Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[THE_WIZARD_]

Correct.

And they are flamers.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Stop being such a Trumper.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Wild story about a woman posing as "Anna de Rothschild" who was in reality Inna Yashchyshyn, a Ukrainian immigrant who at best is a con-man but very well could be a Ukrainian or Russian spy who has been able to roam Mar a Lago for years. There are photos of her with Trump and Lindsey Graham and schmoozing with lots of other Mar a Lago regulars.

Federal authorities investigating Ukrainian immigrant who posed as a Rothschild, rubbed elbows with Trump and his allies at Mar-a-Lago (post-gazette.com)

[Dr. Strangelove]

The search warrant affidavit is out. Very redacted, obviously.

So the ball for the eventual raid really got rolling in January of this year when the National Archives took 15 boxes from Mar a Lago after six months of negotiations with Trump. When they started going through them, they realized the boxes were completely unorganized with classified information mixed in with unimportant stuff.

All together in that first batch of boxes they found 184 individual classified documents, with 92 marked "SECRET" and 25 marked "TOP SECRET". By law they basically had to notify the DOJ with what they found

It's not part of the affidavit but from reporting we know that the relationship between Trump and the Archives grew testy over the next half year. Trump was unhappy that DOJ and the FBI were now involved and tried to prevent them from going through the boxes. When the archives went back for more In June, this time they had a subpoena.

In the justification for asking for the August warrant, the FBI said they had probable cause to believe more highly classified information was being kept at Mar a Lago improperly and that evidence of obstruction would be found in a search there as well. All detail on that is redacted.

[THE_WIZARD_]

...so when will criminal charges be filed???

[Hannibal]

It’s undeniable that the U.S. intelligence apparatus was in the tank for Biden. The fact that they intervened in a domestic presidential election in a clear attempt to favor their preferred candidate is a very frightening revelation that will have long lasting ramifications.

That was the real 2020 coup. Not a bunch of mostly unarmed people storming the Capitol building and leaving it almost completely unscathed a couple hours later.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Haven't heard the cry from Liz for hearings on this yet. Hmmmmm.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The real coup is what they did to Laura Loomer. I urge everyone here to listen to her and not vote for any Republicans in ANY elections, it's all rigged.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Not a good day for "The Comeback Kid"...

[lineygoblue]

So how long will the Justice Department take to file charges and get Trump indicted for having unauthorized "top secret" documents in his home?

My guess is never. Anyone else want to make a guess?

[THE_WIZARD_]

Well the AG has certainly a quandary on his hands now...so are you going to bring criminal charges on Trump to justify this raid? My guess is this is a slippery slope and quicksand...so there will be no criminal charges...this was all a phishing expedition to 1) embarrass a political rival....and 2) attempt to prevent Trump from running for POTUS again.

[Jeff Buchanan]

...so when will criminal charges be filed???

It's going to be up to Garland. I'm about as certain as I can be in this specific instance, that Trump violated 18 USC - 1924, Unauthorized Removal of Classified Documents or Material :

(a) Whoever, being an officer, employee, contractor, or consultant of the United States, and, by virtue of his office, employment, position, or contract, becomes possessed of documents or materials containing classified information of the United States, knowingly removes such documents or materials without authority and with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.

(b) For purposes of this section, the provision of documents and materials to the Congress shall not constitute an offense under subsection (a).

(c) In this section, the term “classified information of the United States” means information originated, owned, or possessed by the United States Government concerning the national defense or foreign relations of the United States that has been determined pursuant to law or Executive order to require protection against unauthorized disclosure in the interests of national security.
(Added Pub. L. 103–359, title VIII, § 808(a), Oct. 14, 1994, 108 Stat. 3453; amended Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(d)(1)(C)(i), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1809; Pub. L. 115–118, title II, § 202, Jan. 19, 2018, 132 Stat. 19.)

I'm uncertain why legal authorities think he has violated the Espionage Act that has more to do with leakers and agents of foreign governments that gain unlawful access to classified material then pass it on. There's also an indication materials seized by the FBI raid at Mar a Lago may support a charge of obstruction. Whether Trump violated 18 USC - 1924 or obstructed justice could be felonies if convicted. What we don't know is how Garland will proceed with any prosecution if even there is one. A president has wide authority to declassify classified material and he and his people go back and forth on whether or not this authority applies in this specific instance. That's going to be up to Garland and DOJ.

The bottom line is it is not black and white or a slam dunk that Trump will be prosecuted under either of these laws.

[Dr. Strangelove]

So how long will the Justice Department take to file charges and get Trump indicted for having unauthorized "top secret" documents in his home?

My guess is never. Anyone else want to make a guess?

It's possible no charges ever get filed against him but maybe some others around him who were rummaging through shit they had no authorization for. Or a couple of his hack attorneys who signed paperwork swearing that no classified information remained on the property when that was proven demonstrably false just weeks later. Of course, Donald lies to his attorneys all the time, so it might not be their fault.

It really seems like they could pursue charges if they really want to but without knowing more about what's specifically in the documents I can't say one way or the other if that's warranted. I said before, if this is just over his love letters with Kim, that's not a criminal case. But I'm pretty confident at this point that more serious stuff than that was found.

What's also pretty clear is if Trump simply cooperated in the first place and returned govt property, none of this would be happening. But HE'S A FIGHTER!!!! strikes again.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Well he broke the law. File the charges.

They won't because they know this may not be a "nothing burger"...it's a "very little burger"...

Those in glass houses...indict Trump for this....and see what happens Dems...

[Jeff Buchanan]

........ this was all a phishing expedition to 1) embarrass a political rival....and 2) attempt to prevent Trump from running for POTUS again.

You're right about Garland being in a pickle here but I'm not sure I agree with you on the above.

Garland was presented with evidence by the National Archives that Trump had inappropriately removed classified materials from the white house and retained them at an unsecure location. He could have looked the other way but the law is pretty clear here and Garland's role is to uphold it. If he looks away, he'd get pilloried and justifiably - a politically motivated decision to go get the evidence or not. His first step was to gather evidence and it was clear as day where it was so, go get it. I've got zero problem with that.

No question though, that the raid has been politicized so, there is that with charges and countercharges, a lot of them baseless, floating around.