FBI search warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago (Update: Trump Indicted!)

[Del Tachi]

If Trump was mishandling classified information, then yes, the FBI should go retrieve that information.

If Trump was in possession of classified information, there's no reason that couldn't have been resolved cooperatively (or at most with a subpoena.)  Trump voluntarily surrended 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives back in January. 

[Del Tachi]

If Trump was mishandling classified information, then yes, the FBI should go retrieve that information.

If Trump was in possession of classified information, there's no reason that couldn't have been resolved cooperatively (or at most with a subpoena.)  Trump voluntarily surrended 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives back in January. 

So why didn't he turn over these boxes of classified information in the 19 months that have passed since he left office?

What boxes are you talking about?  Is there any indication that Trump has been asked to return anything beyond what he had already surrendered? 

[Del Tachi]

If Trump was mishandling classified information, then yes, the FBI should go retrieve that information.

If Trump was in possession of classified information, there's no reason that couldn't have been resolved cooperatively (or at most with a subpoena.)  Trump voluntarily surrended 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives back in January. 

Sure. No one knows yet what the warrant was for, but I highly doubt the FBI raids a former president's house if there was not something serious to it. I do not believe the conspiracies that somehow Biden is pushing the FBI to take out Trump before the next election. Biden probably wants to run against Trump again.

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

[Del Tachi]

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

Well they're not supposed to be political.

Merrick Garland is a political appointee.  Any raid/investigation into a former president is going to attract major political attention, so he should have been out in front of this with a major press conference the day after the raid was conducted.  Staying silent makes it seem like they're hiding something. 

[Del Tachi]

If Trump was mishandling classified information, then yes, the FBI should go retrieve that information.

If Trump was in possession of classified information, there's no reason that couldn't have been resolved cooperatively (or at most with a subpoena.)  Trump voluntarily surrended 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives back in January. 

Sure. No one knows yet what the warrant was for, but I highly doubt the FBI raids a former president's house if there was not something serious to it. I do not believe the conspiracies that somehow Biden is pushing the FBI to take out Trump before the next election. Biden probably wants to run against Trump again.

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

Why can't Trump just tell us?

Tell us what?  That the FBI is on a fishing expedition and showed up to Mar-a-Lago to collect every piece of paper they could get their hands on?  He's already said that

[Del Tachi]

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

Well they're not supposed to be political.

Merrick Garland is a political appointee.  Any raid/investigation into a former president is going to attract major political attention, so he should have been out in front of this with a major press conference the day after the raid was conducted.  Staying silent makes it seem like they're hiding something. 

If this had occurred, the right would be screaming that Garland was making a political show by announcing the raid.

I don't think so.  We'd be talking about Garland's stated reasons for why the raid needed to be conducted.

[Del Tachi]

If Trump was mishandling classified information, then yes, the FBI should go retrieve that information.

If Trump was in possession of classified information, there's no reason that couldn't have been resolved cooperatively (or at most with a subpoena.)  Trump voluntarily surrended 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives back in January. 

Sure. No one knows yet what the warrant was for, but I highly doubt the FBI raids a former president's house if there was not something serious to it. I do not believe the conspiracies that somehow Biden is pushing the FBI to take out Trump before the next election. Biden probably wants to run against Trump again.

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

Why can't Trump just tell us?

Tell us what?  That the FBI is on a fishing expedition and showed up to Mar-a-Lago to collect every piece of paper they could get their hands on?  He's already said that

He has a copy of the warrant and can release it.

As multiple posters have already said, it's unlikely the warrant contains any information as to why the search was conducted.

[Del Tachi]

If Trump was mishandling classified information, then yes, the FBI should go retrieve that information.

If Trump was in possession of classified information, there's no reason that couldn't have been resolved cooperatively (or at most with a subpoena.)  Trump voluntarily surrended 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives back in January. 

Sure. No one knows yet what the warrant was for, but I highly doubt the FBI raids a former president's house if there was not something serious to it. I do not believe the conspiracies that somehow Biden is pushing the FBI to take out Trump before the next election. Biden probably wants to run against Trump again.

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

Why can't Trump just tell us?

Tell us what?  That the FBI is on a fishing expedition and showed up to Mar-a-Lago to collect every piece of paper they could get their hands on?  He's already said that

He has a copy of the warrant and can release it.

As multiple posters have already said, it's unlikely the warrant contains any information as to why the search was conducted.

This is possible; however, if so then Trump should release the warrant and demonstrate that it's the case.  Just saying that it doesn't contain anything useful is meaningless.

After all, if it doesn't have anything meaningful, why would he want to keep it hidden?

Maybe Trump will release the warrant at some point, but Trump's attorneys are on record stating the warrant refers to a possible violation of the Presidential Records Act.  It's not like Trump's team is trying to quash it.   

[Del Tachi]

If Trump was mishandling classified information, then yes, the FBI should go retrieve that information.

If Trump was in possession of classified information, there's no reason that couldn't have been resolved cooperatively (or at most with a subpoena.)  Trump voluntarily surrended 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives back in January. 

Sure. No one knows yet what the warrant was for, but I highly doubt the FBI raids a former president's house if there was not something serious to it. I do not believe the conspiracies that somehow Biden is pushing the FBI to take out Trump before the next election. Biden probably wants to run against Trump again.

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

Why can't Trump just tell us?

Tell us what?  That the FBI is on a fishing expedition and showed up to Mar-a-Lago to collect every piece of paper they could get their hands on?  He's already said that

He has a copy of the warrant and can release it.

As multiple posters have already said, it's unlikely the warrant contains any information as to why the search was conducted.

Georgia "the nice mod" Moderate, provided a link to an article that tells you all you need to know and more. I copied and pasted it below for your convenience. If true, it was the antithesis of a fishing expedition. That of course brings up the question of just why Trump was so intent on keeping records that it was a felony for him to keep. Feel free to speculate away on that one.

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-informer-told-fbi-what-docs-trump-was-hiding-where-1732283

This reporting does not indicate that Trump was, as you say, "intent" on keeping classified information at Mar-A-Lago.  Quite the opposite, actually!  He had already voluntarily returned 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives in January.  If the FBI had reason to suspect that there were additional documents at Mar-a-Lago that still needed to be surrendered, it is not apparent why they needed to be seized in a raid instead of collected cooperatively (as before) or through the use of a subpoena. 

[Del Tachi]

I really love how the current "defense" being offered by Republicans isn't even that Trump is innocent. They're just straight up admitting that they think the President should be above the law.

Innocent of what?  He hasn't been charged with anything LOL

[Del Tachi]

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

Well they're not supposed to be political.

Merrick Garland is a political appointee.  Any raid/investigation into a former president is going to attract major political attention, so he should have been out in front of this with a major press conference the day after the raid was conducted.  Staying silent makes it seem like they're hiding something. 

He's a political appointee who is supposed to act apolitically the moment he is confirmed. Whether it makes seem to you they are hiding something is irrelevant. That's standard DOJ procedure. Say nothing, confirm nothing, until you're indicting.

The media and political pressure on Merrick Garland to indict Trump is intense.  Are we to uncritically believe that this raid isn't cloyingly timed to coincide with the escalation of the DOJ's Jan. 6th investigation into Trump, the Jan. 6th committee's continuing work, and an impending national election where Democrats have campaigned to keep Trump front-and-center? 

[Del Tachi]

I really love how the current "defense" being offered by Republicans isn't even that Trump is innocent. They're just straight up admitting that they think the President should be above the law.

If you had your way , many members of the Bush admin would have been arrested and even many members of other admin and our foreign policy would be crippled .

Should John Bolton be arrested for admitting he was part of plans of regime change operations in other nations

What if there was serious foreign policy stuff in the documents?

Well I said if this is to the level of espionage I would take back what I said cause yes I think presidents should be charged with that.

So if they said sensitive national documents that could jeopardize national security you would count that? Because they aren’t going to just disclose what was in those documents for….obvious reasons.

The theft or mishandling of classified information is often only an investigative priority for the DOJ when there's evidence that the person involved leaked the information or sought to provide it to a foreign government.

Among the documents Trump voluntarily returned to NARA back in January were personal letters he received from former President Barack Obama and Kim Jong Un.  I can understand why Trump would be interested in keeping those pieces of history for himself,  perhaps.

[Del Tachi]

https://twitter.com/repswalwell/status/1557428889902895104?s=21&t=iSL9xGWiro...

Holy crap, put these people in jail.

off-topic

[Del Tachi]

https://twitter.com/repswalwell/status/1557428889902895104?s=21&t=iSL9xGWiro...
Holy crap, put these people in jail.

off-topic

It absolutely isn’t. This is the furor Republican politicians are stoking, alt-right supporters are openly calling for violence on multiple forums and websites.

What does that have to do with the FBI search on Mar-a-Lago?  The search isn't even alluded to in the voicemail LOL

Swalwell is being a drama queen and attention whore.  Two things he is already well known for.

[Del Tachi]

What these morons apparently don't understand how search warrants actually work. It's not Garland who orders this after being told so by Biden. The Justice Department and FBI gather evidence and submit this content to a judge. The judge then decides whether a search warrant is appropriate or not. In the authoritarian order they prefer, this could be solely done at the president's direction.

Are we to pretend that Merrick Garland would have no knowledge that the FBI was moving to execute a search warrant on a former president's primary residence?  Garland didn't "order" the raid, but he almost certainly signed-off on it.

I'd be very surprised if Biden had anything to do with this or if anyone in the White House even knew about it.  Garland's job is to know about and stay on top of politically sensitive investigations so the president is insulated from them. 

[Del Tachi]

https://twitter.com/repswalwell/status/1557428889902895104?s=21&t=iSL9xGWiro...
Holy crap, put these people in jail.

off-topic

It absolutely isn’t. This is the furor Republican politicians are stoking, alt-right supporters are openly calling for violence on multiple forums and websites.

What does that have to do with the FBI search on Mar-a-Lago?  The search isn't even alluded to in the voicemail LOL

Swalwell is being a drama queen and attention whore.  Two things he is already well known for.

I hope you never have to receive death threats where someone threatens to chop your children’s head off. If you want to put your head in the sand and ignore Fuhrer Don’s riling up of his violent base, then shame on you. The rest of us can’t afford to.

Crazy people exist.  Members of Congress got irate, threatening phone calls long before Trump ever thought about running for president. 

This doesn't sound like a credible threat, and there's no reason to think the disgusting phone call is connected to the FBI raid.  So it's off-topic in this thread. 

[Del Tachi]

https://twitter.com/daithaigilbert/status/1557442940384985090

DT: Not relevant!

Eric Swalwell tweeting about what's on his voicemail is still irrelevant, yes.

[Del Tachi]

https://twitter.com/daithaigilbert/status/1557442940384985090

DT: Not relevant!

Eric Swalwell tweeting about what's on his voicemail is still irrelevant, yes.

Have you ever heard of "cause and effect"?

What is the cause and what is the effect?  The VM left for Rep. Swalwell doesn't reference the FBI raid, so why are we assuming that's what motivated the caller?  Swalwell putting this up and trying to link it to the FBI raid is just him trying to throw his name into the national drama

[Del Tachi]

https://twitter.com/daithaigilbert/status/1557442940384985090

DT: Not relevant!

Eric Swalwell tweeting about what's on his voicemail is still irrelevant, yes.

Wait DT, I'm lost.  Why is this a bad thing?

Swalwell can self-servingly tweet whatever he wants, I guess.  But I'd say it's irrelevant to this thread because there's nothing in the VM that alludes to the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago.  The crank could have just as easily been motivated by something else.  Swalwell is choosing to inject himself into the national drama as a way to score cheap political points   

[Del Tachi]

If Trump was mishandling classified information, then yes, the FBI should go retrieve that information.

If Trump was in possession of classified information, there's no reason that couldn't have been resolved cooperatively (or at most with a subpoena.)  Trump voluntarily surrended 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives back in January. 

Sure. No one knows yet what the warrant was for, but I highly doubt the FBI raids a former president's house if there was not something serious to it. I do not believe the conspiracies that somehow Biden is pushing the FBI to take out Trump before the next election. Biden probably wants to run against Trump again.

This is why we need immediate oversight and answers from the Justice Department on why the raid was conducted.  The DOJ seems to be downplaying the raid, which is not a very smart political calculation.   

Why can't Trump just tell us?

Tell us what?  That the FBI is on a fishing expedition and showed up to Mar-a-Lago to collect every piece of paper they could get their hands on?  He's already said that

He has a copy of the warrant and can release it.

As multiple posters have already said, it's unlikely the warrant contains any information as to why the search was conducted.

Georgia "the nice mod" Moderate, provided a link to an article that tells you all you need to know and more. I copied and pasted it below for your convenience. If true, it was the antithesis of a fishing expedition. That of course brings up the question of just why Trump was so intent on keeping records that it was a felony for him to keep. Feel free to speculate away on that one.

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-informer-told-fbi-what-docs-trump-was-hiding-where-1732283

This reporting does not indicate that Trump was, as you say, "intent" on keeping classified information at Mar-A-Lago.  Quite the opposite, actually!  He had already voluntarily returned 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives in January.  If the FBI had reason to suspect that there were additional documents at Mar-a-Lago that still needed to be surrendered, it is not apparent why they needed to be seized in a raid instead of collected cooperatively (as before) or through the use of a subpoena. 

And yet They seized 15 boxes worth of documents. So if somebody steals $100,000 but returns 50,000 they should be above the law? This is literally the level of your so-called argument.

1) No, 15 boxes were already returned by Trump back in January.  We have no confirmation of what/how many documents were taken from Mar-A-Lago during the raid (because the FBI isn't talking!)

2) Not all presidential records are covered under the PRA.  There are categories of correspondence from Trump's time in office that he is entitled to keep for his private records.  Trump left the White House with a lot of documents, then voluntarily surrendered some of them to NARA when he was notified they were covered under the PRA.  That alone doesn't establish cause to search the remainder of his private records (unless the FBI has other evidence, but they aren't talking!)   

No one is saying Trump is above the law.  If he was in possession of documents covered by the PRA, then NARA could have sought to have these documents returned cooperatively (as they did before.)  Barring that, a judge could have ordered a subpoena for the documents.  A search of a former president's private residence for a possible violation of the PRA is prosecutorial overkill and a politcal witch hunt. 

[Del Tachi]

1) No, 15 boxes were already returned by Trump back in January.  We have no confirmation of what/how many documents were taken from Mar-A-Lago during the raid (because the FBI isn't talking!)

Why does the FBI need "to talk"?
Eric trump's numerous security cameras captured exactly what was taken, and how many new boxes were wheeled-out of Mar-a-Lago.

The FBI should be interested in being stewards of their own credibility.  After actively interfering in the past two presidential elections, their reputation is pretty shot.  Taking the opportunity to explain to the American people the facts that led to this raid should be a no-brainer.  Otherwise, the slow drip of leaks and innuendo will only feed the perception that the FBI is acting with impropriety.

[Del Tachi]

https://twitter.com/samstein/status/1557796977580154880?s=20&t=O4iG1gMkHZxtD...

I'm glad Biden (the White House) is staying-out of the DOJ/FBI investigation (as they should).

Yes, that is literally what the bare minimum level of political competence in this situation would require LOL

[Del Tachi]

Kudos to Garland for offering the transparency Americans deserve for such a high-profile case.

If Trump isn't cooperative in unsealing the warrant, it will indeed be a very bad look for him. 

[Del Tachi]

Kudos to Garland for offering the transparency Americans deserve for such a high-profile case.

If Trump isn't cooperative in unsealing the warrant, it will indeed be a very bad look for him. 

How will you feel if he objects? I'd be shocked if he doesn't object. I am just curious what his explanation will be.

I will feel that he is either being uncooperative for the sake of it or has something to hide.

[Del Tachi]

https://twitter.com/sgurman/status/1558141405004013568

"TS/SCI" means Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information.  SCI is one of the strictest classification levels and is generally used for information that could compromise sensitive intelligence sources or methods.  AFAIK, TS/SCI documents should never be kept *anywhere* except a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, a secure room protected against electronic surveillance or intrusion).

Not to overstate the case, but this is very very very bad.

Strictly speaking, SCI isn't a classification level but only a protocol for accessing classified information (at any level.)  There was a SCIF set up for Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2017.