I’m just now learning that Merrick Garland issued a statement saying that, one, he personally approved the decision to seek a warrant on Mar-a-Lago, and two, the Justice Department filed a motion requesting the Trump warrant and property receipt be unsealed.
I understand the DoJ will also talk to Trump’s lawyers asking if they have any objections to making the warrant and receipt, or the list of what was removed, public. What do you bet the lawyers are going to object? They have been free to make these things public all along, and I notice they didn’t.
Yep, it says here (scroll down) the lawyers are considering filing a motion to challenge the release of the warrant and receipt. They have until 3 pm EST tomorrow to do this.
They don’t want it released, I bet. They just have to come up with some kind of excuse for why releasing it would be unfair to Trump.
And this popped up this afternoon in an article by Maggie Haberman, Ben Protess and Glenn Thrush in the New York Times:
Mr. Trump’s team has declined to disclose the contents of the search warrant. A number of organizations, including The New York Times, are seeking in federal court to have it unsealed.
Some senior Republicans have been warned by allies of Mr. Trump not to continue to be aggressive in criticizing the Justice Department and the F.B.I. over the matter because it is possible that more damaging information related to the search will become public.
Pass the popcorn.
Update:
FBI looked for documents related to nuclear weapons at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
If Trump had secret documents related to nuclear weapons, ours or anybody else’s, he’s toast.
Today, in the latest hand of political poker, in his quiet and composed way, AG Garland put his cards on the table and depantsed Baby Huey, the ex-presiDUNCE from hell!
Garland told tRUMP, "WE didn't make an announcement of our search warrant visit. YOU did! You thought you'd take the opportunity to whine, and to bilk your idiot MAGAt followers out of some more money.
Ok, so now everyone knows we paid a visit to Merde de Lardass.
What they DON'T know, is what you had that we picked-up.
YOU, Baby Huey, could have told them what the materials were when you whined about our quiet visit.
But you didn't. You didn't want anyone to know what "Secret/Top Secret" stuff you stole.
But now, before 3pm tomorrow, you'll have to beg us TO NOT disclose what you were holding illegally."
Tomorrow, NO WAY the pantless orange Baby Huey lets the DOJ tell people what he stole and hid.
Touché, Garland just provided the MAGAverse with the ultimate buzzkill. Put up or shut up! I watched a segment of Hannity where he was interviewing one of Trump's lawyers. She was shoveling shit and confusion into the Fox audience at the speed of light. In her diatribe she covered everything from Hunter Biden's laptop to Garlands stromtroopers but didn't address the issue of why the search warrant was issued in the first place. Now the world is going to know and Trump is going to have to figure out how to unwind his persecution narrative before 3 PM tomorrow.
Even the GOP noise machine is telling its members to put the brakes on their initial narrative. They're going to get bit in the ass if they don't.
While the true believers will swallow anything, for the non-cultist the DoJ is trying to answer the two main questions: Why the search? and What was found?
The thing is, if Trump lawyers demand this information stay sealed, the "average" person will know who is withholding information from the media. And it won't be the government.
If/when Trump blocks the release of information, his strategy is that Trump will 'control' the narrative. The problem is that this won't give Trump any advantage in the forum where this is headed: a court of law and a jury.
If Garland is as methodical as they say, he will not rush into a mistake. He might charge Trump this year (totally opinion) but at that point, Trump will try to delay the trial until after the 2024 election. Trump would prefer to be charged AFTER Trump declares he's running so he can claim it's political. Garland might prefer to charge Trump before he declares for the same reason.
If my legal understanding is applicable here, when Garland chargesTrump he has to lay out a lot of the case and it will be Garland's choice how much evidence is described in the document. At this time, the court can assess if Trump is a flight risk and pull his passport. I'm not saying they will or won't (they did for me.) but IMO, if the trial goes badly, Trump won't wait for the verdict.
"If/when Trump blocks the release of information, his strategy is that Trump will 'control' the narrative."
Tried and true narrative is for donnie to okay the release but to have "his" attorneys file against. He can say "his" hands were tied.
The MAGA crowd is fine tuning the narrative of how vile and offensive the FBI search was. Now they are claiming that the agents were rifling through Melania's underwear draw. Oh, those beasts! Move over William Randolph Hearst.
As I heard it, 30 agents were there all day. They didn't just pull the crap they knew was in the basement. I would guess they searched every room, every piece of furniture, and assumed that Trump might have tried to hide the most vital or valuable documents.
On TV tonight, of course the reasonable commentators are saying, in one way or another: if the FBI found ultra top secret documents at the residence, then somebody better do a deep and thorough investigation to determine why he took them there. Well, that's the professional and reasonable thing to point out. For me, the answer to that question doesn't require much of an investigation at all. Every thing that man does, and everything that he has ever done in his life, is for one purpose and one purpose only: "How can I monetize this for myself?"
Exactly, and he's watched enough TV himself to expect nuclear weapon secrets would bring the highest price. Wonder if he's now reflecting back on the sick pleasure he got from listening to Roy Cohn's tales of the Rosenbergs' executions.
At this point it is Trump's job to assure all Americans that he is responsible enough to be given any power at all or is not a continued threat to this country's national security. For me that would take a lot of convincing. Even if I was desperate, I would not trust him to take care of my goldfish over the weekend over the miscreant neighbor child. You are, of course, entitled to your own judgement. Trump has a near impossible task of redemption at this point to any sane and informed person IMO.
Trump has a major priority above all others, and (IMO) it's not to get rich. He is rich, even though he exaggerates his wealth. Trump is afraid of going to jail – it's been an academic risk (theoretical) since Michael Cohen started talking about Trump's MO.
I've long thought tat Trump wanted to remove evidence of the coup attempt – evidence he didn't have time to locate after J6 (and before J20.) But it looks like Trump retained highly sensitive docs, including "nuclear" secrets. Trump handed back 15 boxes of stuff a few months ago – wouldn't classified nuclear docs be something he's eager to return?
I don't agree Trump is willing to risk charges of espionage for the sake of a few million dollars. Trump has no moral basis but he understands the risk vs gain calculation. If/when Trump runs for POTUS it will be primarily to shield himself permanently from legal liability. Trump knows he lost in 2020 and his position as a candidate is even weaker now than it was 20 months ago. And declining.
Trump won in 2016 with help from Russia. Whether it was the margin of victory is open to debate but in 2019, Trump tried to extort election help from Ukraine. Countries with mass media sophistication and the kooks in social media can move the needle. So how does Trump get these countries to throw in secretly with his campaign? Yeah. N. Korea and Russia would – for something of value.
Question: has Trump opened up negotiations already? If so, does the DoJ have a handle on the treason? Proof? IDK, but there's been some element of counter intel agents in the search. So I wonder.
Fair enough Doug, and I agree that the man's top priority has always been incarceration-avoidance; similarly for his entire life. So the stolen documents could be used for leverage to corrupt government officials that could pose a jail threat to him, or more likely, as you point out: a way to purchase foreign help in the 2024 POTUS election so he could get back the above-the-law card. But I would submit that the two motives are not mutually exclusive: jail-avoidance and money-accumulation, particularly as jail-avoidance can cost a lot of money in legal fees. Also he might have wanted a worst case ticket to pulling a Snowden. Noe of these am I saying are proven. Just speculation.