that it occurred. He pointed out that the search was confirmed by Trump that evening. He said that copies of the warrant and the warrant receipt were provided to the Trump lawyers who were on site during the search.
"The Department filed the motion to make public the warrant and receipt in light of the former president's public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest in this matter," Garland said. "Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor. Under my watch, that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing."

The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Department with regard to the search, as is the department's normal practice for ongoing investigations. Garland stressed that some of the department's work must happen outside of public view.
"We do that to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations," he said, while explaining that he would not provide more detail about the basis of the search.
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Trump and his legal team have not yet reached a decision on how to respond to the Justice Department's motion to unseal the warrant, a source familiar with their thinking told CNN.
In a pair of posts to Truth Social following Garland's statement, Trump continued to claim that his attorneys were "cooperating fully" and had developed "very good relationships" with federal investigators prior to Monday's search at Mar-a-Lago.
"The government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it," Trump said. "Everything was fine, better than most previous Presidents, and then, out of nowhere and with no warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided, at 6:30 in the morning, by VERY large numbers of agents, and even 'safecrackers.'"
The Justice Department has been instructed by the court to confer with Trump about its request to unseal certain warrant documents from the FBI Mar-a-Lago search and to tell the court by Friday 3 p.m. ET if he opposes their release.
Justice Department asks court for documents to be released
The FBI executed a search warrant Monday at the Palm Beach, Florida, resort as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, that may have been brought there.
Newly filed court documents outline what the Justice Department has officially moved to do Thursday.
"On August 8, 2022, the Department of Justice executed a search warrant, issued by this Court upon the requisite finding of probable cause... at the premises located at 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida 33480, a property of former President Donald J. Trump," the motion reads.
"At the time the warrant was initially executed, the Department provided notice directly to former President Trump's counsel. The Department did not make any public statements about the search, and the search apparently attracted little or no public attention as it was taking place. Later that same day, former President Trump issued a public statement acknowledging the execution of the warrant. In the days since, the search warrant and related materials have been the subject of significant interest and attention from news media organizations and other entities," the Justice Department writes.

DOJ then argues for unsealing the search warrant, citing "the intense public interest presented by a search of a residence of a former President."


The filing confirms that the search warrant was "signed and approved by the Court on August 5." On Thursday, the DOJ filed "the redacted Property Receipt listing items seized pursuant to the search," according to its unsealing motion.
"Former President Trump, through counsel, was provided copies of each of these documents on August 8, 2022, as part of the execution of the search," the filing adds.
Earlier this year, officials from the National Archives arranged the retrieval of 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago. In June, federal investigators served a grand jury subpoena and took away sensitive national security documents.
Then, according to sources, prosecutors developed evidence that there were potentially classified documents with national security implications remaining at the property.

FBI officials under attack

Republican lawmakers have lashed out at the department, calling the search politically motivated. Several lawmakers on the right have called for increased oversight of the department, and some have even suggested defunding the FBI or that agents planted evidence at the Florida estate.
Violent threats also have exploded online since the search. Posters have written things like "Garland needs to be assassinated" and "kill all feds." The biography and contact information of a federal magistrate judge who appears to have signed the search warrant used to execute the search at Mar-a-Lago has been wiped from a Florida court's website after he too became the target of violent threats.
In a message reviewed by CNN on Thursday moments ahead of the public statement, FBI Director Chris Wray told the bureau's employees their "safety and security" was his "primary concern right now.

"There has been a lot of commentary about the FBI this week questioning our work and motives," Wray said. "Much of it is from critics and pundits on the outside who don't know what we know and don't see what we see. What I know — and what I see — is an organization made up of men and women who are committed to doing their jobs professionally and by the book every day; this week is no exception."
In his public comments, Garland also called out the "unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors."
"I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked. The men and women of the FBI and the Justice Department are dedicated patriotic public servants," he said. "Every day, they protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. They do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. I am honored to work alongside them."

He should be sitting in the Supreme Court, except for the republican senators.

Karma is a BITCH

[JAFF]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/polit...nts/index.html

The FBI sought to locate classified documents related to nuclear weapons, among other items, when agents searched former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, this week, people familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post.

The people did not offer additional details to the Post about what the agents were seeking or whether any documents were recovered.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday that he "personally approved" the decision to seek a warrant for the search of Trump's Florida home.
"The department does not take such a decision lightly. Where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search and to narrowly scope any search that is undertaken," Garland said in a news conference.


https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi...st-2022-08-12/

WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - U.S. federal agents were looking for documents relating to nuclear weapons when they searched former President Donald Trump's home in Florida this week, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

It was not clear if such documents were recovered, the Post reported.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fb...dc5c254bd99a61


FBI agents appear to have been on the hunt for classified documents related to nuclear weapons during their raid of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on Monday, according to a report.

FBI agents in Trump Mar-a-Lago raid sought nuclear weapons documents: Report
© Provided by Washington Examiner
FBI agents in Trump Mar-a-Lago raid sought nuclear weapons documents: Report
Sources told the Washington Post that such classified information was among the items agents look for in the search, but declined to speak about any other materials that may have been sought. It remains unclear whether they found any nuclear documents, but experts cited in the report said this adds credence to fears by government officials that they could be obtained by bad actors.

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Amid a political firestorm, in which Trump has decried the raid as being politically motivated, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that he had personally approved the FBI’s decision to seek a search warrant.

Federal investigators served a grand jury subpoena in June and collected documents believed to contain sensitive national security information stashed in the basement of the resort, CNN reported. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that "someone familiar with the stored papers" told investigators there were still possibly more classified materials at the private club, and it noted there was doubt among Justice Department officials that Trump's team was being truthful about what records remained at Mar-a-Lago.

All this took place months after the National Archives and Records Administration collected about 15 boxes worth of material from Mar-a-Lago that officials said should have been turned over after Trump left office. Officials at the National Archives said they found classified material in the trove and referred the matter to the Justice Department.

FBI agents took about a dozen boxes in the latest raid, Trump's lawyer said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

In a flurry of Truth Social posts on Thursday, Trump complained of being targeted in the raid without warning.

"My attorneys and representatives were cooperating fully, and very good relationships had been established," Trump said. "The government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it. They asked us to put an additional lock on a certain area - DONE! Everything was fine, better than that of most previous Presidents, and then, out of nowhere and with no warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided, at 6:30 in the morning, by VERY large numbers of agents, and even 'safecrackers.' They got way ahead of themselves. Crazy!"

[JAFF]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...ef00bce2ef490a

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Monday said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham must testify before a special grand jury in Atlanta that is investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws while trying to overturn his narrow 2020 general election loss in the state.

FILE - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., addresses a South Carolina GOP dinner July 29, 2022, in Columbia, S.C. Graham has brought on former President Donald Trump's former White House counsel Don McGahn, who was in federal court in Atlanta last week as part of a legal team fighting a subpoena for Graham(AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)
© Provided by Associated Press
FILE - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., addresses a South Carolina GOP dinner July 29, 2022, in Columbia, S.C. Graham has brought on former President Donald Trump's former White House counsel Don McGahn, who was in federal court in Atlanta last week as part of a legal team fighting a subpoena for Graham(AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)
Attorneys for Graham, R-S.C., had argued that his position as a U.S. senator provided him immunity from having to appear before the investigative panel and asked the judge to quash his subpoena. But U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May wrote in an order Monday that immunities related to his role as a senator do not protect him in this case, and he must appear before the special grand jury on Aug. 23.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the investigation last year, and a special grand jury with subpoena power was seated in May at her request. Last month she filed petitions seeking to compel testimony from seven Trump advisers and associates.

Prosecutors have indicated they want to ask Graham about phone calls they say he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks following the election.

Graham had argued that a provision of the Constitution provides absolute protection against a senator being questioned about legislative acts. But the judge found there are “considerable areas of potential grand jury inquiry” that fall outside that provision’s scope. The judge also rejected Graham’s argument that the principle of “sovereign immunity” protects a senator from being summoned by a state prosecutor.

Graham also argued that Willis, a Democrat, had not demonstrated extraordinary circumstances necessary to compel testimony from a high-ranking official. But the judge disagreed, finding that Willis has shown “extraordinary circumstances and a special need” for Graham’s testimony on issues related to alleged attempt to influence or disrupt the election in Georgia.

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Kevin Bishop, a Graham spokesman, said Monday the senator had no comment but referred to what Graham said when asked about the probe last week. During a news conference in Columbia, S.C., Graham said, “We will take this as far as we need to take it” when asked about his efforts to fight appearing to testify.

“I was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and had to vote on certifying an election,” Graham told reporters. “This is ridiculous. This weaponization of the law needs to stop. So I will use the courts. We will go as far as we need to go and do whatever needs to be done to make sure that people like me can do their jobs without fear of some county prosecutor coming after you.”

During the calls cited by Willis, Graham “questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote in a petition.

Graham also “made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign,” she wrote.

Republican and Democratic state election officials, courts and even Trump's attorney general found there was no evidence of any voter fraud sufficient to affect the outcome of his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

[Spike]

LMAO with you liberals. The FBI going after Trump is going to backfire so bad on the liberals. People who were on the fence are now pissed off about this BS now too. Mid-terms must be coming up for the dems to stoop this fucking low. I didn't really know who I was going to vote for in 2024, but now, I will be voting for Trump because I hate this banana fucking republic we have turned into.

Why wasn't Hillary treated this way? Why weren't the Biden's treated this way? Just political bullshit and leftists can't see this, saddens me really.

The only democrat who could run for president that I would vote for is Tulsi Gabbard. Warren? fuck no. Sanders? fuck no. Butthead? fuck no.

I love America and I am saddened by all the bullshit going on now. This woke bullshit is fucking insane, and I worry about our future, as you Jaff should be. I didn't serve in the military for this BS.

[Lov2fish]

Originally Posted by Spike

LMAO with you liberals. The FBI going after Trump is going to backfire so bad on the liberals. People who were on the fence are now pissed off about this BS now too. Mid-terms must be coming up for the dems to stoop this fucking low. I didn't really know who I was going to vote for in 2024, but now, I will be voting for Trump because I hate this banana fucking republic we have turned into.

Why wasn't Hillary treated this way? Why weren't the Biden's treated this way? Just political bullshit and leftists can't see this, saddens me really.

The only democrat who could run for president that I would vote for is Tulsi Gabbard. Warren? fuck no. Sanders? fuck no. Butthead? fuck no.

I love America and I am saddened by all the bullshit going on now. This woke bullshit is fucking insane, and I worry about our future, as you Jaff should be. I didn't serve in the military for this BS.

Smoke and mirrors. Give them bread and circuses!

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Originally Posted by Lov2fish

Smoke and mirrors. Give them bread and circuses!

Are you talking about Trump or Biden - it applies in either case!!

[Lov2fish]

Originally Posted by alwayssunnyinindy

are you talking about trump or biden - it applies in either case!!

yes....

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by Lov2fish

Smoke and mirrors. Give them bread and circuses!

No,its about having top secret papers unsecured in Florida. And no, they were not declassified. Trump cant wave a magic chicken leg over boxes and declare them declassified. Any declassified papers are still held in a secure location controlled by NARLA

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by Spike

LMAO with you liberals. The FBI going after Trump is going to backfire so bad on the liberals. People who were on the fence are now pissed off about this BS now too. Mid-terms must be coming up for the dems to stoop this fucking low. I didn't really know who I was going to vote for in 2024, but now, I will be voting for Trump because I hate this banana fucking republic we have turned into.

Why wasn't Hillary treated this way? Why weren't the Biden's treated this way? Just political bullshit and leftists can't see this, saddens me really.

The only democrat who could run for president that I would vote for is Tulsi Gabbard. Warren? fuck no. Sanders? fuck no. Butthead? fuck no.

I love America and I am saddened by all the bullshit going on now. This woke bullshit is fucking insane, and I worry about our future, as you Jaff should be. I didn't serve in the military for this BS.

I hope Trump does not run. water under the bridge...