१४ ऑगस्ट, २०२२

"The country is on fire. What can I do to reduce the heat?"

That was the message Trump conveyed to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, just before Garland made his public statement that he personally authorized the Mar-a-Lago raid and characterized it as a last resort.

Reported in "Trump Lawyer Told Justice Dept. That Classified Material Had Been Returned/The lawyer signed a statement in June that all documents marked as classified and held in boxes in storage at Mar-a-Lago had been given back. The search at the former president’s home on Monday turned up more" (NYT).

३३ टिप्पण्या:

The Vault Dweller म्हणाले...

I can't click through and read the article, but count me in the suspicious group of people who wonder about the FBI's motives in conducting this search. That being said, I find it hard to believe Trump made these statements without expecting them to be seen or talked about in the media.

tim maguire म्हणाले...

It’s going to take time to sort out the documents marked as classified, which means they were classified at some point, from the documents that are classified today. Nice to see the media completely ignoring that crucial distinction.

PB म्हणाले...

If all documents marked classified were returned, how did they end up back there? The FBI has never been known to plant evidence or lie...

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

What does keeping classified documents at home have in common with getting a blow job from an intern under the Resolute Desk?

Both were normalized by the Clintons.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Did the FBI have an undercover informant planted at Mar-A Lago?

I wonder if they're still bugging his phones as well as those of anyone who talked to Trump and those of anyone who talked to those who talked to Trump.
I bet they are. Why wouldn't they be? Who's going to stop them? Maybe this whole documents thing started out as justification for another FISA warrant.

Hey, it's not like there isn't really a rabbit hole.

Temujin म्हणाले...

"Show me the man, and I'll show you the crime."

I know many of you know that quote is from Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's head of secret police. But honestly, it could be a Democratic Party platform item these days. Certainly it sounds like the DoJ's/FBI's mantra.

I wonder if they can even conceive of how they're being viewed by the average American these days?

EdwdLny म्हणाले...

I seem to remember a clueless, narcissistic twit saying several years back, " don't think we aren't taking names and keeping count " or words to that effect. That strategy cuts both ways sparky. The potential target list lengthens yet again.

Mrs. X म्हणाले...

Matt Taibbi has a worth your time article about the charges against Trump. The Espionage Act Gets an Instant Makeover

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

wow

I'm struck that Trump has grown while in office.

"What can I do to reduce the heat?"

wow wow wow

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Trump is getting a Cook's Tour of the realm.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

I know many of you know that quote is from Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's head of secret police.

I thought it was from his prosecutor. (Haven't read that book).

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

I was thinking about whether I am participating in a "conspiracy theory" as I rant about the attorney general.

It's not really a "conspiracy theory" to think that lots of people in the FBI/DOJ hate Trump. I guess it kind of is a conspiracy theory. I don't see it as a secret cabal plotting. Maybe? Even paranoids have enemies.

What I've noticed, what's obvious, is there is a huge amount of partisan vitriol.

But there's also a lot of like minds. Definitely the House has conspired to put up a show trial. Out in the open!

I like that Trump is reaching out to the attorney general. But that show trial in the House is ugly stuff.

Interesting to see if anybody on the left (anybody!) can say nice things about Trump.

You can start by saying "he's not Hitler." Work up from there.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"honestly, it could be a Democratic Party platform item these days"

The error in historical accounts of communist depredations was always to assume that their evil and the required indignation were obvious. To the left, they never were. At times, their comrades went too far or miscalculated. But the left liked having all the tools of state power available at all times, particularly to criminalize opposition. The American left mourned Stalin's passing.

"That strategy cuts both ways sparky. The potential target list lengthens yet again."

Except that the right never really strikes back, so the malefactors operate with impunity. As Trump's own performance shows--what do you expect when you appoint Sessions and Wray, and leave Rosenstein and Vindman in place?

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Marking doesn't matter. It needs a control number that's in audits when the lady comes around once a year to check that all the documents are in your safe that are supposed to be there.

E.g. a little technical, RTI's (radar range time intensity plots) are marked secret but not classified if separated from mission identification material.

Bruce Hayden म्हणाले...

A must read this week: THE WEEK IN PICTURES: GREAT RAID EDITION

My favorites are the ones of the six or so FBI agents who were trying to infiltrate a White Supremicist protest on the Mall in DC last year, or some such. The first one has them saying “Panty raid at Mar-a-Lago next. Who’s in?” The next one shows the same picture with them cross dressing in her dresses. The third has them with a carton of Diet Coke, a McDonald’s bag, and golf clubs, presumably picked up in the raid. Then there is a photoshopped photo of AG Garland giving his prepared remarks in his press conference, titled “‘The FBI Raid on Melania’s Closet Was Justified’ Says Merrick Garland Wearing Gorgeous New Evening Gown And Sunhat” (Babylon Bee, so you know that it is reputable)

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump Trump

More has been written/said/memed/painted, etc. about this man in the past 6 years than anyone else in history.

Rabel म्हणाले...

"The country is on fire. What can I do to reduce the heat?"

Some in the media are trying to turn that into a threat.

hombre म्हणाले...

"At least one lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump signed a written statement in June asserting that all material marked as classified and held in boxes in a storage area at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and club had been returned to the government, four people with knowledge of the document said."

The Times continues to play this sleazy game. What document? Oh, the one that four people saw. Which lawyer? Oh, one of them. What kind of "written statement?" Oh, one that was written.

Here's a question. If the archivists thought all security materials had been returned, why order the extra padlock for the storage room? Another, if this is such a scary deal, why wait until the eve of the midterm elections to react?

This BS is so transparently political only NYT readers and other Democrats can be stupid enough to believe it.

mccullough म्हणाले...

Did Trump pack the boxes?

Did he ever look at the documents after they were packed?

Would be tough to prosecute Trump. Like most presidents, he’s a delegator.

hombre म्हणाले...

So the FBI and its pimps at NYT choose to disbelieve that Trump declassified the materials at his home despite statements by several witnesses.

Of course, they must also ignore the probability that the declassification did not require removal of the "classified" designation from the boxes, etc.

Such is the presumption of guilt in Biden/NYT/Stalinist Amerika.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

My guess is that someone in the Secret Service works with the FBI and keeps them informed.

Bruce Hayden म्हणाले...

“Did Trump pack the boxes?”

Of course not. They were packed and delivered to MAL by the GSA.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

'My guess is that someone in the Secret Service works with the FBI and keeps them informed.'

They probably all do...

n.n म्हणाले...

Classified or marked classified? Probable or plausible cause? Good one.

Good luck with Impeachment 3.0: This Time It's Not a Self-Deprecating Projection

Bruce Hayden म्हणाले...

Blogger hombre said..
“So the FBI and its pimps at NYT choose to disbelieve that Trump declassified the materials at his home despite statements by several witnesses.”

“Of course, they must also ignore the probability that the declassification did not require removal of the "classified" designation from the boxes, etc.”

Note the wording of the warrant - they weren’t looking for classified documents, but rather documents MARKED classified. I think that was a tacit admission that the documents they wanted were probably no longer classified - that they were the ones that Trump, the day before leaving office, after over six months of the FBI bureaucracy dragging their feet, had ordered declassified. They were just marked classified, because the FBI never got around to declassifying them. It likely won’t stand up in court (since Trump had plenary declassification authority), but they got what they wanted - the Crossfire Hurricane documents that disclosed their perfidy and malfeasance. Except that if the documents were declassified (as Trump had ordered), why wouldn’t there be a bunch of copies stored all over the place, in anticipation of just this sort of raid.

For those wondering if Trump actually ordered their declassification: Memorandum on Declassification of Certain Materials Related to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation

Mikey NTH म्हणाले...

Those documents have been in Trump's hands for over a year and a half. Anyone want to look at this raid and construct a metaphor about horses and barn doors?

loudogblog म्हणाले...

This is one of the more rational things that Trump has done lately. The left will not allow him to do anything to decrease the "heat" because they will profit from the "heat" and chaos.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

More has been written/said/memed/painted, etc. about this man in the past 6 years than anyone else in history.

ha ha ha

dude, google "Jesus Christ"

I mean, one day in 2362, maybe somebody will drop a rock on their foot and yell, "Donald Trump!"

But I doubt it.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

'dude, google "Jesus Christ"'

According to the left, he is a fictional character.

That's why I didn't include Santa Claus...

Alex म्हणाले...

According to the latest CNN panel, Trump's crimes are the top priority for Congress. So he must be persecuted... I mean prosecuted! You know what I mean.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

According to the left, he is a fictional character.

Wow.

He was publicly executed by the state.

Jews who were not followers of The Way wrote about him, maybe to scorn him, maybe not, but they had no doubt he was a real person.

Romans, who are pagans, also wrote about him.

Atheist historians who have looked into the matter have no doubt that he lived.

A lot of people doubt that he was resurrected. But to doubt that he lived is a sign of serious ignorance.

11 of his 12 disciples were murdered. You don't go out and turn yourself into a martyr because you're worked up about a fictional character.

Because fictional characters aren't important like that. The importance of Christ -- and the fact that he lived -- is marked by the fact that even atheists and other non-Christians are still talking about him.

And nobody drops a rock on their foot and yells "Santa Claus!"

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Also, 2.3 billion people might be delusional, I guess, but the sheer number of people who believe in Jesus might give you pause before you suggest he is a fictional character.

You think the Bible is a novel? Have you read it? It's not structured like a novel. If you start at the beginning and try to read it, you're going to be lost.

The way Bible study works, you take one small section of the Bible -- a paragraph or two -- and spend an hour discussing it.

Jesus, famously, gave us many parables that are fun and challenging and have many layers. There are no fictional characters that are smart like that. Fictional characters are two dimensional and it's not hard to distinguish between them and real people.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

It's actually way bigger than 2.3 billion people. 2.3 billion Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected. You also should add in the 1.8 billion Muslims who believe Jesus was a prophet. That's 4.1 billion people (plus millions of Jews) who believe Jesus was a real person.

It's like the argument that people who believe in God are delusional. If you think the vast majority of people in the world are delusional (which I think is a medical condition!), a gambling person would suggest the odds are against you.