The Trump Card...

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
ABUSE OF THE WARRANT PROCESS.
It's kinda a theme with you, isn't it? Trump can do no wrong and any adverse consequence that accrues to Trump is someone else's evil doing, unfair, unjust, or otherwise structured such that Trump's flawlessness remains intact.
 
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danthewolf00

Veteran Expediter
A
It's kinda a theme with you, isn't it? Trump can do no wrong and any adverse consequence that accrues to Trump is someone else's evil doing, unfair, unjust, or otherwise structured such that Trump's flawlessness remains intact.
And yet your his opposite.....your not quite foam at the mouth anti trump but close.
 
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muttly

Veteran Expediter
It's kinda a theme with you, isn't it? Trump can do no wrong and any adverse consequence that accrues to Trump is someone else's evil doing, unfair, unjust, or otherwise structured such that Trump's flawlessness remains intact.
No, I’m just not gullible and intentionally ignorant like some due to their dislike of Trump.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
I really don't think the basement at Mar-a-Lago is a basement in the traditional sense. You dig down one or two feet and you hit water. In-ground pools are common in Florida, relatively speaking, but they're not cheap and take months to build, because of the time and effort required to pump water out of the hole dug for the pool, water that seems to never end. Water seeps in to the hole almost as fast as you can pump it out. We had a pool at the house in Ft Lauderdale, but it was there when we bought the house.

The historical building records of Mar-a-Lago are well known. It has three large bomb shelters, installed by Marjorie Post during the Korean War "Red Scare" era. They were dug into the coral reef upon which Mar-a-Lago is built, and are reinforced with steel pylons.

The shelters aren't large enough to accommodate an entire resort full of people, but can easily fit the President, his staff and security, and any members of congress or other government officials who may be visiting. For decades the head of groundskeeping used one of them as his office. The others were used at various times for storage.

When you see the press talking about a basement, it's one of those bomb shelters they are talking about. Mar-a-Lago proper is built on a concrete slab, atop the coral reef, reinforced with steel pylons.

Trump has three properties with bomb shelters, incidentally. In addition to Mar-a-Lago, Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, and his estate in Westchester, NY have bomb shelters. The one at Trump International is not used and was covered over to provide some nice height for the tee off at the second hole.
 
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ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
And yet your his opposite.....your not quite foam at the mouth anti trump but close.
When Trump does something good I freely praise that. Back during COVID, when he got vaccinated and told others to do the same, I got busy on Facebook with my friends there and enthusiastically praised that. A few posts ago, I said Trump was making the best choice in choosing to not object to the release of the Mar-a-Lago search documents.

That said, Trump does more of what I dislike than like. so my comments about him reflect that view.
 

danthewolf00

Veteran Expediter
When Trump does something good I freely praise that. Back during COVID, when he got vaccinated and told others to do the same, I got busy on Facebook with my friends there and enthusiastically praised that. A few posts ago, I said Trump was making the best choice in choosing to not object to the release of the Mar-a-Lago search documents.

That said, Trump does more of what I dislike than like. so my comments about him reflect that view.
That's why I said....not foam at the mouth anti trump.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
That's why I said....not foam at the mouth anti trump.
Thank you for that. I hope you also notice that I do not call Trump disrespectful names (there are a couple rare exceptions, which I regret) or tag him with false motives. In my criticism of Trump, I'm a lot kinder and respectful to him than he is to most of the many people he bashes.
 
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Pilgrim

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
I saw that Washington Post report but it is unsourced and unconfirmed by other news organizations. I'm giving it zero credence. I hate reporting like this. It's not reporting at all. For all we know, it's made-up BS. While it gives the talking heads on TV something with which to fill their air time and stir up their audiences, it does little in service of the truth, and may even undermine the truth.
The "nuclear" element makes the whole thing sound more ominous. It's likely they didn't know what exactly they were looking for, thus the lack of urgency. Now some are asking for the affidavit that was presented to get the warrent to be made public as well. That would also clarify some things, assuming it wasn't written by the same people that sought the FISA warrants in the Russia collusion case.
 
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ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Mar-a-Lago Search Timeline

I'm posting this because it's more comprehensive than the timeline I posted above. Source: CNN:
  • May 2021: An official from NARA contacts Trump's team after realizing that several important documents weren't handed over before Trump left the White House. In hopes of locating the missing items, NARA lawyer Gary Stern reaches out to someone who served in the White House counsel's office under Trump who was the point of contact for record-keeping matters. The missing documents include some of Trump's correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as the map of Hurricane Dorian that Trump infamously altered with a Sharpie pen.
  • Fall 2021: NARA grows frustrated with the slow pace of document turnover after several months of conversations with the Trump team. Stern reaches out to another Trump attorney to intervene. The archivist asks about several boxes of records that were apparently taken to Mar-a-Lago during Trump's relocation to Florida. NARA still doesn't receive the White House documents they are searching for.
  • January 2022: After months of discussions with Trump's team, NARA retrieves 15 boxes of Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago. NARA says in a statement that some of the records it received at the end of Trump's administration were "torn up by former President Trump," and that White House officials had to tape them back together. Not all the torn-up documents were reconstructed, NARA says.
  • Feb. 9, 2022: News outlets, including CNN, report that NARA asked the Justice Department to investigate Trump's handling of White House records and whether he violated the Presidential Records Act and other laws related to classified information. The Presidential Records Act requires all records created by a sitting president to be turned over to the National Archives at the end of their administration.
  • Feb. 18, 2022: NARA informs the Justice Department that some of the documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago included classified material. NARA also tells the department that, despite being warned it was illegal, Trump tore up documents while he was president, and that senior officials in the Trump administration did not properly preserve their social media messages, draft tweets and deleted tweets.
  • April and May 2022: On April 7, NARA publicly acknowledges for the first time that the Justice Department is involved, and news outlets report that prosecutors have launched a criminal probe into Trump's mishandling of classified documents. Around this time, FBI agents quietly interview Trump aides at Mar-a-Lago about the handling of presidential records as part of their widening investigation.
  • May 12, 2022: News outlets report that investigators subpoenaed NARA for access to the classified documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. The subpoena, which is part of the process to allow investigators to take possession of the documents from the NARA, is the first public indication of the Justice Department using a grand jury in its investigation.
  • June 3, 2022: Four investigators, including a top Justice Department counterintelligence official, visit Mar-a-Lago seeking more information about classified material that had been taken to Florida. The four investigators meet with two of Trump's attorneys, Christina Bobb and Evan Corcoran, and look around the basement room where the documents are being stored. Trump briefly stops by the meeting to say hello to the officials, but he does not answer any questions.
  • June 8, 2022: Trump's attorneys receive a letter from federal investigators, asking them to further secure the room where documents are being stored. In response, Trump aides add a padlock to the room in the basement of Mar-a-Lago.
  • Aug. 8, 2022: The FBI executes a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago — a major escalation of the classified documents investigation. The search focused on the area of the club where Trump's offices and personal quarters are located. Federal agents remove boxes of material from the property. The search was the first time in American history that a former president's home was searched as part of a criminal investigation.
  • Aug. 11, 2022: After three days of silence, Attorney General Merrick Garland makes a brief public statement about the investigation. He reveals that he personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant, and pushes back against what he called "unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department." Garland also announces that the Justice Department will ask a judge to unseal some of the search warrant documents. Trump says in a late-night post on his Truth Social platform that he will "not oppose the release of documents" related to the search.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Mar-a-Lago Search Documents Released

The search warrant and property receipt connected to the 8/8/22 search of Mar-a-Lago have been unsealed and are now open to public view. You can read them here.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
I keep asking Democrats to provide a crime that trump committed.....I get crickets chirping.
I'm not a Democrat and I cannot provide a crime that Trump committed. But with the Mar-a-Lago search warrant now released, we can know that certain crimes are being investigated. Per the warrant, probable cause has been established to believe that evidence of the following crimes could be found at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's home.

In the spirit of fairness, it is important to note that Trump is not charged with these crimes, and we do not know who if anyone will be charged. The warrant is a step in an investigation. It does not directly implicate Trump himself, or anyone else. The warrant talks about crimes and evidence. It does not talk about anyone who may or may not be connected to these crimes.

That said, many will draw inferences that point directly to Trump. Mar-a-Lago is Trump's home. And where the warrant specifies what parts of Mar-a-Lago can be searched, it specifically references "... the "45 Office," all storage rooms, and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available to be used by FPOTUS and his staff and in which boxes or documents could be stored, ..." (Source: the warrant)

So, I think it is fair to say that while the warrant does not say anyone in particular has committed any crime, and while Trump still enjoys the presumption of innocence, it's clear this DOJ investigation is focused on Trump himself.

The warrant lists three crimes. Namely, violations of :
  • 18 U.S.C. §§ 793: Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
  • 18 U.S.C. §§ 2071: Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally, which carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and disqualification from holding office (more on this below).
  • 18 U.S.C. §§ 1519: Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
 
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ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
But not the affidavit....everything but that hmmmm
Attorney General Garland was crystal clear yesterday when he said the DOJ comments through it's court filings. DOJ is unlikely to say anything of substance until they next file something in court. There is nothing suspicious about the affidavit not being released at this time. It will come into the public record eventually, but not anytime soon.

Again, this is not an area familiar to me, but from what I gather from my news viewing and reading so far, the affidavits that support search warrants do not come into public view until charges are filed. If charges are filed in this case, it may be months from now. The FBI just removed 20 boxes of material from Trump's home and offices. It will take time for them to work through all that and take their next investigative steps.
 
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