FBI agents raid Trump's Florida home

[Kryztian]

What the FBI alleges (unofficially, per leak to Washington Post) what Trump had in at Mar-A-Lago.

y0QGlLXPJow

Material on foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
Some seized documents were so closely held, only the president, a Cabinet-level or near-Cabinet level official could authorize others to know
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/06/trump-nuclear-documents/

[mountain_jim]

https://thefederalist.com/2022/09/12/bidens-doj-doesnt-want-to-disclose-classified-mar-a-lago-documents-except-through-selective-leaks-to-leftist-media/

(embedded links at link)

Biden’s DOJ Doesn’t Want To Disclose ‘Classified’ Mar-A-Lago Documents—Except Through Selective Leaks To Leftist Media

BY: MARGOT CLEVELAND
SEPTEMBER 12, 2022
14 MIN READ

The government’s latest motion strongly suggests the Biden administration is all-in on pursuing a criminal case against the former president.

Hiding behind the horror of 9/11, the Biden administration demands that a federal judge and the country trust its targeting of a top political opponent—all while leaking details of classified documents to a pliant press.

This development and six others flow from recent court filings in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to obtain a special master’s oversight of the FBI’s seizure of thousands of documents and personal effects from his Mar-a-Lago home. The government doesn’t want to allow an independent review of the documents it’s seized. Trump’s legal team does.

First, The Backdrop

Three days after the August 8, 2022, raid om Trump’s Florida home, an attorney representing the former president spoke with Jay Bratt, the chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. Bratt has apparently been leading the investigation into the former president.

Trump’s lawyer asked Bratt “to agree to the appointment of a Special Master to protect the integrity of privileged documents.” Bratt refused. A week-and-a-half later, Trump filed a separate action in a Florida district court seeking judicial oversight and the appointment of a special master.

Federal judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, granted that motion last week, holding a special master shall be appointed to review the seized property, “manage assertions of privilege and make recommendations thereon, and evaluate claims for return of property.” Significantly, Judge Cannon also entered an injunction prohibiting the government from using the documents “for criminal investigative purposes pending resolution of the special master’s review process.” The court then ordered the parties to recommend individuals to fill the special master role, along with proposed procedures for the process by last Friday.

DOJ Files a Notice of Appeal


Before submitting the list of proposed special masters and the other details ordered by Judge Cannon, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal with the trial court, which the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals then docketed, starting the appeal process. Of interest, here, the clerk of court entered a corrected notice of appeal on behalf of the government, indicating the appeal was “interlocutory.”

Generally speaking, an “interlocutory appeal” is filed before the proceedings in the lower court are final. The right to appeal interlocutorily is limited, but federal rules of procedure provide for jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal where a party challenges the issuance of an injunction.

In this case, because the Biden administration seeks to challenge the trial court’s issuance of a preliminary injunction barring the government from using the seized materials “for criminal investigative purposes pending resolution of the special master’s review process,” the Eleventh Circuit has jurisdiction to hear this interlocutory appeal.

What issues the Eleventh Circuit will address as part of the interlocutory appeal, such as the propriety of the appointment of a special master, present a different question, however. A federal appellate court with jurisdiction to review, interlocutorily, a lower court’s decision granting an injunction may also review other interrelated issues decided by the trial court. Significantly, it is a may and not a must, meaning the federal appellate court holds discretion to decide whether to review ancillary, albeit interconnected, issues.

The Biden administration has not yet filed its brief on appeal, but it seems likely that the government will ask the Eleventh Circuit to review Judge Cannon’s decision appointing a special master at the same time the appellate court addresses her decision enjoining the DOJ from using the seized materials for “criminal investigative purposes.” Trump will likely oppose any review of the decision to appoint a special master. But it is too early now to predict what issues the Eleventh Circuit will take up.

Biden Admin Claims Terrorism Requires a Stay

In addition to filing a notice of appeal, the Biden administration filed a motion for a partial stay of the injunction, asking Judge Cannon to “stay” or put on hold the injunction to the extent it “(1) enjoins the further review and use for criminal investigative purposes of records bearing classification markings that were recovered pursuant to a court-authorized search warrant and (2) requires the government to disclose those classified records to a special master for review.” The government further asked the court to rule promptly on its motion, telling Cannon that if she does not stay those portions of the order by Sept. 15, the government would seek a stay from the Eleventh Circuit.

While stressing that it disagrees with the court’s injunction, broadly speaking, the Biden administration limited its request for a stay to those portions of the order affecting the seized documents bearing a classification marking. In arguing for a stay, the government attempts to present the request as a matter of vital national security, even evoking 9/11 to frame their argument.

“The FBI itself is part of the Intelligence Community, and since the 9/11 attacks, the FBI has integrated its intelligence and law enforcement functions when it exercises its national security mission,” the government stressed in its motion. Further, the FBI conducts investigations that “may constitute an exercise both of the FBI’s criminal investigation authority and of the FBI’s authority to investigate threats to the national security.” In this case, the government then noted, “the same personnel from the FBI involved in the criminal investigation were coordinating appropriately with the IC in its review and assessment.”

According, while the court “specifically authorized the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (‘ODNI’) to continue with “the classification review and/or intelligence assessment,” the government argues that the injunction’s application to the records bearing classification markings “would thus frustrate the government’s ability to conduct an effective national security risk assessment and classification review and could preclude the government from taking necessary remedial steps in light of that review—risking irreparable harm to our national security and intelligence interests.”

The Biden administration’s claimed urgency strikes a surreal chord given that the DOJ waited six months to seize the classified documents after learning materials returned to the National Archives and Records Administration included documents bearing the classification markings. Further, given that the government has already segregated those 100 documents, a special master could expeditiously review the material, limiting the supposed harm to our national security and intelligence interests.

How Judge Cannon, and ultimately the Eleventh Circuit, will rule on the motion remains to be seen. Trump’s legal team still has a chance to respond to that motion by 10 a.m. today.

Biden Admin Seeks to Relitigate Trial Court’s Order

The government’s motion to stay also, in effect, attempts to reargue the DOJ’s position that there is no basis for a special master to review the documents bearing classification markings. The arguments presented in the motion thus serve as a preview of those the government will likely make to the Eleventh Circuit.

First, the government maintains that because the documents bearing classification marking cannot possibly be private records in which Trump has an interest, the court lacked the authority to appoint a special master to review those documents. But this argument presumes the government can be trusted—something Judge Cannon called into question given the mistakes made concerning documents preserved by attorney-client privilege. At a minimum, then, the special master’s review of the documents bearing classification markings provides assurances that the agents reviewing the documents properly segregated them.

The government also challenged Judge Cannon’s view that the special master should review the documents for potential executive privilege. According to the DOJ, as part of the executive branch, it has complete authority to review the documents marked classified and Trump has no right to assert executive privilege.

In enjoining the government from using the seized documents as part of its criminal investigation, Judge Cannon stressed that the question is not that simple. She is right. Because of a dearth of cases law, there is no clear answer to the scope and limits of executive privilege. Some parameters appear clear, however, such as that documents privileged by executive privilege cannot be used by the grand jury, yet the DOJ can nonetheless review those documents.

A problem arises, however, if the same FBI agents who reviewed documents protected by executive privilege then present a criminal case to a grand jury, taking advantage of the knowledge they gleaned from the content of the privileged documents. The FBI avoids that problem with documents protected by attorney-client privilege by using a taint team to review the material for privileged communications. The taint team ensures the investigative agents, who may later present a case to a grand jury, have no exposure to the material protected by attorney-client privilege.

The government and critics of Judge Cannon’s opinion fail to appreciate that absent a “taint team” to review any documents protected by executive privilege, the investigative agents may improperly use their knowledge during grand jury proceedings. Having a special master identify documents potentially protected by executive privilege provides a mechanism for both the DOJ and Trump to address the effects (or lack thereof) of the potential executive privilege claim.

Unsurprisingly, there is no case law considering these points because the targeting of a former chief executive in this situation has never occurred before. But handling executive privilege similarly to attorney-client privilege makes sense, which explains Judge Cannon’s ruling last week—a ruling the government ignores in its motion to stay.

Biden Admin’s Request Proves Trump’s Point

Another significant point from last week’s filings comes from the government’s argument in its motion to stay. In arguing against Judge Cannon’s order that it not use the materials seized “for criminal investigative purposes pending resolution of the special master’s review process,” the Biden administration proves the need for a special master.

Throughout its motion, the government stresses the interconnectedness of the criminal and intelligence community’s work. The FBI uses the intelligence community’s classification review “to inform its ‘criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of . . . national defense information,’ as to which classification status is highly relevant,” the government highlights.

“The government must assess the likelihood that improperly stored classified information may have been accessed by others and compromised,” the DOJ continues, adding that “that inquiry is a core aspect of the FBI’s criminal investigation.” For these reasons, the DOJ argues it cannot separate the intelligence aspect of the investigation from the criminal investigation aspect.

In its motion to stay, the Biden administration further argues:

The integration of the FBI’s criminal investigative and national security-related missions would also make it exceedingly difficult to bifurcate the FBI personnel working on the criminal investigation from those working in conjunction with other departments or agencies in the [Intelligence Community.] Any FBI agent or analyst who investigated whether the classified records were improperly accessed, for instance, would by definition be gathering information highly relevant to—and thus in furtherance of—’criminal investigative purposes.’ And such bifurcation would make little sense even if it were feasible, given that the same senior DOJ and FBI officials are ultimately responsible for supervising the criminal investigation and for ensuring that DOJ and FBI are coordinating appropriately with the IC on its classification review and assessment.

These arguments seek to force the court into allowing its criminal investigation to continue prior to the special master’s review, by framing the court’s order as effectively halting intelligence agencies’ work protecting our national security interests. Beyond creating a false dilemma, the government’s argument proves precisely why a special master is needed to assess privilege: because the Biden administration’s review of the documents, including potentially privileged documents, concerns its criminal targeting of Trump.

Full Tilt to Target Trump Before Midterms

The argument and analysis presented in the government’s motion reveals another reality: The Biden administration intends to pursue a criminal case against Trump, likely before the 2022 midterms. After the first wave of shock over the raid of the former president’s home passed, the conversation quickly turned to the end goal. Would the government be content with retrieving the documents, or was the government intent on indicting Trump?

While not conclusive, the government’s motion strongly suggests the Biden administration is all-in on pursuing a criminal case against the former president. Every word of the DOJ’s motion frames the case as representing a serious affront to national security and one deserving of criminal penalties.

For example, the Biden administration argues that “without a stay, the government and public also will suffer irreparable harm from the undue delay to the criminal investigation.” “The public has an ‘interest in the fair and expeditious administration of the criminal laws,’” the brief continues, adding that “any delay poses significant concerns in the context of an investigation into the mishandling of classified records.” “The government’s need to proceed apace is particularly heightened where, as here, obstructive acts may impede its investigation,” the Biden administration further stresses.

A few months’ delay to allow the special master to review the documents, however, is far from an “undue delay,” unless the Biden administration’s focus isn’t a “fair and expeditious administration of the criminal laws,” but midterm elections.

Only Leaks Are Allowed to See the Light of Day

In seeking to expedite its criminal investigation and in opposing the special master, the Biden administration relies heavily on its claims that the documents marked classified put the country at grave risk. But as Trump’s lawyers note in their briefing, material once classified does not always remain classified. This concerns not merely the documents Trump declassified, but that other documents, such as the former president’s travel itinerary, lose any top-secret nature with time.

The Biden administration clearly wants Americans to believe the documents Trump had at Mar-a-Lago represent serious threats to our national security, as evidenced not merely by the court filings but by the many leaks to the press. To protect that narrative, the DOJ remains adamant that the special master not have access to the documents it has segregated as marked classified.

The Biden administration argues it “will also suffer irreparable harm if . . .it is forced to disclose classified materials outside the Executive Branch in circumstances where there would be no valid purpose served by such disclosure.” But, as Judge Cannon detailed, there are several valid purposes, including ensuring the documents were properly segregated and do not involve privileged documents.

Further, transparency proves especially important in this case, where “concerns about the perception of fair process are heightened where, as here, the Privilege Review Team and the Investigation Team contain members from the same section within the same DOJ division, even if separated for direct reporting purposes on this specific matter.” “[P]rosecutors have a responsibility to not only see that justice is done, but to also ensure that justice appears to be done,” Judge Cannon stressed.

Beyond these points, there is the irony that while the government bemoans the use of a special master, it continues to leak to the press supposed details about their content. History also teaches that the more the government screams about the need to keep supposedly classified information secret, the more likely the details represent not national security intel but information harmful to the deep state.

Master Names Floated, Including a DNC Donor

On Friday, the DOJ and Trump filed a joint response to the court’s order, setting forth individuals to serve as the proposed special master. On the DOJ side, the Biden administration recommended retired federal judges Barbara S. Jones and Thomas B. Griffith. Jones is a Democratic National Committee and Act Blue Donor, while Griffith appears a Biden favorite, having previously been called to serve on a committee to reform the Supreme Court.

Trump’s legal team proposed Judge Raymond Dearie and Florida’s former deputy attorney general, Paul Huck Jr. While likely similarly biased, but in Trump’s favor, that is precisely what is needed to ensure that the Biden administration’s DOJ isn’t playing fast and loose with the facts.

For all these developments, there will be many more over the next week, with the government filing its opening brief in the Eleventh Circuit. Trump’s legal team will also be responding shortly to the Biden administration’s motion to stay and Judge Cannon will need to rule on that motion. Should she deny the motion, the government will then seek a stay from Eleventh Circuit. Judge Cannon must also decide on the individual to appoint as a special master and whether he (or she) will have access to the documents marked classified.

With every development, there will be more media coverage of Trump and the raid—and less of the disastrous condition Biden and Democrats have put the country in over less than two years.

Margot Cleveland is The Federalist's senior legal correspondent. She is also a contributor to National Review Online, the Washington Examiner, Aleteia, and Townhall.com, and has been published in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Prize—the law school’s highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. As a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of a young son with cystic fibrosis, Cleveland frequently writes on cultural issues related to parenting and special-needs children. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.

[mountain_jim]

Brian Cates
Forwarded from
Midnight Rider Channel (https://t.me/drawandstrikechannel/53711)
(
Karli Bonne
)

President Trump's legal team filed an excellent legal brief, calling out the Biden Justice Department's political charade.

Team Trump is firing on all cylinders.

Trump clearly has the winning legal arguments.

This is going to backfire--badly--on Biden.


https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.84.0.pdf




https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.84.0.pdf

[mountain_jim]

https://twitter.com/DavidBCollum/status/1569895397161828352?s=20&t=8d641hb69fAjWdcO5e3C5A


1569895397161828352


https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fbi-tracks-down-mike-lindell-hunting-trip-surrounds-his-car-and-seizes-cell-phone



Lindell is the latest Trump ally to receive a warrant or subpoena by the FBI. Last week, the Biden DOJ hit dozens (https://www.zerohedge.com/political/35-trump-allies-served-warrants-subpoenas-according-steve-bannon) of Trump aides and allies with subpoenas as part of their investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 US election over claims of fraud that handed Joe Biden the White House, as well as the run up to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Interesting how the Biden DOJ waited more tha 18 months - right before midterms - to initiate legal action against Trumpworld. And Biden said he wouldn't weaponize (https://www.businessinsider.com/president-elect-joe-biden-not-use-justice-department-investigate-trump-2020-11)the Justice Department.





https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fcoa-jcXwAAz8bZ?format=jpg&name=900x900


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fcle-YpX0AA1Au_?format=jpg&name=900x900



https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/115/800/999/original/3680cd6a34eb867e.jpeg


https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/115/816/809/original/bb9584d74559e8e9.jpeg


https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/115/816/822/original/d1da4848dd610a6c.jpeg

[Ratszinger]

I bought a pillow from Mike today on another note. But anyway, what I want to know is where the hell the Sheriff of the county was when Trump's place was illegally raided? The sheriff is soley responsible for making sure the state constitution is held up and he basically stood down while the FBI illegally weaponized by a politically motivated president violated the constitution against a former president! This, making him worthless in my opinion! Gov Stitt and the sheriff in my county assure us that the FBI would not get away with this same move in Oklahoma they'd be stopped by the sheriff and his deputies and likely cuffed and taken in!! This stinks of corruption even in FL yet no one is asking where that worthless sheriff was? ?

[Satori]

I bought a pillow from Mike today on another note. But anyway, what I want to know is where the hell the Sheriff of the county was when Trump's place was illegally raided? The sheriff is soley responsible for making sure the state constitution is held up and he basically stood down while the FBI illegally weaponized by a politically motivated president violated the constitution against a former president! This, making him worthless in my opinion! Gov Stitt and the sheriff in my county assure us that the FBI would not get away with this same move in Oklahoma they'd be stopped by the sheriff and his deputies and likely cuffed and taken in!! This stinks of corruption even in FL yet no one is asking where that worthless sheriff was? ?


In Oklahoma the chances of a County Sheriff telling the FBI not only "no" but "hell no" is much greater. Bravo. But in Minnesota the chances of the County Sheriff telling the FBI "no" is near zero.

But your point is well-taken. By law, including under the US and State Constitutions, a federal agency may not take any action in the county of any state without the County Sheriff being contacted and getting on board with and approving the proposed action. In fact, at a minimum, at least one deputy sheriff should be on site at the location where the federal agency is engaged in the activity, even if not actively participating in the activity.

[norman]

I'm leaning further into the "we're watching a movie" theory than ever.

We were watching a movie long before Trump came down the escalator, but now there are two teams on the field.

[Waldo]

I bought a pillow from Mike today on another note. But anyway, what I want to know is where the hell the Sheriff of the county was when Trump's place was illegally raided? The sheriff is soley responsible for making sure the state constitution is held up and he basically stood down while the FBI illegally weaponized by a politically motivated president violated the constitution against a former president! This, making him worthless in my opinion! Gov Stitt and the sheriff in my county assure us that the FBI would not get away with this same move in Oklahoma they'd be stopped by the sheriff and his deputies and likely cuffed and taken in!! This stinks of corruption even in FL yet no one is asking where that worthless sheriff was? ?


In Oklahoma the chances of a County Sheriff telling the FBI not only "no" but "hell no" is much greater. Bravo. But in Minnesota the chances of the County Sheriff telling the FBI "no" is near zero.

But your point is well-taken. By law, including under the US and State Constitutions, a federal agency may not take any action in the county of any state without the County Sheriff being contacted and getting on board with and approving the proposed action. In fact, at a minimum, at least one deputy sheriff should be on site at the location where the federal agency is engaged in the activity, even if not actively participating in the activity.

We are at the point where constitutional sheriffs are our last line of defense against a tyrannical federal gov. We as a people need to elect sheriffs who have read and understand the constitution and their role in upholding it. This is serious **** folks.

[norman]

In the long paper and news trail since the raid, has the topic of this short video popped up on the radar of any of you keen trackers of everything official to do with the Trump raid 'story' ?

I'm not familiar with the names that come up in the ending section of this video, but perhaps others are on top of a story about all this.

It seems to be about a highly incriminating satanic abuse affidavit. I've been hearing about that affidavit for over a year and believe the person who made it. Apparently there is still, to this day, a Pentagon paedophilia investigation unit that is still turning out documents with 2022 dates on them regarding this affidavit.

This video may only be wild assumption on it's creator's part, or it may be a missing chunk of this Trump raid story.

71aiKSrH6TUE/

[mountain_jim]

https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/115/867/119/original/b454df8b18e2c8ca.jpeg


1570448757027897345

[mountain_jim]

Brian Cates
Forwarded from
KAGBABE
BREAKING: Judge Aileen Cannon has DENIED the DOJ's motion for a partial stay to continue investigating Trump with seized materials from Mar-a-Lago and has appointed Raymond Dearie as special master


https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.89.0.pdf

///


Brian Cates
Forwarded from
Praying Medic
(
Dave Hayes
)
A federal judge denied the DOJ's request for a stay and has appointed Raymond Dearie as special master to oversee documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.
(Dearie was requested by Trump's legal team)

https://apnews.com/article/new-york-donald-trump-brooklyn-mar-a-lago-government-and-politics-4a6200ebc4fe6418c25ca380a43a6338

Brian Cates
Forwarded from
Just Human ️️️ (https://t.me/drawandstrikechannel/54084)
Judge Dearie was Trump’s first choice.

Before being picked by Reagan for the Federal bench, Dearie served as a prosecutor in the EDNY during the 1980’s.

He almost certainly worked with Rudy and members of ‘The Band’ to help tackle organized crime in New York.

And it’s a good bet he worked with Trump a few times as well.

I expected Barbara S Jones to get picked, but am not disappointed at all with this choice.

And I’m sure Trump is very happy with it.

///


Allow me to translate what Judge Cannon is saying there for those of you in Rio Linda:

"I am not buying what you're selling. I already rejected your argument against my granting Trump's request to appoint a Special Master, and after hearing you out again, I'm still not buying what you're selling.

Your motion for a stay is denied, I hereby appoint the Special Master, and I'm going to make it Trump's own pick."

///

The judge ACTUALLY CALLS OUT THE GOVERNMENT FOR LEAKS TO THE MEDIA!

//

Brian Cates
'Judge Cannon: 'You guys aren't helping your case when you cant even get your leakers under control who are supposedly leaking classified info about your investigation to the news media" but she says it NICELY in legalese.




https://www.zerohedge.com/political/special-master-appointed-trump-raid-docs-doj-denied-access

DOJ Denied Access To Trump Raid Docs After Judge Appoints Special Master

BY TYLER DURDEN
THURSDAY, SEP 15, 2022 - 08:00 PM
A special master has been appointed to act as a firewall between the Justice Department and materials seized during an Aug. 8 raid on former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

In a pair of Thursday orders from federal district Judge Aileen Cannon, the DOJ's motion to access a subset of classified records stored on the Trump property was denied, and a recently retired judge that both the DOJ and Trump's team agreed on - recently retired Judge Raymond Dearie - will serve as special master.

Raymond has until Nov. 30, 2022 to complete his review.

Cannon struck down the DOJ's request for a partial stay of an earlier motion on accessing the seized materials, after lawyers for the government argued that they should be able to review over 100 classified documents taken during the raid - as they are not covered by any claims of personal property or executive privilege.

That said, Cannon sided with a DOJ request for Trump to pay the full cost associated with a special master.

"If the court were willing to accept the government’s representations that select portions of the seized materials are—without exception—government property not subject to any privileges, and did not think a special master would serve a meaningful purpose, the court would have denied plaintiff’s special master request," wrote Cannon. "The court does not find it appropriate to accept the government’s conclusions on these important and disputed issues without further review by a neutral third party in an expedited and orderly fashion."

[mountain_jim]

https://thefederalist.com/2022/09/16/trump-scores-two-huge-victories-in-fight-for-special-master/

Trump Scores Two Huge Victories In Fight For Special Master
BY: MARGOT CLEVELAND
SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/49271101956_bd1316d5da_k-1200x675.jpg

Trump’s win shouldn’t be a loss for the Department of Justice—unless the Biden administration played fast and loose with the facts.

The Biden administration cannot use the documents the FBI seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home for criminal investigative purposes until a special master completes an independent review of the material, a federal judge held on Thursday.

That decision and the court’s selection of Trump’s preferred special master candidate, coupled with the fulsome review process adopted yesterday by presiding Judge Aileen Cannon, represent a huge victory for the former president. But Trump’s win shouldn’t be a loss for the Department of Justice—unless the Biden administration played fast and loose with the facts and seeks to hide the truth from the country to launch an October surprise.

During the August 8, 2022, Mar-a-Lago raid, the FBI seized more than 11,000 documents, as well as clothing and other items from the Trumps’ home. On September 5, 2022, Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, granted the former president’s request (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.64.0_6.pdf) for the appointment of a special master to review the seized property. That order left open several issues, however, including the identity of the special master and the process and timing for the review.

Pending the special master’s review of the seized material, Judge Cannon also entered an injunction prohibiting the government from using the documents “for criminal investigative purposes. Three days later, the DOJ filed a notice of appeal, announcing its intent to ask the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Cannon’s injunction.

The DOJ simultaneously filed a partial motion to stay with the trial court, asking Cannon to put on hold her ruling as to the documents marked classified. Specifically, the DOJ asked the court to hold that while its appeal proceeds, it need not provide documents marked as classified to the special master for review. The DOJ also asked the court to allow it to use the documents marked classified as part of its criminal investigation during the pendency of the appeal.

Judge Cannon denied the government’s request for a stay late Thursday. In a ten-page order, she explained her reasoning, noting first that in seeking a stay related to the documents marked classified, the DOJ effectively asks the court to accept at face value the government’s representations that “all of the approximately 100 documents isolated by the Government (and ‘papers physically attached to them’) are classified government records.” The court was unwilling to accept the government’s representation “without further review by a neutral third party in an expedited and orderly fashion.”

In rejecting the DOJ’s motion, Cannon further noted she was “not persuaded that the Government will suffer an irreparable injury without the requested stay.” Here, the court noted that while the DOJ framed its request as necessitated by urgent national security needs, the government has not identified any “emergency” or any likely “imminent disclosure of classified information arising from Plaintiff’s allegedly unlawful retention of the seized property.” On the contrary, the only disclosures seen to date, Cannon stressed, were the “unfortunate” “leaks to the media after the underlying seizure.”

The court further found a stay unnecessary because the special master will be directed to prioritize the review of the approximately 100 documents marked as classified, which Judge Cannon did in a second order entered yesterday.

Cannon’s second order appointed Judge Raymond J. Dearie to serve as special master and established his responsibilities and other logistical duties. Trump proffered Dearie, a semi-retired senior judge for the Eastern District of New York, as one of two recommended candidates. Dearie’s recommendation raised some eyebrows given that Dearie, who had served (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-picked-special-master-candidate-signed-carter-page-fisa-before-fbi-misconduct-discovered)for seven years on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or “FISA” court, had signed the fourth faulty Carter Page surveillance order that allowed federal intelligence agencies to spy on Trump’s administration and campaign.

While the DOJ objected to the other candidate proposed by Trump, the government agreed that Dearie would be acceptable. In accepting the special master assignment, Dearie, a Reagan appointee, signed a declaration attesting that he had no known conflicts of interest.

Wait, There’s More

The court’s selection of one of Trump’s preferred candidates to serve as special master represents but a sliver of Judge Cannon’s Thursday order, with the remainder of the detailed order providing several additional positives for Trump.

First, Cannon directed Dearie to “review all of the materials” seized during the Mar-a-Lago raid, something the DOJ desperately wanted to avoid, especially for the documents it segregated as marked classified.

Second, Dearie must verify that the property listed in the “Detailed Property Inventory” “represents the full and accurate extent of the property seized.” Here Cannon suggests that Dearie may consider obtaining sworn affidavits from individuals involved in the raid. While not a failsafe, the sworn affidavits will lessen the chance that agents omitted (or added) items from the property inventory list.

Judge Cannon also directed the special master to review the documents for privilege, including for formal assertions of “executive privilege.” This represents another victory for Trump because the DOJ has been adamant that Trump has no right to assert “executive privilege.” But without knowing what documents the DOJ has, Trump lacks the ability to develop an argument that he retains some vestiges of executive privilege.

Knowing what documents the DOJ has, in fact, proves the biggest victory for Trump from yesterday’s order. Cannon ensured that Trump’s legal team can learn the specifics of what was seized, with, most significantly, the court ordering the DOJ to make any documents with classification markings to be made available “for inspection by Plaintiff’s counsel, with controlled access conditions (including necessary clearance requirements) and under the supervision of the Special Master.” The government must also provide copies of all other documents to Trump’s lawyers and for nondocumentary items, the DOJ must make them available to Trump’s attorneys for inspection.

Not only will Trump’s attorneys be entitled to review the totality of the material, then, but Judge Cannon’s order also directs the lawyers to provide their position on which of four categories each item seized falls into: 1) personal items and documents not claimed to be privileged; 2) personal documents claimed to be privileged; 3) presidential records claimed to be privileged; and 4) presidential records not claimed to be privileged. Then the special master will make recommendations on areas of disagreement for Judge Cannon to decide.

The court also directed the special master and the parties to prioritize the documents marked classified—the point Judge Cannon noted further justified her denial of the DOJ’s motion to stay. The entirety of the review must be completed by November 30, 2022, according to Judge Cannon’s order.

While Dearie could complete his review before November 30, 2022, that hard deadline suggests the court is cognizant of the possibility the DOJ intends to use the raid of Trump’s home and future developments in their criminal investigation as an October surprise. Putting the deadline for the special master’s review of the documents after the midterm elections lessens the chance that the Biden administration can use its investigation of Trump to interfere in the elections.

Letting Trump Know What They Took

Allowing Trump’s attorneys to review the materials seized also serves as a check on the politicization seen by the leaks. Now, if leakers wrongly spin the material seized as heavily classified documents related to nuclear secrets, Trump’s legal team will have the knowledge necessary to push back against the narrative. That alone is well worth the cost of admission, as Trump must fund the entirety of the special master work, per yesterday’s court order.

The Biden administration does not want Trump to know what the FBI seized, especially if what his lawyers discover is that all the documents marked classified were previously declassified, just as Trump has maintained. And the government has already promised to seek a stay from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to halt the special master’s review of the documents marked classified.

But given the speed with which the process can progress now, the DOJ’s effort to obtain a stay based on a supposed national security emergency proves unpersuasive. How the Eleventh Circuit will rule on both the motion to stay and the underlying appeal remains to be seen, but what is obvious to anyone looking is that the Biden administration does not want anyone to know what is in the documents. And that suggests a further setup for Trump.

Margot Cleveland is The Federalist's senior legal correspondent. She is also a contributor to National Review Online, the Washington Examiner, Aleteia, and Townhall.com, and has been published in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Prize—the law school’s highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. As a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of a young son with cystic fibrosis, Cleveland frequently writes on cultural issues related to parenting and special-needs children. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.

[Satori]

Brian Cates
Forwarded from
KAGBABE
BREAKING: Judge Aileen Cannon has DENIED the DOJ's motion for a partial stay to continue investigating Trump with seized materials from Mar-a-Lago and has appointed Raymond Dearie as special master


https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763/gov.uscourts.flsd.618763.89.0.pdf

///


Brian Cates
Forwarded from
Praying Medic
(
Dave Hayes
)
A federal judge denied the DOJ's request for a stay and has appointed Raymond Dearie as special master to oversee documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.
(Dearie was requested by Trump's legal team)

https://apnews.com/article/new-york-donald-trump-brooklyn-mar-a-lago-government-and-politics-4a6200ebc4fe6418c25ca380a43a6338

Brian Cates
Forwarded from
Just Human ️️️ (https://t.me/drawandstrikechannel/54084)
Judge Dearie was Trump’s first choice.

Before being picked by Reagan for the Federal bench, Dearie served as a prosecutor in the EDNY during the 1980’s.

He almost certainly worked with Rudy and members of ‘The Band’ to help tackle organized crime in New York.

And it’s a good bet he worked with Trump a few times as well.

I expected Barbara S Jones to get picked, but am not disappointed at all with this choice.

And I’m sure Trump is very happy with it.

///


Allow me to translate what Judge Cannon is saying there for those of you in Rio Linda:

"I am not buying what you're selling. I already rejected your argument against my granting Trump's request to appoint a Special Master, and after hearing you out again, I'm still not buying what you're selling.

Your motion for a stay is denied, I hereby appoint the Special Master, and I'm going to make it Trump's own pick."

///

The judge ACTUALLY CALLS OUT THE GOVERNMENT FOR LEAKS TO THE MEDIA!

//

Brian Cates
'Judge Cannon: 'You guys aren't helping your case when you cant even get your leakers under control who are supposedly leaking classified info about your investigation to the news media" but she says it NICELY in legalese.




https://www.zerohedge.com/political/special-master-appointed-trump-raid-docs-doj-denied-access

DOJ Denied Access To Trump Raid Docs After Judge Appoints Special Master

BY TYLER DURDEN
THURSDAY, SEP 15, 2022 - 08:00 PM
A special master has been appointed to act as a firewall between the Justice Department and materials seized during an Aug. 8 raid on former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

In a pair of Thursday orders from federal district Judge Aileen Cannon, the DOJ's motion to access a subset of classified records stored on the Trump property was denied, and a recently retired judge that both the DOJ and Trump's team agreed on - recently retired Judge Raymond Dearie - will serve as special master.

Raymond has until Nov. 30, 2022 to complete his review.

Cannon struck down the DOJ's request for a partial stay of an earlier motion on accessing the seized materials, after lawyers for the government argued that they should be able to review over 100 classified documents taken during the raid - as they are not covered by any claims of personal property or executive privilege.

That said, Cannon sided with a DOJ request for Trump to pay the full cost associated with a special master.

"If the court were willing to accept the government’s representations that select portions of the seized materials are—without exception—government property not subject to any privileges, and did not think a special master would serve a meaningful purpose, the court would have denied plaintiff’s special master request," wrote Cannon. "The court does not find it appropriate to accept the government’s conclusions on these important and disputed issues without further review by a neutral third party in an expedited and orderly fashion."

I write to add a point of law:

The US District Court judge denied the motion to stay the order pending appeal. However, the DOJ/FBI may, and most certainly will, ask the Court of Appeals to stay the order. In fact, as a matter of law, the DOJ/FBI had to first ask the District Court judge to stay the order before it can ask the Court of Appeals to do so.

This is a form of exhausting remedies at a lower level before seeking a remedy at a higher level. Had the District Court granted the motion, the Court of Appeals would not need to be involved regarding the motion for a stay. (It would remain involved on the merits, or not, of the appeal.) But, as here, where the District Court denies the motion for stay, then the Court of Appeals can consider the question.

The Court of Appeals could grant it. It may not, but it can.

This is not over yet, at any level.

Edit:

I hasten to add another point of law.

I question whether the order appointing the special master is a final order from which an appeal can be taken as a matter of right. The order is really interlocutory, that is, not final, in its nature. It does not decide the final merits of the case. Rather it addresses a discretionary matter which is not final, as it does not decide the case on its merits.

As a general rule an interlocutory, non-final order cannot be appealed. There are, however, limited exceptions to that rule.

Given the nature of this case, and the issues and parties involved, the Court of Appeals may take the appeal. But it could also dismiss it as premature.

[mountain_jim]

^

(more tweets discussing filing at thread link)

https://twitter.com/ProfMJCleveland/status/1570950501579259904?s=20&t=ORI2M4T0PX2mB9EGpphamA

1570950501579259904




https://t.co/rQks1tiXl6

[mountain_jim]

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/sperry-unpacking-apparent-trump-hillary-double-standard

https://www.realclearwire.com/articles/2022/09/15/unpacking_the_apparent_trump-hillary_double_standard_in_which_the_fbi_helped_obstruct_its_own_investigation_853619.html

(more details at links)

Unpacking the Apparent Trump-Hillary Double Standard: For Her, the FBI Helped Obstruct Its Own Investigation

By Paul Sperry, RealClearInvestigations
September 15, 2022

https://assets.realclear.com/images/58/587858.jpg


Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch obtained evidence that a computer contractor working under the direction of Hillary Clinton’s legal team destroyed subpoenaed records that the former secretary of state stored on a private email server she originally kept at her New York home, and then lied to investigators about it. Yet no charges were brought against Clinton, her lawyers, or her paid consultant.

The leniency accorded to Clinton contrasts with recent moves by Attorney General Merrick Garland to aggressively investigate former President Trump and his lawyers for allegedly obstructing investigators’ efforts to locate subpoenaed records at his Florida home. Legal experts say the apparent double standard may provide a useful defense for Trump and his legal team.

The treatment of Clinton included a deal with her defense team that required the FBI to, in effect, obstruct its own investigation. During its 2016 probe, the bureau agreed with her lawyers' demands to destroy two laptop hard drives containing subpoenaed evidence immediately after searching for files on them. They did so while the information was still being sought by congressional investigators and even though the lawyers had served under Clinton at the State Department and were subjects of the FBI’s investigation. In fact, the laptops were theirs.

Long before it bowed to the request, the FBI suspected Clinton's lawyers played hide-and-seek with evidence, making the concession that much more baffling.

The scandal first erupted on March 2, 2015, when news broke that Clinton had secretly set up a non-government email server in the basement of her Chappaqua, N.Y., mansion in the weeks before she started her job at Foggy Bottom in early 2009. She used the unauthorized and unsecured device to conduct official State Department business – including transmitting and storing classified information – which allowed her to bypass legally mandated archiving of her government records.

The next day, the House Select Committee on Benghazi sent her attorney David Kendall a letter advising his client to preserve all electronic records created since January 2009 and specifically not to delete any emails on her private server. The panel then issued a subpoena for records related to the deadly terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya.

Three weeks later, on March 25, Kendall and former Clinton chief of staff Cheryl Mills, who also acted as her personal attorney, asked a computer contractor with Platte River Networks, which hosted Clinton’s secret email server, to join a conference call with them, according to FBI documents. Over the next week, the contractor, Paul Combetta, deleted the entire email archive from Clinton's server using a software program called BleachBit, which digitally “shreds" files to prevent their recovery.

All told, the paid Clinton agent scrubbed 31,830 emails from her server and backup files. In addition, he permanently removed duplicates of the emails from the laptops of Mills and another Clinton lawyer and aide, Heather Samuelson, where they also had been stored. According to FBI records, Combetta knew the documents he destroyed were under subpoena.

In July 2015, the FBI counterintelligence division opened a criminal investigation, codenamed “Midyear Exam,” in response to a referral from the intelligence community inspector general concerning Clinton’s unsecure server. The FBI predicated the opening of the probe on the possible compromise of highly classified Sensitive Compartmented Information. Emails classified at the SCI level were later found on Clinton’s server.

Some career FBI agents working on the case, which was tightly controlled within headquarters and deemed a “SIM,” or sensitive investigative matter, thought they had a slam-dunk case of obstruction, a key aggravating factor for prosecuting cases involving the mishandling of classified information or government records. All they had to do was get Combetta in a chair and pressure him to implicate the high-level Clinton surrogates who told him what they wanted done.

Several investigators believed "that Combetta’s truthful testimony was essential for assessing criminal intent for Clinton and other individuals, because he would be able to tell them whether Clinton’s attorneys — Mills, Samuelson or Kendall — had instructed him to delete emails,” according to a 2018 report by the DOJ's inspector general.

But during voluntary interviews with FBI agents, Combetta falsely denied he had “deleted or purged” Clinton’s emails from the server or back-ups, and insisted Clinton’s legal team never requested that he do so.

Combetta refused to talk to investigators about the critical March 2015 conference call with Clinton's lawyers that preceded his purge of evidence, the only topic he refused to speak about. So investigators and prosecutors agreed to give him immunity and interview him again. Still, they never got his account of the conference call. A written FBI summary of the interview, known as an FD-302 report, does not reference the call, indicating that agents failed to follow up on a key line of questioning in the investigation.

Investigators declined to pursue other aspects of the case as well. They obtained an email in which Combetta told a colleague he was part of a “Hilary[sic] coverup operation” and said he would elaborate later at a "party." Asked about it, Combetta claimed he was just joking; the FBI accepted his explanation and did not appear to follow up with the colleague to learn what they discussed at the party.

The FBI also accepted another explanation for why Combetta, using the screen name “stonetear," sought technical assistance on the Reddit forum on how to "strip out" the email addresses of a “VERY VIP" client from a “a bunch of archived email,” in an apparent reference to Clinton. (After Internet sleuths revealed stonetear was a name Combetta used in other forums, he began scrubbing his posts from the web.)

An FBI case supervisor told the inspector general that “he believed Combetta should have been charged with false statements for lying multiple times,” according to the IG report, but prosecutors refused to indict him. The FBI also obtained forensic evidence from the server that could establish that Combetta made the deletions, but prosecutors balked at charging him with obstruction.

Then-FBI Director James Comey personally agreed with the DOJ decision to give Combetta immunity rather than sweating him in a grand jury box, which typically is done with subjects who are lying, to get them to tell the truth.

Comey was forced to defend the deal in an October 2016 conference with FBI supervisors, who were hearing complaints (https://nypost.com/2016/09/28/the-fbis-hillary-email-probe-is-looking-even-more-like-a-coverup/)from rank-and-file agents that headquarters handed out immunity deals “like candy” to Clinton witnesses. Comey explained the bureau wasn't interested in prosecuting a small fish like Combetta, and sought only to massage him for information to “make a case on Hillary Clinton,” even though internal FBI emails reveal Comey already had decided to let Clinton off the hook. He did not explain why the contractor hadn’t been pressured more with threats to bring charges against him for lying to agents, the traditional investigative method for getting such an uncooperative witness to turn.

“With respect to Combetta, we found his actions in deleting Clinton’s emails in violation of a congressional subpoena and preservation order and then lying about it to the FBI to be particularly serious,” DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in his report (https://www.justice.gov/file/1071991/download). “We asked the prosecutors why they chose to grant him immunity instead of charging him with obstruction of justice.”

One DOJ prosecutor told Horowitz’s investigators they wanted to make Combetta “feel comfortable enough” that he would eventually cooperate on his own. Another said they weren't interested in prosecuting a bit player for lying and that doing so would just bog down the investigation, which they were rushing to wrap up “well before” the November 2016 presidential election.

"I was concerned that we would end up with obstruction cases against some poor schmuck on the down that had a crappy attorney who [was] hiding the ball,” the unidentified prosecutor said.

"And so at the end of the day, I was like, look, let’s immunize him. We’ve got to get from Point A to Point B. Point B is to make a prosecution decision about Hillary Clinton and her senior staff well before the election if possible,” the prosecutor added. "And this guy with his dumb attorney doing some half-assed obstruction did not interest me. So I was totally in favor of giving him immunity."

The prosecutors reported directly to then-DOJ counterespionage official David Laufman, who would later play a key role in the discredited Russiagate probe, including opening investigations on several Trump advisers and signing off on wiretap warrants targeting at least one Trump aide, even though he knew they were based on a fabricated dossier financed by the Clinton campaign.

Prosecutors also gave Clinton aides Mills and Samuelson immunity deals, over the objections of some FBI investigators who wanted to bring them before a grand jury to explain their actions.

A handful of agents also argued for issuing a search warrant to seize their personal laptops, which they used to upload all the emails from the Clinton server and cull away supposedly “personal” messages that they claimed were out of the reach of investigators. Instead, prosecutors opted to review the laptops through an unusual consent agreement, which restricted searches to certain files and specific dates – and nothing before or after Clinton’s tenure as secretary, which put any email exchanges with Combetta out of reach – and required the FBI to destroy the hard drives after conducting the limited search, according to documents (https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2016-10-05%20CEG%20et.%20al%20to%20DOJ%20-%20Wilkinson%20Immunity%20Letters.pdf)outlining the agreement.

“This is simply astonishing given the likelihood that evidence on the laptops would be of interest to congressional investigators,” former Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and three other GOP congressional leaders complained in a letter (https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2016-10-05%20CEG%20et.%20al%20to%20DOJ%20-%20Wilkinson%20Immunity%20Letters.pdf)to DOJ at the time.

In his talk at the FBI conference, Comey explained that he had to agree with prosecutors and defense lawyers to limit the search because of “huge concerns” that attorney-client privilege and attorney work product could be discovered on the laptops, a concern that apparently did not register in the broad, sweeping search of Trump’s records. Agents scooped up at least 520 pages of attorney-client privileged information during their raid of Mar-a-Lago, according to a federal judge who has ordered an independent inspector to review the seized records for privileged material.

Mills and Samuelson, who agreed to answer only a narrow scope of questions to prevent investigators from soliciting privileged information, were later allowed to sit in on Clinton’s own interview, which the FBI conducted after Comey had already drafted a statement exonerating her of mishandling classified information and obstructing justice. The director famously delivered the statement in a July 5, 2016, press conference, proclaiming the FBI found “no evidence” that Clinton’s emails were “intentionally deleted in an effort to conceal them.”


Trump Didn't Get 'the Same (Gentle) Treatment'

Grassley says the FBI “pulled its punches” investigating Clinton in comparison to Trump, who he says is being harshly investigated and prosecuted for the same offenses.

“Trump has not been provided the same (gentle) treatment given to Secretary Clinton and her associates,” Grassley asserted in a recent statement.

To be sure, the agency has used more intrusive methods probing Trump for similar allegations of mishandling classified information and concealing documents under subpoena.

Unlike the Clinton probe, where investigators and prosecutors sought to obtain evidence by consent whenever possible, the department has used a federal grand jury to issue subpoenas to Trump for thousands of documents, as well as surveillance video footage, from his Palm Beach estate. They also obtained a search warrant to raid his private office and family bedrooms. In addition to seizing more than 11,000 documents, agents confiscated some 1,800 personal items, including gifts, photo albums, clothing, passports, and medical and tax records, according to court records.

Clinton and her representatives were spared such heavy-handed tactics and indignities, the senator pointed out.

“Even though Secretary Clinton and her attorneys did not hand over classified records in their possession, they were not subject to a raid similar to what occurred at Mar-a-Lago,” Grassley said.

In the end, computer-forensics investigators and intelligence analysts were able to determine that at least 81 classified email chains were transmitted and stored on Clinton’s unclassified personal server. Their levels ranged from CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET/SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAM, a highly sensitive designation which makes access to certain information restricted even to Secret and Top Secret clearance-holders without a “need to know.” By comparison, the FBI recovered 100 documents with classified markings from its raid of Trump’s home. They range in level from CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET.

In a court filing last month, DOJ said it developed evidence that presidential records held in a basement storage room at Mar-a-Lago may have been concealed or removed prior to a June visit by FBI agents to pick up classified documents, suggesting possible attempts to obstruct investigators.

Investigators issued a grand jury subpoena in May for the records and visited Mar-a-Lago on June 3 to pick them up. When they got there, the filing said, a Trump lawyer handed them a large envelope containing documents. Another lawyer acting as the official custodian of Trump’s records certified in a sworn statement that they conducted a “diligent” search for classified papers in response to the subpoena. Over the next two months however, officials “developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the storage room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation,” DOJ said in its filing, without specifying what it believes was removed from the room, or by whom. The affidavit explained that this suspicion is why it sent some 30 armed agents back to Mar-a-Lago early last month to conduct a massive search of the property.

Prosecutors say the additional documents they found with classified markings cast doubt on claims by Trump’s lawyers that they were fully cooperative with the subpoena. They are said (https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/31/politics/christina-bobb-evan-corcoran/index.html)to be focusing their investigation on Trump lawyer Christina Bobb, in particular, who allegedly acted as the custodian who signed the certification.

Bobb, who has not been charged with a crime, did not respond to requests for comment. Trump’s legal team has told the court that the DOJ “significantly mischaracterized” the June meeting with Bobb and another lawyer, but did not elaborate.

Laufman, the top prosecutor in the Clinton case and a caustic critic of Trump in the media, believes Trump should also be worried and “has significant criminal exposure” to an obstruction rap. “Either [his lawyers] wittingly lied or they got that assurance from their client, in which case Trump has jeopardy,” Laufman, an Obama appointee and donor, told Politico.

But at this point, investigators can only speculate that documents were intentionally moved or destroyed to avoid compliance with subpoenas, which would be a felony. Legal experts note that prosecutors were careful to say in their filing that documents were “likely” concealed and that efforts were “likely” taken to obstruct the investigation, indicating they still lack solid evidence.

“It is not clear from the filing if the FBI has evidence of intentional acts of concealment as opposed to negligence,” George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said.

By contrast, prosecutors had solid material evidence – including emails, phone calls, work tickets and computer forensics – that Clinton operatives conspired to not just conceal but actually destroy documents under subpoena in violation of Section 1519 of the federal criminal code, the same statute cited by the FBI in its warrant to search Mar-a-Lago. It bars the destruction or falsification of any documents or materials “with the intent to impede, obstruct or influence” an investigation.”

"Did Hillary Clinton violate 18 USC 1519 when emails from her private email server were destroyed during government investigation? Possibly, yes,” said Donald Skupsky, a lawyer specializing in government records-retention procedures.

"In December 2014, she did instruct her team to destroy remaining emails after 60 days. And ultimately, she never halted nor protested again any records destruction,” he added. "Under 18 USC 1519, Clinton may have concealed and covered up the destruction of records."

Both the Trump and Clinton cases also invoke Section 2071, a federal statute which prohibits the willful concealment, removal, or destruction of federal records. But in investigating Clinton’s homebrew server scheme, prosecutors declined to pursue a Section 2071 charge because they argued the statute had “never been used to prosecute individuals for attempting to avoid Federal Records Act requirements by failing to ensure that government records are filed appropriately,” according to the IG report. Some legal experts say the same standard should apply to Trump, whom the DOJ said tried to avoid Presidential Records Act requirements.

Trump lawyer Jim Trusty said Trump’s retention of allegedly classified papers is akin to “an overdue library book” and complained that Biden administration prosecutors are holding him “to a different standard than anyone else” because he is a Republican.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon earlier this month issued an injunction temporarily barring the Justice Department from using the seized material in its espionage investigation until a Special Master can review it for privileged and other information outside the scope of the probe.

Despite the order, the obstruction part of DOJ's probe can move forward. Among other things, investigators can continue to interview witnesses about whether subpoenaed documents were moved or concealed.

“DOJ is in the midst of an ongoing criminal investigation pertaining to potential violations of the Espionage Act, as well as obstruction of justice, 18 USC 1519, and unlawful concealment or removal of government records, 18 USC 2071,” DOJ chief counterintelligence prosecutor Jay Bratt stated in a recent court filing.

Paul Sperry is an investigative reporter for RealClearInvestigations. He is also a longtime media fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. Sperry was previously the Washington bureau chief for Investor’s Business Daily, and his work has appeared in the New York Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Houston Chronicle, among other major publications.

[mountain_jim]

https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/116/117/243/original/c1e43e3bfe522b20.jpeg

[mountain_jim]

https://thefederalist.com/2022/09/22/federal-court-rejects-trumps-special-master-review-instead-trusting-fbi-completely/

Federal Court Rejects Trump’s Special Master Review, Instead Trusting FBI Completely

BY: MARGOT CLEVELAND
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Rather than continue to fight this losing and expensive battle, Trump should pivot to the midterms and take his case to the public.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals dashed (https://ecf.ca11.uscourts.gov/n/beam/servlet/TransportRoom)former President Donald Trump’s hopes that his attorneys could review the 100 documents marked classified that the FBI seized during a raid of his Mar-a-Lago home. Wednesday’s decision by the federal appellate court came just one day after the special master indicated no such review would take place absent evidence that Trump had declassified those documents.

While Trump could still seek intervention by the Supreme Court, given the special master’s unwillingness to give Trump’s legal team access to the documents that the FBI maintains have classification markings, Trump should drop his case and pivot to the midterms — and let the public decide whether Democrats have weaponized the Department of Justice to target the former president.

Wednesday’s decision by the 11th Circuit turned the tables on Trump, who less than one week ago appeared to have scored two huge victories in his fight to have an independent special master review the documents and items seized by the FBI during an August 8, 2022 raid of his home. The first win appeared to come when Judge Aileen Cannon appointed Trump’s preferred candidate to serve as special master, Raymond Dearie.

The second victory came from Judge Cannon’s rejection of the DOJ’s request to put on hold her earlier ruling that, pending a special master’s review of the material, the government could not use the documents seized as part of its criminal investigation. The DOJ had limited its request for a stay to only those 100-some documents that the government claimed bore classification markings.

On Friday, the DOJ filed a motion to stay with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the appellate court to stay Judge Cannon’s order, but again, only to the extent that her order barred the government from using the 100-some documents that purportedly bore classification markings for criminal investigative purposes. The DOJ also objected to providing those documents to Special Master Dearie for his review. The 11th Circuit expedited consideration of the DOJ’s motion to stay, directing Trump to respond to the motion by Tuesday at noon.

Tuesday proved significant for another reason, with Dearie, a former FISA court judge and current senior federal judge in New York, holding his first public hearing with the parties. During that hearing, the special master indicated that unless Trump presented evidence to the court that he had declassified the 100-some documents, there was no basis for Trump’s attorneys to review that material. Dearie also suggested Trump’s attorneys would not be receiving security clearance in the near term, which would also limit their ability to review the documents of concern.

The former president’s attorneys countered (https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/20/politics/takeaways-mar-a-lago-special-master-hearing)that “until they see the documents, Trump’s legal team was not in a position to fully disclose their defense or specifically address the declassification issue.” While acknowledging “that there was a legal strategy at play,” Judge Dearie stressed (https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/20/politics/takeaways-mar-a-lago-special-master-hearing) that, “if the government gives me prima facia evidence that these are classified documents, and you, for whatever reason, decide not to advance any claim of declassification, I’m left with a prima facia case of classified documents, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it.”

Following Tuesday’s hearing, Trump and his attorneys had some tough decisions to make concerning whether to present evidence of declassification to Special Master Dearie. But the 11th Circuit’s order on Wednesday removed the decision from Trump’s hands when the three-judge panel granted the DOJ’s requested stay.

Obama Judge Robin Rosenbaum and Trump appointees Britt Grant and Andrew Brasher issued the unsigned 29-page opinion for the court that concluded the government would likely succeed on its claim that Judge Cannon erred in prohibiting the United States from using the “classified records in its criminal investigation and to require the United States to submit the marked classified documents to a special master for review.” Here, the court found dispositive the fact that there was no evidence that the DOJ had displayed a callous disregard for Trump’s constitutional rights.

The 11th Circuit nonetheless added that Trump failed to show he had “an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings.” Further, even if the documents had been declassified, Trump still hadn’t shown why he had a personal interest in the documents, the court reasoned.

In entering the stay, the federal appellate court also stressed the harm to the government the order created, relying on Alan E. Kohler Jr.’s, the assistant director of the counterintelligence division of the FBI, sworn statement that the United States’ “national-security review is inextricably intertwined with its criminal investigation.” “When matters of national security are involved, we ‘must accord substantial weight to an agency’s affidavit,’” the 11th Circuit stressed.

The 11th Circuit further found that the “public interest” favored a stay because “the documents at issue contain information ‘the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.’” Here, the court again relied on FBI Assistant Director Kohler’s declaration to support this finding.

In discussing the “public interest,” the 11th Circuit completely ignored the public’s interest in assuring an unbiased review of the documents — the concern that motivated Judge Cannon’s decision. Wednesday’s opinion instead accepted at face value everything the DOJ and FBI said: that the documents were marked classified and FBI Assistant Director Kohler’s various representations about the harm to national security and the need to advance the criminal investigation in tandem with the national security one.

Yes, that’s how courts work: The judges accept sworn statements as true and rely on the government’s word, absent conflicting evidence. But it remains hard to swallow that the courts place continued trust in a DOJ that previously submitted four fraudulent applications to the FISA courts to get Trump.

In response to Wednesday’s decision, Trump could seek the Supreme Court’s intervention, but even if Trump were to prevail with the high court, Special Master Dearie seems unwilling to allow the former president’s attorneys anywhere near the 100-some documents marked classified, unless Trump proves he declassified them. And even then, Dearie may adopt the 11th Circuit’s view that Trump has no interest in reviewing those documents. So even a win might not accomplish Trump’s goals.

Thus the 11th Circuit’s decision struck a severe blow to Trump and those seeking transparency. But rather than continue to fight this losing and expensive battle, Trump should pivot to the midterms and take his case to the public: Make the voters the judge of the Biden administration’s conduct and the Democrats’ relentless targeting of Trump and anyone who ever supported him.

The timing for this pivot couldn’t be better, with the New York attorney general filing a civil lawsuit against Trump and three of his children on Wednesday, with news breaking that the Jan. 6 Committee plans to question Ginni Thomas, and with a class-action lawsuit filed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his role in transporting illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard. The recent demand by Republican senators that Attorney General Merrick Garland provide special counsel protection for the U.S. attorney investigating Hunter Biden further adds to the message of the Democrats’ weaponization of justice, by highlighting the double standard in play.

We should know soon whether Trump will continue to fight this losing battle or focus on the broader war against Democrats this November, as the special master gave Trump only until Friday to pick a vendor to handle the scanning of the 11,000 other documents not affected by the stay.

[Satori]

https://thefederalist.com/2022/09/22/federal-court-rejects-trumps-special-master-review-instead-trusting-fbi-completely/

Federal Court Rejects Trump’s Special Master Review, Instead Trusting FBI Completely

BY: MARGOT CLEVELAND
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Rather than continue to fight this losing and expensive battle, Trump should pivot to the midterms and take his case to the public.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals dashed (https://ecf.ca11.uscourts.gov/n/beam/servlet/TransportRoom)former President Donald Trump’s hopes that his attorneys could review the 100 documents marked classified that the FBI seized during a raid of his Mar-a-Lago home. Wednesday’s decision by the federal appellate court came just one day after the special master indicated no such review would take place absent evidence that Trump had declassified those documents.

While Trump could still seek intervention by the Supreme Court, given the special master’s unwillingness to give Trump’s legal team access to the documents that the FBI maintains have classification markings, Trump should drop his case and pivot to the midterms — and let the public decide whether Democrats have weaponized the Department of Justice to target the former president.

Wednesday’s decision by the 11th Circuit turned the tables on Trump, who less than one week ago appeared to have scored two huge victories in his fight to have an independent special master review the documents and items seized by the FBI during an August 8, 2022 raid of his home. The first win appeared to come when Judge Aileen Cannon appointed Trump’s preferred candidate to serve as special master, Raymond Dearie.

The second victory came from Judge Cannon’s rejection of the DOJ’s request to put on hold her earlier ruling that, pending a special master’s review of the material, the government could not use the documents seized as part of its criminal investigation. The DOJ had limited its request for a stay to only those 100-some documents that the government claimed bore classification markings.

On Friday, the DOJ filed a motion to stay with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the appellate court to stay Judge Cannon’s order, but again, only to the extent that her order barred the government from using the 100-some documents that purportedly bore classification markings for criminal investigative purposes. The DOJ also objected to providing those documents to Special Master Dearie for his review. The 11th Circuit expedited consideration of the DOJ’s motion to stay, directing Trump to respond to the motion by Tuesday at noon.

Tuesday proved significant for another reason, with Dearie, a former FISA court judge and current senior federal judge in New York, holding his first public hearing with the parties. During that hearing, the special master indicated that unless Trump presented evidence to the court that he had declassified the 100-some documents, there was no basis for Trump’s attorneys to review that material. Dearie also suggested Trump’s attorneys would not be receiving security clearance in the near term, which would also limit their ability to review the documents of concern.

The former president’s attorneys countered (https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/20/politics/takeaways-mar-a-lago-special-master-hearing)that “until they see the documents, Trump’s legal team was not in a position to fully disclose their defense or specifically address the declassification issue.” While acknowledging “that there was a legal strategy at play,” Judge Dearie stressed (https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/20/politics/takeaways-mar-a-lago-special-master-hearing) that, “if the government gives me prima facia evidence that these are classified documents, and you, for whatever reason, decide not to advance any claim of declassification, I’m left with a prima facia case of classified documents, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it.”

Following Tuesday’s hearing, Trump and his attorneys had some tough decisions to make concerning whether to present evidence of declassification to Special Master Dearie. But the 11th Circuit’s order on Wednesday removed the decision from Trump’s hands when the three-judge panel granted the DOJ’s requested stay.

Obama Judge Robin Rosenbaum and Trump appointees Britt Grant and Andrew Brasher issued the unsigned 29-page opinion for the court that concluded the government would likely succeed on its claim that Judge Cannon erred in prohibiting the United States from using the “classified records in its criminal investigation and to require the United States to submit the marked classified documents to a special master for review.” Here, the court found dispositive the fact that there was no evidence that the DOJ had displayed a callous disregard for Trump’s constitutional rights.

The 11th Circuit nonetheless added that Trump failed to show he had “an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings.” Further, even if the documents had been declassified, Trump still hadn’t shown why he had a personal interest in the documents, the court reasoned.

In entering the stay, the federal appellate court also stressed the harm to the government the order created, relying on Alan E. Kohler Jr.’s, the assistant director of the counterintelligence division of the FBI, sworn statement that the United States’ “national-security review is inextricably intertwined with its criminal investigation.” “When matters of national security are involved, we ‘must accord substantial weight to an agency’s affidavit,’” the 11th Circuit stressed.

The 11th Circuit further found that the “public interest” favored a stay because “the documents at issue contain information ‘the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.’” Here, the court again relied on FBI Assistant Director Kohler’s declaration to support this finding.

In discussing the “public interest,” the 11th Circuit completely ignored the public’s interest in assuring an unbiased review of the documents — the concern that motivated Judge Cannon’s decision. Wednesday’s opinion instead accepted at face value everything the DOJ and FBI said: that the documents were marked classified and FBI Assistant Director Kohler’s various representations about the harm to national security and the need to advance the criminal investigation in tandem with the national security one.

Yes, that’s how courts work: The judges accept sworn statements as true and rely on the government’s word, absent conflicting evidence. But it remains hard to swallow that the courts place continued trust in a DOJ that previously submitted four fraudulent applications to the FISA courts to get Trump.

In response to Wednesday’s decision, Trump could seek the Supreme Court’s intervention, but even if Trump were to prevail with the high court, Special Master Dearie seems unwilling to allow the former president’s attorneys anywhere near the 100-some documents marked classified, unless Trump proves he declassified them. And even then, Dearie may adopt the 11th Circuit’s view that Trump has no interest in reviewing those documents. So even a win might not accomplish Trump’s goals.

Thus the 11th Circuit’s decision struck a severe blow to Trump and those seeking transparency. But rather than continue to fight this losing and expensive battle, Trump should pivot to the midterms and take his case to the public: Make the voters the judge of the Biden administration’s conduct and the Democrats’ relentless targeting of Trump and anyone who ever supported him.

The timing for this pivot couldn’t be better, with the New York attorney general filing a civil lawsuit against Trump and three of his children on Wednesday, with news breaking that the Jan. 6 Committee plans to question Ginni Thomas, and with a class-action lawsuit filed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his role in transporting illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard. The recent demand by Republican senators that Attorney General Merrick Garland provide special counsel protection for the U.S. attorney investigating Hunter Biden further adds to the message of the Democrats’ weaponization of justice, by highlighting the double standard in play.

We should know soon whether Trump will continue to fight this losing battle or focus on the broader war against Democrats this November, as the special master gave Trump only until Friday to pick a vendor to handle the scanning of the 11,000 other documents not affected by the stay.


Please keep in the forefront of your mind, and do not forget: it is not Trump they are out to get, it is we, the people. This is not merely a plan, it is a well-developed program, to destroy the USA—starting from the inside out. And they are way, way ahead of us on that score.

On political matters of this scale, and too often in other contexts, do not ever expect adherence to Constitutional principles, the Rule of Law or, in a word, “justice” from the legal system.

So, where does that leave us?

[norman]

Please keep in the forefront of your mind, and do not forget: it is not Trump they are out to get, it is we, the people. This is not merely a plan, it is a well-developed program, to destroy the USA—starting from the inside out. And they are way, way ahead of us on that score.

On political matters of this scale, and too often in other contexts, do not ever expect adherence to Constitutional principles, the Rule of Law or, in a word, “justice” from the legal system.

So, where does that leave us?

C.O.G.

on the back of a 60 years counter 'well-developed program'.

There was never going to be a chance to do it until they reached this point in their own crooked 'well-developed program'.

It's 50/50, at worst.

[ExomatrixTV]

ANOTHER FBI Agent Comes Forward Exposing Political Bias At Biden's DOJ:

gh0I6Z0AUqc

[mountain_jim]

Brian Cates
Forwarded from
Jack Posobiec (https://t.me/drawandstrikechannel/55004)
BREAKING: FULL FBI WHISTLEBLOWER INTERVIEW JUST DROPPED

SHARE FAR AND WIDE



FBI Whistleblower: The Enemy Within

Turning Point USA Published September 26, 2022

In this exclusive interview, Turning Point USA sits down with former FBI Special Agent, John Guandolo. This crucial conversation sheds light on the undiscussed network of jihadists and communists that have worked together to undermine America at its root for decades. From 9/11, to the Las Vegas shooting, to January 6, the Mar-a-Lago raid, Ray Epps, and the NSA – John tells truths that American intelligence agencies have long sought to deprive every American citizen of.

For years, Americans have failed to realize that our greatest enemy has not been an ocean away. Our adversaries are HERE on American soil - present within our institutions - and advising those who are sworn to represent us throughout the highest levels of our federal government. The most important battle being waged today is taking place WITHIN our intelligence agencies. The tyranny running rampant throughout the federal government cannot persist against the truth, which makes this a message they DON'T want you to hear.




v1iwfbt

[TargeT]

so I'm (apparently) a spook, and now at war???

even within these agencies the compartmentalization is so extreme that I'm sure most people aren't super sure of what they are participating in (unless it's over the top obvious).

[ExomatrixTV]

When Even TIME Magazine Admits TRUMP IS RIGHT!!

7BaKsAmCs0c

[mountain_jim]

https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/117/376/955/original/c12e6d21eb674bd5.jpeg



https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/117/376/941/original/98853dc71d34d568.jpeg


https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/117/376/967/original/2de7dbed2ef3fbc5.jpeg




Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has given the Biden administration until early next week to respond to a legal filing from former President Donald Trump asking that a special master assigned to the case be allowed to review dozens of documents seized in the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida™️®️



https://media.gab.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1050,quality=100,fit=scale-down/system/media_attachments/files/117/319/641/original/e03ebf50d9a585be.jpeg

[norman]

FBI PART OF ONGOING COUP ATTEMPT - General Flynn

General Flynn: “At the end of the day… the FBI, and parts of the DOJ, is either wholly corrupt and were part of a coup attempt, which is still ongoing – or – they are totally incompetent, and either one is dangerous for our country…”


https://rumble.com/v1oi6ey-fbi-part-of-ongoing-coup-attempt.html


2 minutes
v1lw0m6/?pub=4

[Denise/Dizi]

Allow me to translate what Judge Cannon is saying there for those of you in Rio Linda:


OMG I am laughing so hard right now... I got the joke.....

Sorry, couldn't resist...

:focus:

I have to say, I tried so hard to try to download that video, below this post... but couldn't figure out how to do it from Rumble... It was definately worthy of watching...

If for nothing else, than for those who do not know, the right people to look to when expecting actions.. and none are taken...


https://www.rumble.com/embed/v1iwfbt/

And for Target, I agree, and feel that this is deliberate as well, (compartmentalization)... This country is in a sad state of affairs.

[Johnnycomelately]

Thanks for bumping Jim’s posts above. Interesting reading and skimming, tho a lot of it hurts my head. ~8O

From #267, para 10, my word of today: dispositive. Lol.


Here, the court found dispositive the fact that there was no evidence that the DOJ had displayed a callous disregard for Trump’s constitutional rights.





Allow me to translate what Judge Cannon is saying there for those of you in Rio Linda:


OMG I am laughing so hard right now... I got the joke.....

Sorry, couldn't resist...

:focus:

[norman]

Monkey Werx US - SITREP 11.14.22 - Is Something Big Coming?

There's a TFR (Temporary Flight Restrictions) over Mar a Lago he doesn't have a good feeling about. It's not labelled VIP like a normal ex president TFR. There has not been a TFR over that site at all since he left office !


this should start exactly where he begins to show and talk about it.
https://youtu.be/ZrtWKNh7FDI?t=575


ZrtWKNh7FDI

[Inversion]

Monkey Werx US - SITREP 11.14.22 - Is Something Big Coming?

There's a TFR (Temporary Flight Restrictions) over Mar a Lago he doesn't have a good feeling about. It's not labelled VIP like a normal ex president TFR. There has not been a TFR over that site at all since he left office !


this should start exactly where he begins to show and talk about it.
https://youtu.be/ZrtWKNh7FDI?t=575


ZrtWKNh7FDI

At 10:40 he said El Barack means beast in arabic & El means God or deity in Hebrew.

wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buraq)

The Buraq (Arabic: الْبُرَاق /ælˈbʊrɑːk/ "the lightning") is a heavenly equine or chimeral beast in Islamic tradition that notably served as the mount of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his Isra and Mi'raj journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and up through the heavens and back by night.[2] The Buraq is also said to have transported certain prophets such as Abraham over long distances within a moment's duration.

wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_(deity))

ʼĒl (also 'Il, Ugaritic: 𐎛𐎍 ʾīlu; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤋 ʾīl;[2] Hebrew: אֵל ʾēl; Syriac: ܐܺܝܠ ʾīyl; Arabic: إيل ʾīl or إله ʾilāh; cognate to Akkadian: 𒀭, romanized: ilu) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "god" or "deity", or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, 'ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite.[3] The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning "god".[4]

[norman]

Who Is Jack Smith?
November 18, 2022

Who is Jack Smith, the special counsel to oversee Trump investigations

T8igk1ZlWb8

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the criminal investigations into the retention of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the January 6, 2021 insurrection.


rightonradio/12601




On the other hand:

1592248515543326720

[norman]

Catherine Austin Fitts' opinion of why the FBI raid happened.

She believes a 'Bohemian Grove' decision was made at the beginning of August to make sure ( or try to ) that Trump is not a viable candidate in 2024, and 'all hands on deck' sprung into action immediately.

https://youtu.be/H_c3rudOE_c?t=1806

[Mari]

Catherine Austin Fitts' opinion of why the FBI raid happened.

She believes a 'Bohemian Grove' decision was made at the beginning of August to make sure ( or try to ) that Trump is not a viable candidate in 2024, and 'all hands on deck' sprung into action immediately.

https://youtu.be/H_c3rudOE_c?t=1806


Yes, that rings true. I suspected as much, but I don't think they can pin much on him. He's a hard-headed businessman, to be sure, but not a corrupt individual in that they can blackmail him for past misdemeanors
However, they will work on the Perception that he's dodgy goods - that's all it will take to convince those who aren't awake to all of this.

If you remember, here in the UK, they did this (successfully at first) by targeting Cliff Richard. All they did was stage a 'raid' - helicopters flying over his house, BBC camera vans camping outside his home (he wasn't there, but In Barbados, I believe) Via a complicit media, it was enough at first to seed the suspicion amongst the public that he was corrupt in some way, that they 'had' something on him. Indeed, in the retail outlet where I worked at the time, Cliff Richard calendars were removed from the shop floor. They had nothing on him of course, it was all staged.

I remember thinking, poor man, he's obviously upset the establishment in some quiet way and they're getting back at him. Glad to say, he successfully sued the arse off the BBC for gross impingement of his human rights, for one. Reputation restored I'm glad to say, even though I've never been a fan of his music, but It destroyed him personally at first.

The point I make here, is that, because of Cliff's many millions of die-hard fans, they stood by him and pulled him through a very dark time.
No doubt Trump's legions of supporters will do exactly the same for him, because by now, they see the dirty tricks that have been/are going to be, waged against him.

[norman]

The Origins of America’s Secret Police
Cynthia Chung

January 8, 2021


When will the American people realise that the biggest threat to American freedom is not from without but from within its very own walls, where it has been prominently residing for the last 112 years…

https://strategic-culture.org/news/2021/01/08/origins-of-americas-secret-police/ (https://strategic-culture.org/news/2021/01/08/origins-of-americas-secret-police/)

[norman]

https://t.me/freedomforcebattalion/31780

freedomforcebattalion/31780

[norman]

The Department of Justice Has Announced Legal Action It is Seeking Against Donald Trump
by Becker NewsDecember 8, 2022

https://beckernews.com/the-department-of-justice-has-announced-legal-action-it-is-seeking-against-donald-trump-48099/

https://beckernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-08-161558-930x620.jpg


The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to hold Donald Trump and his legal team in contempt of court for not complying with a subpoena issued ordering the 2024 Presidential candidate to turn over all classified documents.

The Washington Post broke the news:


Prosecutors have urged a federal judge to hold Donald Trump’s office in contempt of court for failing to fully comply with a May subpoena to return all classified documents in his possession, according to people familiar with the matter — a sign of how contentious the private talks have become over whether the former president still holds any secret papers.

In recent days, Justice Department lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell to hold Trump’s office in contempt, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sealed court proceedings. But the judge has not yet held a hearing or ruled on the request, they said.

The request came after months of mounting frustration from the Justice Department with Trump’s team — frustration that spiked in June after the former president’s lawyers provided assurances that a diligent search had been conducted for classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago Club and residence. But the FBI amassed evidence suggesting — and later confirmed through a court-authorized search — that many more remained.

The FBI’s raid at the behest of the National Archives and Records Administration has not yielded the “nuclear secrets” that the Washington Post reported in August were in Trump’s possession. Instead, days after a highly contested election where Democrats relied in part on the unsubstantiated reports to keep Trump’s name in the news, and thus to turn out its party base, the Washington Post has effectively made a guilty confession: There is “no there, there.”

The Post is now reporting that a “review by agents and prosecutors found no discernible business interest in the Mar-a-Lago documents, people familiar with the matter said.”

“As part of the investigation, federal authorities reviewed the classified documents that were recovered from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and private club, looking to see if the types of information contained in them pointed to any kind of pattern or similarities, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation,” the Post reported.

“That review has not found any apparent business advantage to the types of classified information in Trump’s possession, these people said,” the report continued. “FBI interviews with witnesses so far, they said, also do not point to any nefarious effort by Trump to leverage, sell or use the government secrets. Instead, the former president seemed motivated by a more basic desire not to give up what he believed was his property, these people said. Trump repeatedly said the materials were his, not the government’s — often in profane terms, two of these people said.”

“But they said the evidence collected over a period of months indicates the primary explanation for potentially criminal conduct was Trump’s ego and intransigence,” the report added.

This is apparently the Department of Justice’s backup plan: Process crimes like “obstruction of justice” and “contempt of court.”

[norman]

Federal Agency Had ‘Pallets’ Of Documents Sent To Mar-A-Lago One Year Before DOJ Raid
The Federalist - By: Brianna Lyman - April 30, 2024

https://thefederalist.com/2024/04/30/federal-agency-had-pallets-of-documents-sent-to-mar-a-lago-one-year-before-doj-raid/

A federal agency worked with the Trump transition team to send two pallets of “document boxes” relating to former President Donald Trump’s presidency to his Mar-a-Lago home — one year before Special Counsel Jack Smith then raided the residence to look for classified documents.

A federal agency worked with the Trump transition team to send two pallets of “document boxes” relating to former President Donald Trump’s presidency to his Mar-a-Lago home — one year before Special Counsel Jack Smith then raided the residence to look for classified documents.

Smith indicted (https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/08/democrats-indictment-frenzy-isnt-just-about-taking-out-trump-its-about-eliminating-wrongthink/) Trump in June of 2023 for allegedly mishandling classified documents, one year after armed federal agents raided Mar-a-Lago in search of such documents.

The General Services Administration (GSA) was in talks with Trump’s team both during and after his term regarding “pallets” of items from the president’s tenure, emails show (https://www.gsa.gov/system/files/2021%20Moving%20Support.pdf). The GSA informed Trump’s transition team that there were six pallets that needed to be transferred from Virginia to Florida.

Of the six pallets, two were designated to be sent to Mar-a-Lago and four to a West Palm Beach storage unit, according to emails. The two pallets to be delivered to Mar-a-Lago from an Arlington, Virginia facility contained “document boxes,” according to an email previewing the shipping charges.

“I understand that we are ready to ship,” read an email sent Aug. 26, 2021 by Kathy Geisler, the director of the Office of Portfolio Management and Real Estate’s Program Execution Division, that included Trump aide Beau Harrison as a recipient. “I know that originally we had 3 pallets going to the storage unit — that is now 4 pallets going to the storage unit. 2 Pallets will go to Mar-a-Lago.”

[READ NEXT: Here Are The 3 Most Shocking Discoveries Just Unsealed In Trump Classified Docs Case (https://thefederalist.com/2024/04/24/here-are-the-3-most-shocking-discoveries-just-unsealed-in-trump-classified-docs-case/)]

A July 2021 letter from Harrison stated the items to be shipped from Arlington, Virginia to Palm Beach, Florida were “required to wind down the Office of the Former President or are items that are property of the Federal Government.”

It is unclear how long the pallets sat in the Virginia facility or who had access to them.

An FBI agent said during a witness interview that the GSA was in possession of six pallets and that the office “contacted the office of 45 to inform them that, you know, they have to go,” according to a screenshot of the transcript posted by independent journalist Julie Kelly.

“They — someone has to pick them up, or they have to be shipped, or something to that effect.”

https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1784226958127014361

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) was also involved in the transition, but by June 2021, NARA archivist David Ferriero had become frustrated by the pace of “good-faith efforts” by Trump’s team to address NARA’s concerns, a filing screenshot posted (https://x.com/julie_kelly2/status/1782486128915857520) by Kelly shows.

The Federalist asked NARA whether the pallets shipped by GSA included the documents that were later confiscated by Smith’s team during their raid of Mar-a-Lago, and NARA’s media staff responded that the agency had “no awareness about the contents of the materials on the pallets and had no involvement in the move project that is referenced in the GSA emails.”

“NARA was harassing Trump throughout 2021 for what they insisted were government records apparently WITHOUT contacting GSA to search dozens of boxes in their possession,” Kelly observed (https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1784629920359952538).

President Joe Biden, whose Justice Department is carrying out this and another political prosecution of Trump, escaped indictment for his own classified documents scandal after a special counsel determined (https://thefederalist.com/2024/03/12/hur-highlights-dojs-totalitarian-double-standards-on-handling-classified-documents/) it would be hard to convince a jury that the aging president committed “a serious felony that requires a mental state of wilfulness.”

[pyrangello]

So even though trumps team was following the rules they are trying to be indicted they broke the rules with the NARA suddenly having amnesia . And who says there`s no swamp in D.C.

[norman]

https://t.me/rightonradio/23039
rightonradio/23039

[mountain_jim]

https://t.me/rightonradio/23039
rightonradio/23039

also covered here (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?120760-Donald-Trump-arrested-and-charged&p=1614653&viewfull=1#post1614653)