Good morning, Fair Neighbors, greetings and felicitations on a soft second day of the week.
We’re in a News Cycle, it seems, and we were at the helm last night when federal employees in jackets with big yellow letters on them visited a certain private residence in Palm Beach and rummaged around, searching for exactly what we’re not sure.
In the movies, these dramatic moments are accompanied by those dramatic, pulse-like Bwaahaa techno sound effects, the ones signifying import and impending travail – but a little research determined the action was nothing more than execution of a search warrant, albeit a big one.
By now the world knows which abode was searched and who was involved but, man, when this was happening the jungle drums started to rattle and the battle cry was raised, and we started to get the militant, vaguely threatening (and outright threatening) communications we’ve gotten in the past.
Just to be clear – we had nothing to do with this search warrant, so save the slings and arrows.
Beyond the expected initial reaction it soon became clear that much of the nation was interested in the development and that FOX News ratings were peaking as folks of a certain political persuasion checked in to see how folks of the opposing faction were taking the news. That generated a whole new comment stream as, apparently, the on-screen talent at Fox was not taking it well.
The upshot of all this appears to be that this latest development was expected and the resultant, blustery furor anticipated. How the country handles future moves remains to be seen but, hopefully, calm and reason will prevail. Because, paraphrasing Ben Bradlee in All The President’s Men, “nothing’s riding on this except the, uh, first amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press, and maybe the future of the country…”
The furor you mention is because the FBI could have accomplished the task by arriving with a couple of agents and presented the search warrant. To arrive SWAT style with sirens and rifles is in fact unprecedented and was not expected. The FBI has been politicized for years. Remember who Deep Throat of the Watergate era turned out to be. I am surprised by your bias and/or naivety considering you run a news organization.
Love how the MAGATs ALWAYS try to impugn those they disagree with.
I agree with Mr. Freitas. These FBI agents were in full tactical gear, bullet proof vests, automatic rifles, and black outfits we have seen used in other historical situations to intimidate, not the yellow lettering you refer to. I read the excuse for this raid was whether he had any government documents for the National Archives, which could have been addressed with a stamped envelope. There are several parts of government all harassing him right now, and the only reason it is happening is because he is thinking of running again. This absolutely is gross misuse of power. I literally today went to Google Pol Pot and saw pictures of cheering crowds welcoming his tanks into the capitol. Go see it. Really. And how did that work out for them. This is very much not good what is going on right now with this government and the supporters who are cheering this on. I donāt have cable or satellite so these are my opinions, not representative of your “hyperbole” factory as you call it.
Come on now, Lamorinda Voter. Trump would have complied with a stamped envelope request for the info? Are you not even bothered that he took classified material to his private residence? He has private security and has already demonized the FBI. It’s political because that’s his mantra. Dang. It’s like he believes he never did a wrong thing in his life and he’s the only person who gets persecuted.
I wish every time a Trump supporter posts, they would ask themselves if they would write the same thing if this was happening to a Democrat. I’m sure you were outraged when Hillary Clinton was persecuted too.
Actually TT, I am a registered Democrat and I would not have been happy if Hillary had her house raided with agents carrying automatic rifles and such. Turn off CNN, they are doing you guys a great disservice in their character assassination descriptions of Trump voters as uneducated Iowa pig farmers. Biden is ending up exactly the kind of disaster I thought he would be. As far as “classified” documents, I am not knowledgeable about that (are you?) with respect to what that means for the White House, but I used to work for the Federal Reserve in San Francisco and I would see employees reading their “classified” documents discussing monetary policy and bank mergers on BART for all to see. They were color coded for the level of sensitivity. I get the impression from several comments here that misuse of government power is acceptable if it’s for “your side.” I am on the side of not being a Banana Republic.
Lamorinda Voter- Nope, you got me all wrong. I don’t watch TV news. No network, CNN, MSNBC, FOX or anything. I read three papers and check news sites though, and do my own research. I am one of those rare citizens who is 50/50 split on policy between the two parties. I am not on a “side” except the side of law and precedent. Something Trump is not.
As far as mischaracterizing Trump supporters, I apologize for the generalization. You may be a registered Democrat, but clearly you are a Trump fan. Only Trump fans feel like this was “political”. The rest of us know it takes a lot for a search warrant like that to be signed by a judge and executed.
To compare what the employees from the Fed in SF did by taking home classified docs to the President of the US taking home classified docs really shows your bias. I’m not excusing the impropriety of what those Fed employees did, but do you really think the two are equal? Come on, now.
With respect to saying only Trump fans are upset about the FBI raid at Trumpās residence, here is what former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says:
āIām no Trump fan. I want him as far away from the White House as possible. But a fundamental part of his appeal has been that itās him against a corrupt government establishment. This raid strengthens that case for millions of Americans who will see this as unjust persecution.ā
And, as far as calling me a Trump fan, I think Steph Curry is a much better basketball player than whoever is on the Campo team this year. That does not make me a Curry fan. It’s just a fact. And under Trump, we would not have had this inflation nor three different countries threatening us with nuclear war, among other issues. However, this is totally off topic. The US government should not be engaged in behavior to persecute political parties and politicians out of power like petty third world dictatorships. This looks horrible what they did.
Lamorinda Voter- If you actually read what Andrew Yang said, he wasnāt saying he agreed that the search was wrong, only that it confirms the anti government sentiment of trump followers.
Maybe you are the one who needs to turn off Fox, etc. You are ignoring the harm to our country internally and internationally under trump. Political parties are not being persecuted here. Just trump and his minions. Those in the GOP who are turning a blind eye to this law breaking are doing more harm to our standing in the world as a leader than the legitimate serving of a warrant.
Yang also said that the given reason for the raid was not sufficient for a raid. But more to the point, you literally say here that the leading candidate in the opposition party should be persecuted enough so that he cannot run since you do not like him. If that is what you believe, we do not have a common ground to understand anything here.
How would Yang know what the reason was for the raid? It hasn’t been revealed yet. The DOJ can’t release the details, but trump can, and he can show the world what they are after, but he won’t. He prefers to take the 5th and to inflame his supporters and do some fundraising. You surely take a leap with your logic. I am not saying that the leading candidate in an opposition party should be persecuted enough so that he cannot run. I am speaking specifically about trump. Nice diversion there! There were so many irregularities about both his campaigns, yet he slithered through. Is he the leading candidate? That remains to be seen. It appears DeSantis has his followers and there’s a bunch of GOP classic folks who can’t stand trump. Maybe he will be the candidate and maybe he won’t. If there are things he did that were illega,l why would you want to bury your head in the sand about it? This is where I think we part on common ground. Morality. If a leading candidate for the Dems or any party was under suspicion, I would want to know what was involved. I am sure you were similarly outraged back in 2016 when Hilary Clinton was the target of the FBI, even though her emails seem like child’s play compared to trump’s dirty hands.
You say in general the use of government resources to neutralize the opposition is not acceptable, but Trump is a special case. The fatal flaw in your argument is the party in power can always say the opposition party’s candidate is a special case. If Trump drops out, we will find DeSantis is unacceptable due to racist remarks he made or financial irregularities or whatever. Then the next is unacceptable also. It is an irretrievable slippery slope where the party in power is allowed to determine who can run against them. And while you are pondering this with your own party in power, how are you going to feel if the Republicans win and start choosing your candidates for you. Biden too old, Hillary involved in pay-to-play, Bernie too socialist, AOC too extreme, Kamala not competent, etc.
Well, I disagree with both of you, and there we are. A search warrant is necessary if agents have previously been lied to or the correspondent has a history of mishandling documents. I’m thinking of toilets, fireplaces, ordinary waste baskets, and coat pockets, as has been reported by witnesses who worked for the man…
The FBI director Trump appointed is still there. He had to have been onboard. The warrant had to indicate what crimes were being investigated and DOJ had to persuade a judge that the relevant evidence sought would be at that location, and that the information was not stale, i.e. that the evidence was still there to be found. High hurdles. All cleared apparently. Stay tuned. Snails move faster.
Itās the simple execution of a warrant signed by a judge. Period. Itās how the legal system works. No one ābroke inā and no one āoccupiedā his home. Itās an investigation. When thereās probable cause to seize evidence in a felony, you show the judge that information and they either sign a warrant or deny it. If you donāt like the way it looks because your hero is in trouble, well thatās too bad. These are serious charges.
I like Mike. Right.
Let the warrang process play out to completion, prior to makng summary conclusions. Probable cause via affidavit requirement satisfied vis-a-vis Federal magistrate executing warrant. Now it is up to DOJ/FBI to cull through the collected items. Whether there is any “there” there is the next level of inquiry.
Plain view doctrine-yes
Evanescent evidence doctrine-no
Good to hear from you, Jeff. Do we have a lot of lawyers on this site, or what? Thanks for writing.
What was that line from William Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2, Act IV, Scene 2?
“For our enemies shall fall before us, inspired with
the spirit of putting down kings and princes…”
Not that one? š
That is indeed the one to which I was referring….š¤£
The thing is Jeff, there is no completion. They never stop. There were calls for impeachment before he even took office and we have seen years of harassment like this with Democrats proclaiming continuously that now we have him, even while they close their eyes and ears to Hunterās laptop, Pelosi insider trading, and other such things.
I understand your angst, however the ubiquitous “what about-isms” from both ends of the political landscape serve no useful purpose. The episodes/incidents cited are mutually exclusive from one another and need to be addressed on a case by case basis. The only nexus between the Mara-a-Lago warrant and the President son’s laptop contents appears to be partisan media fanning the flames from their respective echo chambers that have come to be courtesy of the self-sorting process.
If there is a shift in Senate/House leadership after the upcoming midterm elections to the conservative side of the aisle, I anticipate investigative focus will be thrust upon the “neglected” items that are clearly identifiable with the progressive contingent.
Under the equal protection clause which is applicable to both state and federal governments we have the mandate that individuals in similar situations are to be treated equally by the law. Having dysfunctional aggressive government behavior toward one individual is not canceled out by the ability to mistreat another later. Here we have an FBI armed like stormtroopers in a former presidentās house on what some sources say is the flimsy request of papers for national archives, compared to this same FBI sitting on a laptop that allegedly provides specific and detailed information on felony illegal behavior by the current president.
All I want is to let the process play out as prescribed by law in all instances. Whether there is moral equivalence between the alleged transgressions of former POTUS and the son of the current POTUS is beyond my pay grade.
A foundational issue that cannot be denied is that the polarization in the current electorate make the prospects of an “agreed upon” set of basic facts to start a civil discussion remote at best. My earlier comments regarding self-sorting and echo chambers remain intact. All or nothing binary choices are not the only option available.
Show us that warrant.
Trump’s lawyers would have received the warrant and a list of everything seized. The DOJ normally does not leak, but Trump’s team may start to selectively leak some of it. Also, we may learn some of what’s in the warrant when Trump’s “legal team” files frivolous claims of impropriety, and the DOJ has to respond to the court with a portion of what it has. Historically, such frivolous protests of “witch hunt” have been summarily dispatched by the courts for lack of evidence and unserious legal arguments.
Of course, this time could be different. Trump, a con-artist, sociopath, and pathological liar may have a case against the government. He may just have the upper hand now that he will get his day in court, and in court, and in court, and in court.
Still no Civil War. Just saying.
Youāll likely have a domestic terrorist act (or attempt) by a right wing conspiracy believing group. But, a civil war? Please. Look around. Americans were fit and energetic in the 1850s and 1860s. You had to be to survive. Today, Americans are fat and lazy. No large scale action is on the horizon.
Conservatives donāt put their money where their mouth is on support for law enforcement. Itās funny to watch.
Only guilty people take the fifth. – Dongle J. Frumpmeister (Hung by his own words)
With the dawn comes the light. Reality is going to be tough to handle for a lot of people.
Awake! Awake! When reality finally intervenes, cults don’t die, they metamorphose. Just ask Ginny.
Both Fox and CNN reported through their sources that the DOJ had met with Trumps team on at least a couple occasions to better understand what Classified Docs were still at his palace and how they were stored/secured. Analyst conjecture is that they were not getting the results they wanted so took the step to go in heavy and legally. In my opinion, Trump knew this would happen and that the resulting backlash would energize his base so he deliberately drug his feet. There may be little or nothing in those documents that is classified but more valuable was the press that he would get from any action taken.
A guy wakes up in Ohio and decides to commit suicide by cop – for Frump. The blind stupidity of these people is astounding. They need to be relegated to the land of the inconsequential and avoided at all costs. Eventually the inner acid they produce will consume them. They were told.
Mae: Yourās is a fun post. There are a lot of crazies out there on both sides. On the subject of blind stupidity, I would like to discuss with you the indefensible monetary foundations of Bidenās economics as influenced by AOCās MMT. It is clear that taxation does not have the speed or political sustenance per Kaleckiās views on the political business cycle to address this increase in inflation. Reinhart and Rogoffās admittedly flawed study suggests we are on the path to a severe debt and currency crisis reminiscent of places like Zimbabwe.
Ahhh Lamorinda Voter- I guess Jeff Loweās post about whataboutism went over your head. If those things you mention endlessly rise to the level of a crime, then they should be looked into by the proper authorities. What those potential situations donāt do is mitigate or absolve trump of his wrongdoings.
Youāre like the little boy who holds his hands over his ears screaming, āBut Billy did it too!ā. Please grow up. Whatās truly funny is that in one of your first posts you wrote that you are a registered Democrat. It seems you are holding on to that designation for some reason that has nothing to do with your beliefs.
There are two issues to discuss if you want to question my registration. I was very Democrat when the platform of the party was to make the US a better place. That theme no longer exists but I keep hoping those with common sense kick out the scoundrels infesting its higher tiers. Second, the meanness and tactics of the party have become very alienating. Look no farther than this conversation. I say Democrats are closing their eyes and ears to the corruption. You say I am ālike a little boyā and āscreamingā and that I should āgrow up.ā The Democrats have very successfully changed the narrative from policy to one of personality contests and ad-hominem attacks. Much of Democrat policy seems built upon the foundation to do the opposite of whatever Trump wanted just to spite him. That is not the way to run a country, and we see the mess that is resulting.
“Democrats have very successfully changed the narrative from policy to one of personality contests and ad-hominem attacks.” Wow! Up is down in your world. Just wow.
David: My opinion on the reliance of ad-hominem attacks by Democrats on the 70 some million voters who voted for Trump is easily shown just in this discussion. The comment just above this mentions the “blind stupidity” of Trump supporters while the comment following below says “brainless followers.”
Trump is the one who divided the country, going back to when he questioned whether Obama was even born here. Notice that he’s back to calling Obama by his full name, which is red meat code for his base.
Still have not got the hang of what gets censored here and why. Even with no swear words or any personal comments, it looks like things that make progressives look bad are not posted to save them the discomfort of being wrong. Noted.
LV: Lol, we do have something in common after all. The “rules” are sometimes mysterious to me as well. It usually turns out in hindsight that the Editor’s judgment is better than mine in the heat of the moment. You can call that censorship, but in the final analysis, it’s his gig, and we are not obliged to participate. I choose to participate.
david: Hey, good to hear from you. We are on opposite sides but you always have something fun to say. I floated a trial balloon below similar to something killed off earlier, and the difference may have just been the use of the four letter word describing a certain politicial party in Germany during the 1930’s and 40’s.
Thinking back to old episodes of Bewitched, I think I have this whole “declassified when I leave the Oval” figured out. You just need to believe in a little witchcraft, which the courts, beginning in early Massachusetts, have frowned upon. Always persecuted for his gifts! Witch hunt!
Arrest him. Just arrest him. If the authorities are afraid of what his brainless followers will do I say let’s find out and deal with him. We’ve sent “ordinary” people to jail for far less than this ape has done.
Many Republicans are attacking the FBI, even suggesting it should be “disbanded”, because they’re doing their job? Really? What happened to the days when Republicans supported law enforcement, including the FBI? And aren’t these the same people who heavily criticized BLM and the AOC types for their “defund the police” stance? Trump supporters continue to blame everyone else for his many problems, and not Trump himself. I wonder when they will figure out that it’s not everyone else, it’s Trump himself who is responsible for his problems. There’s a cause and effect at play here, and the cause is most certainly Trump himself.
“Rand Paul calls for repeal of Espionage Act amid DOJ investigation into Trump taking classified documents to Mar-a-Lago”
You can’t make this stuff up, simply amazing…
It does boggle the mind. I agree. It’s almost as if they feel they can make up their own rules as they go along. Where did they find these people? How did they end up in positions of power???
A lot of people knew this would happen and called it — Hillary Clinton among them. QED
As the crime spree comes home to Mar-a-Lago and desperation sets in, the calls to sic the mob on law enforcement and judicial officials is growing. Sporadic violence and threats of violence from mob adherents is already occurring, abetted by Republican enablers in leadership positions. We can’t shrink from enforcing the law because of what a tyrant might do, or in this case will most certainly do, when charged with his abundant multi-state crimes. He must be prosecuted under the law if the rule of law is to have any meaning. No kings!
The dumpster fire that is the past guy is working hard to get his believers to do something before he is indicted. But I’m not feeling the sense of allegiance and blind faith the misguided had in Con Juan up to Jan6. Hopefully they get that the majority of the country does not care what they think and is not afraid of what they will do. We know who they are and they are easily avoided.
Just trying to guess what the sound will be like across the country when we wake up to hear he has been arrested.
Meanwhile we have year over year inflation at 8.5%, six months of negative GDP, about 200,000 illegals crossing the border each month, large increases in crimes such as property crimes and homicide, double digit increases in homelessness, three countries threatening us with nuclear war, while the news media is trumpeting how great it is that the rich can get a $7,500 tax benefit from buying electric cars even while China is going through a massive coal fired electric power plant building boom. Who would have thought Biden could shift the focus of such an incredibly poor job of administration to the FBI search of the former first family’s underwear drawers.
When we go through his dirty laundry, we are using metaphor to summarize his innumerable crimes. The former first executive has committed and is committing crimes. That should matter. State secrets should matter. Brave Americans put their lives at risk to get them. The former guy defends his actions on TV, NOT IN THE COURTS, because facts matter to the courts. His TV and social media defenses, one spaghetti hurl after another, have reached the point of absolute absurdity, to wit: “State secrets are automatically de-classified when he moves upstairs to the executive residence.” How can that make sense to anyone who gives it 2 minutes of thought? What would be the consequences of that? It is a ridiculous idea. Also, you seem unconcerned about that whole question of remaining a constitutional republic. Now, that’s been a big part of being American so far.
The usual talking points. Can’t wait to vote in November. We just can’t wait.
“If we nominate tr**p, we will get destroyed, and we will deserve it.” – Lindsey Graham
You did, you are, and you do.