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

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1560329700836315139

[emailking]

From what they've said there would be so many redactions that it wouldn't convey anything.

[GeorgiaModerate]

From what they've said there would be so many redactions that it wouldn't convey anything.

Well, that's what the DOJ said.  The judge may have a different opinion.

I think this is a good middle course for the judge to steer for now.  Let's see what the final product looks like.

[Torie]

From what they've said there would be so many redactions that it wouldn't convey anything.

Well, that's what the DOJ said.  The judge may have a different opinion.

I think this is a good middle course for the judge to steer for now.  Let's see what the final product looks like.

It should be remembered that the judge knows precisely what is in the affidavit, so if he could foresee that it would be a redacted mess with nothing revealing, he would not have gone where he is going with this. This is not only a surprise, but a huge surprise. Literally everybody and their mother thought that unsealing was just not in the cards. But Trump time and again causes people to go where they have never gone before. He is never dull.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

From what they've said there would be so many redactions that it wouldn't convey anything.

Well, that's what the DOJ said.  The judge may have a different opinion.

I think this is a good middle course for the judge to steer for now.  Let's see what the final product looks like.

It should be remembered that the judge knows precisely what is in the affidavit, so if he could foresee that it would be a redacted mess with nothing revealing, he would not have gone where he is going with this. This is not only a surprise, but a huge surprise. Literally everybody and their mother thought that unsealing was just not in the cards. But Trump time and again causes people to go where they have never gone before. He is never dull.

Torie's analysis is spot on.  Something informative will be released by the time the judge is done with this it appears.

[emailking]

I am very doubtful but we'll see.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/jeremyherb/status/1560356977993293829

[Badger]

https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1559981304824963074

I find this actually rather depressing. Basically the only people outright supporting this investigation and, you know, that whole rule of law thing, are Biden voters plus the literal two or three percent of trump voters who abandoned him after January 6th.

Conversely, you have basically Trump's entire voting base either outright opposed to this or at best "not sure" i.E. anywhere from having reservations to being downright suspicious of the whole thing. And the former out number even those with so-called uncertainties by about a 3 to 1 margin.

My god, all joking aside the Republican Party truly is a cult.

Oh, and let's not pretend that shifting support to Ron DeSantis is anything approximating a step up. Republicans doing so see all the authoritarian anti-democracy Behavior into santis in a slightly more electable package, nothing more.

[Torie]

From what they've said there would be so many redactions that it wouldn't convey anything.

Well, that's what the DOJ said.  The judge may have a different opinion.

I think this is a good middle course for the judge to steer for now.  Let's see what the final product looks like.

It should be remembered that the judge knows precisely what is in the affidavit, so if he could foresee that it would be a redacted mess with nothing revealing, he would not have gone where he is going with this. This is not only a surprise, but a huge surprise. Literally everybody and their mother thought that unsealing was just not in the cards. But Trump time and again causes people to go where they have never gone before. He is never dull.

Torie's analysis is spot on.  Something informative will be released by the time the judge is done with this it appears.

The DOJ is indeed in a state of shock per the NYT:

"The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Judge Reinhart’s ruling, but privately, officials said they were shocked by the decision."

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1560329700836315139

Dusting off a line I've used frequently in this thread: "why?"

(Not agreeing or disagreeing with this decision, just curious as to the legal justification).

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1560329700836315139

Dusting off a line I've used frequently in this thread: "why?"

(Not agreeing or disagreeing with this decision, just curious as to the legal justification).

My guess is that the judge is trying to balance the public interest (because let's face it, whatever one thinks of Trump, searching the home of a former President is an unprecedented development) against the DOJ's need to keep critical information confidential unless/until an indictment occurs.

[Torie]

https://twitter.com/hugolowell/status/1560329700836315139

Dusting off a line I've used frequently in this thread: "why?"

(Not agreeing or disagreeing with this decision, just curious as to the legal justification).

My guess is that the judge is trying to balance the public interest (because let's face it, whatever one thinks of Trump, searching the home of a former President is an unprecedented development) against the DOJ's need to keep critical information confidential unless/until an indictment occurs.

Don't be so self effacing. That is precisely what the judge wrote.

[emailking]

He's also getting death threats and his synagogue was getting them too and had to close last weekend. So he may also be trying to placate the crazies by asking the government to produce something even though it will be Swiss cheese. It shouldn't affect his judgment, but he's only human.

[Progressive Pessimist]

The affidavit being unsealed isn't even going to satisfy the rabid Trump base. They'll just move the goalposts to something else afterwards. They don't actually care about the evidence that formed the basis of the raid, they're just looking for people to deflect blame to. They want another situation like with the two FBI agents in Mueller's team who were having the affair and shared the anti-Trump text messages. They need something more to muddy the waters with even if it comes at the cost of that transparency possibly giving the investigation even more credibility to those who aren't brainwashed in the country. Just like when the warrant itself was revealed.

[emailking]

Trump aides think a family member informed on him to the FBI because agents knew where to find a specific leather case, report says

Aides to former President Donald Trump believe that a member of his family may have tipped off the FBI about the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, The Guardian reported.

Multiple sources close to Trump told the publication that after the August 8 search of Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida, aides began speculating about who could have been speaking to the agency.

...

Speculation initially focussed on Trump's political aides and resort staff at Mar-a-Lago, the outlet's sources said, before shifting to those closer to Trump.

According to the sources, some aides were convinced that only a family member would have known to point agents to a particular leather-bound box, as well as knowing the location of Trump's safe.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-aides-suspect-family-mar-a-lago-informer-guardian-2022-8

[Torie]

CNN throws more on the pyre.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/18/politics/trump-mar-a-lago-fbi-search-hearing-takeaways/index.html

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Redacted warrant application was unsealed, including specific descriptions of the offenses Trump is accused of having committed:

-Willful retention of national defense information (bolstering the theory that the documents were nuclear weapons)
-Concealment or removal of government records
-Obstruction of federal investigation

[Badger]

Redacted warrant application was unsealed, including specific descriptions of the offenses Trump is accused of having committed:

-Willful retention of national defense information (bolstering the theory that the documents were nuclear weapons)
-Concealment or removal of government records
-Obstruction of federal investigation

Link?

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

The affidavit being unsealed isn't even going to satisfy the rabid Trump base. They'll just move the goalposts to something else afterwards. They don't actually care about the evidence that formed the basis of the raid, they're just looking for people to deflect blame to. They want another situation like with the two FBI agents in Mueller's team who were having the affair and shared the anti-Trump text messages. They need something more to muddy the waters with even if it comes at the cost of that transparency possibly giving the investigation even more credibility to those who aren't brainwashed in the country. Just like when the warrant itself was revealed.

You don't give the MAGATs enough credit. They want the affidavit so they can track down the "rats" and terrorize them, just like they're already terrorizing the judge, the Attorney General and countless more people who are trying to do the right thing but still can't wrap their brains around what they're up against.

To be fair, we've never had to deal with anything exactly like the MAGATs before. They're part cult, part criminal conspiracy, part terrorist, and part orc, with a helping of totalitarianism and fascism smeared over everything. They hate freedom, democracy, and rule of law with the buring fire of a million morons. (Except when it's their votes, their laws and their freedumb.) I hope Garland and others can bring justice to Trump, but whether they do or not, I expect things to escalate to a violent campaign of widespread MAGAT terrorism, either when Trump is brought to justice, or if that fails, and some future point when they and their cult leader are told "no".

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Redacted warrant application was unsealed, including specific descriptions of the offenses Trump is accused of having committed:

-Willful retention of national defense information (bolstering the theory that the documents were nuclear weapons)
-Concealment or removal of government records
-Obstruction of federal investigation

Link?

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.617854/gov.uscourts.flsd.617854.57.0_1.pdf

[Yoda]

Trump aides think a family member informed on him to the FBI because agents knew where to find a specific leather case, report says

Aides to former President Donald Trump believe that a member of his family may have tipped off the FBI about the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, The Guardian reported.

Multiple sources close to Trump told the publication that after the August 8 search of Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida, aides began speculating about who could have been speaking to the agency.

...

Speculation initially focussed on Trump's political aides and resort staff at Mar-a-Lago, the outlet's sources said, before shifting to those closer to Trump.

According to the sources, some aides were convinced that only a family member would have known to point agents to a particular leather-bound box, as well as knowing the location of Trump's safe.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-aides-suspect-family-mar-a-lago-informer-guardian-2022-8

Damn that's wild. I wonder where one of trump's children learned to be such a self-centered, disloyal, backstabbing, dishonest piece of garbage? It is a mystery.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Trump aides think a family member informed on him to the FBI because agents knew where to find a specific leather case, report says

Aides to former President Donald Trump believe that a member of his family may have tipped off the FBI about the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, The Guardian reported.

Multiple sources close to Trump told the publication that after the August 8 search of Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida, aides began speculating about who could have been speaking to the agency.

...

Speculation initially focussed on Trump's political aides and resort staff at Mar-a-Lago, the outlet's sources said, before shifting to those closer to Trump.

According to the sources, some aides were convinced that only a family member would have known to point agents to a particular leather-bound box, as well as knowing the location of Trump's safe.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-aides-suspect-family-mar-a-lago-informer-guardian-2022-8

Damn that's wild. I wonder where one of trump's children learned to be such a self-centered, disloyal, backstabbing, dishonest piece of garbage? It is a mystery.

Alternatively, Trump could have bragged about them or even shown them to people he warned to impress.

[Ferguson97]

Trump aides think a family member informed on him to the FBI because agents knew where to find a specific leather case, report says

Aides to former President Donald Trump believe that a member of his family may have tipped off the FBI about the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, The Guardian reported.

Multiple sources close to Trump told the publication that after the August 8 search of Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida, aides began speculating about who could have been speaking to the agency.

...

Speculation initially focussed on Trump's political aides and resort staff at Mar-a-Lago, the outlet's sources said, before shifting to those closer to Trump.

According to the sources, some aides were convinced that only a family member would have known to point agents to a particular leather-bound box, as well as knowing the location of Trump's safe.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-aides-suspect-family-mar-a-lago-informer-guardian-2022-8

Damn that's wild. I wonder where one of trump's children learned to be such a self-centered, disloyal, backstabbing, dishonest piece of garbage? It is a mystery.

I would bet anything that it was Jared. He's the only one who isn't completely delusional about the prospect of prison time.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1560616254867644417

[Torrain]

Some days, it really feels like Giuliani has made a conscious decision to turn “implicate Trump in a serious crime” into his signature move. It’s like he’s in a ongoing race to one-up his own SNL caricature for surreal moments.