danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
And the question should be is why is the FBI keeping the warrant from being made public......and not giving a inventory list of what was taken to the lawyers at mar largo?
The Trump Card...
- Thread starter muttly
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Both questions you ask are good questions. This is not my area of expertise. I only know what I gather from others on the news and elsewhere. Others may have better answers.
As I understand it, an inventory list of the items seized was given to people at Mar-a-Lago by the FBI. Apparently that is standard procedure. So if such a list exists, Trump has it, and it can be released by him if he chooses. I might be wrong, but I don't think such lists are released to the general public.
I might be wrong about this also, and others may have a better answer, but it is my understanding that search warrants are not public documents. They may later come into the public record in connection with court cases but the Mar-a-Lago search warrant would not be available now.
The President doesn't have to offer any evidence of declassification to anyone. He doesn't answer to anyone on that, since the President is the ultimate authority on what can be declassified, when, and how.
It was pretty clear that back when the National Archives and the FBI visited Mar-a-Lago a few months ago for documents that Trump really didn't know what all he had in there. His lawyers may have known, but not Trump. He stopped by a couple of times to say hi and make small talk, but otherwise left it to the FBI and the lawyers.
It was pretty clear that back when the National Archives and the FBI visited Mar-a-Lago a few months ago for documents that Trump really didn't know what all he had in there. His lawyers may have known, but not Trump. He stopped by a couple of times to say hi and make small talk, but otherwise left it to the FBI and the lawyers.
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Some protests reportedly outside Mara Lago by Trump supporters.
And the Left is out protesting too at Trump Tower articulating their wisdom:
And the Left is out protesting too at Trump Tower articulating their wisdom:
danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
Unfortunately, in terms of low information voters being manipulated by the FAKE News media, this reaction is pretty typical...
You are correct about the list of items taken. The list would have been left with someone at the residence, likely Trump's lawyers, but it is not public record unless Trump makes it public.
As for the warrant, once executed, the warrant becomes a judicial document, which is public record. It's been long settled law under District and Circuit Court rulings that the people have both a First Amendment (freedom of the press, right to petition and address grievances to your government) and a common law right (consent of the governed) to inspect and copy judicial records. The only time this isn't the case is when the court seals the records, which this one did at the request of the FBI.
But when sealimg such judicial records they can only be sealed, according to legal precedent and ruling, "charily," which means carefully, sparingly, waringly, cautiously, and frugally. Meaning, the FBI had better have an insanely good reason for keeping it sealed. Nothing in the warrant can jeopardize an investigation since it's already been executed. The only plausible reasons for the FBI wanting it to remain sealed is if they illegally seized items not listed in the warrant, or if it appears the predicate for the warrant was inflated, fabricated, or misleading.
The judge has given the FBI until August 15th to respond to the request to unseal.
In addition to the good info provided by Turtle above about the question you raise, Trump himself has a copy of the inventory list and the search warrant. He can release them to the public at any time.
Turtle explains why the warrant has not yet been released by the FBI or the court. But since numerous Republicans and many others are calling for those documents to come into public view, the question is, why is Trump not releasing them? What is in these documents that he does not want people to know?
I'm not sure this will go to trial or that charges will be filed. It may be the purpose of the search was nothing more than the government acting to get records back it urgently felt the need to get back and that Trump had not voluntarily returned. I have no expectations either way. Charges may be filed or not. Neither development would surprise me.
If charges are filed regarding classified documents, the points you make will be made in court and it will become a credibility question for the jury to decide.
For me, the truly remarkable thing about all this has already happened. A search warrant was executed at Trump's home, private office and his safe (apparently not empty as some have suggested). Except for a search of his person, it doesn't get more personal than that.
Trump enjoyed a lot of legal protections when he was president and he used them to full advantage. It is now crystal clear that cover is gone. It is no longer unprecedented to search the home of a former president and likely future candidate for president.
Trump was utterly powerless to delay or stop this search. If law enforcement had any concern that a MAGA uprising may be triggered by such a search, they obviously decided the risk was small. The tiny MAGA turnout at Mar-a-Lago following the search and lack of turnout anywhere else confirmed they were right. If two barriers to investigating Trump -- fear of MAGA uprising and precedent -- existed before, they no longer exist now.
That likely spells more trouble ahead for Trump. He will receive no special consideration or protection from DOJ investigators/prosecutors or from other investigators/prosecutors because he was once president. And he will receive none if he officially declares himself to be a candidate for president.
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While I'm not a Democrat, my response to your request would be to say wait for the search warrant to be made public, by Trump himself if he is willing to release it or by the court that issued it, hopefully soon. From what I hear, the warrant will clearly specify the crime or crimes DOJ are investigating. While that info is not available this instant because the people who have it are not releasing it, it will be available soon.
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danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
I don't mean on this subject I mean I keep seeing liberal Democrats post that trump broke the law and should be in jail but when I ask them what law he broke I get no response other than hes been impeached twice......and I response with and acquitted twice.
We know that both impeachments were shames because it was they didn't put in the real reasons just the misused lines in the wording of the impeachment rule......this is just impeachment 3.0
danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
The American people are rather angry that a former president's home was raided....it should not have been done.
because it only galvanized trump's people and maybe even Democrat voters see just how foam at the mouth thier leadership is over trump. If they had just ignored trump he would have lost power but they keep poking him and keeping him in the news.
because it only galvanized trump's people and maybe even Democrat voters see just how foam at the mouth thier leadership is over trump. If they had just ignored trump he would have lost power but they keep poking him and keeping him in the news.
danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
Some Americans are angry about this, not all.
Maybe yes, maybe no. We'll know more as details emerge.
That's a valid point. The more Trump is in the news, the more of a factor he is in American politics.
Much more likely to run now and even have more support than before this happened. The best VP running mate pick right now is DeSantis that I see. Others may be too soft in what needs to be done to reform the Dept's.
Not technically illegal. More like finding a judge they know will sign off on it. 6 weeks before the signing off on the warrant, this judge recused himself from another case involving Trump and Hillary Clinton. Plus, there are the never Trump postings on Facebook that the judge did. But somehow the FBI thought with this warrant, this judge was the guy to see to approve it.
danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
More About the Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant
So far, Trump has refused to release a copy of the search warrant under which his home, personal office, other offices and safe were searched. He has the right and freedom to do so. Numerous Republicans are calling for its release. But, so far, Trump is keeping it to himself.
The DOJ asked that the warrant be sealed when it was issued, so they will not be releasing it either. But on Wednesday, Judicial Watch, a conservative legal non-profit group, filed a motion with the court asking that the warrant be unsealed. The judge directed the DOJ to file a response motion by Aug. 15.
Sources quoted in this Law & Crime article suggest the motion to unseal is likely to fail. You can read the piece to learn their reasoning.
The language submitted by Judicial Watch is interesting and seems reasonable to me.
"[T]he public has an urgent and substantial interest in understanding the predicate for the execution of the unprecedented search warrant of the private residence of a former president and likely future political opponent…no official explanation or information has been released about the search. As of the filing of this motion, the public record consists solely of speculation and inuendo [sic]. In short, the historical presumption of access to warrant materials vastly outweighs any interest the government may have in keeping the materials under seal. Given the political context, and the highly unusual action of executing a search warrant at the residence of a former President and likely future political opponent, it is essential that the public understands as soon as possible the basis for the government’s action."
The seal is not binding on Trump. With numerous Republicans calling loudly to see the warrant, and at least one conservative legal group doing the same, why is Trump choosing to keep this document to himself when he is free to release it at will?
How does it benefit Trump to keep the search warrant under wraps?
So far, Trump has refused to release a copy of the search warrant under which his home, personal office, other offices and safe were searched. He has the right and freedom to do so. Numerous Republicans are calling for its release. But, so far, Trump is keeping it to himself.
The DOJ asked that the warrant be sealed when it was issued, so they will not be releasing it either. But on Wednesday, Judicial Watch, a conservative legal non-profit group, filed a motion with the court asking that the warrant be unsealed. The judge directed the DOJ to file a response motion by Aug. 15.
Sources quoted in this Law & Crime article suggest the motion to unseal is likely to fail. You can read the piece to learn their reasoning.
The language submitted by Judicial Watch is interesting and seems reasonable to me.
"[T]he public has an urgent and substantial interest in understanding the predicate for the execution of the unprecedented search warrant of the private residence of a former president and likely future political opponent…no official explanation or information has been released about the search. As of the filing of this motion, the public record consists solely of speculation and inuendo [sic]. In short, the historical presumption of access to warrant materials vastly outweighs any interest the government may have in keeping the materials under seal. Given the political context, and the highly unusual action of executing a search warrant at the residence of a former President and likely future political opponent, it is essential that the public understands as soon as possible the basis for the government’s action."
The seal is not binding on Trump. With numerous Republicans calling loudly to see the warrant, and at least one conservative legal group doing the same, why is Trump choosing to keep this document to himself when he is free to release it at will?
How does it benefit Trump to keep the search warrant under wraps?