Department of Justice approved a redacted, edited-and-censored, version of the affidavit used to search 76-year-old President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach Mar-a-Lago residence Aug. 8. In the affidavit, the media is hoping to get a glimpse into the FBI’s probable cause used with the DOJ to justify the most invasive action ever committed against a former president. Yet Democrats, and certain anti-Trump Republicans, treat Trump differently all because the FBI, under 62-year-old former Diector James Comey, accused Trump in 2016 of being a Russian asset. Since the Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence probe, Trump was painted by Democrats and the media as a clear-and-present-danger to U.S. democracy. Comey was fired by Trump May 8, 2017 for leaking untold stories to the New York Times and Washington Post, all alleging that Trump pulled strings in Moscow to win the 2016 presidential election.
When it comes to anything revelatory about tomorrow’s redacted affidavit, the news media looks for the DOJ’s justification for raiding Trump’s house. Federal magistrate in Florida, Bruce Reinhart, agreed to release the affidavit Aug. 26 which will no doubt talk about how dangerous classified documents are to U.S. national security. So when the affidavit is released tomorrow, the media will emphasize that Trump broke at least three U.S. laws related to the safe management of classified documents, including the Presidential Records Act, U.S. Code Title 18, Section 270 and the 1917 Espionage Act, giving Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland all the probable cause needed to indict Trump for violating various records act. But the question is how appropriate is it to pile on a former U.S. president? Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller asked himself the same question investigating Trump’s alleged Moscow ties.
Reinhart, in deciding to released the redacted affidavit, said the government met its “burden of showing a compelling reason/good cause to seal portions of the affidavit to protect the Grand Jury and DOJ investigators determining a compelling reason for meeting its Fourth Amendment burden for executing a search-and-seizures.
Trump’s backers disagree with the government’s actions, saying that Trump was already working with the DOJ through his attorneys to return any classified documents back to the National Archives. After months of back-and-forth, the DOJ felt it hat met its obligation to recover classified documents without waiting for Trump officials to return any remaining documents. So, the DOJ argues it had compelling reason to reclaim government documents, even though they were under lock-and-key in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago basement.
DOJ officials want to release the redacted affidavit to challenge Trump’s argument that there was no compelling reason to raid his property to reclaim the lost files. For Trump, the raid on Mar-a-Lago was déjà vu, since Comey went to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [FISA] Court to obtain warrants to wiretap former Trump campaign officials in 2016, Once such official, Carter Page, worked for the CIA, yet that was omitted to the FISA Court. Former presiding FISA Court judge Rosemary Collyer, said had she known Page worked for the CIA she would have not given Comey the warrant to wiretap. So, when it comes to the DOJ’s recent justification to search-and-seize classified docs at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, it’s possible the redacted affidavit won’t give much insight. Trump contends the latest DOJ and FBI incursion was a continuation of Crossfire Hurricane.
Whatever the redacted affidavit says or not, the media will support anything the DOJ and FBI does to charge Trump with a crime for violation U.S. records acts. While it’s true that there’s technical violations, it’s also true that presidential memorabilia, with classified docs or not, are considered part of Trump’s presidential records. Before Garland moves to indict Trump, he should review Mueller’s argument to not indict Trump on obstruction of justice back in 2017. Mueller knew that Democrats and the press blamed Trump for obstruction for the act of firing Comey. Former DOJ Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosensteim acquiesced to Democrats hue-and-cry to appoint a Special Counsel to determine whether or not Trump committed obstruction of justice. Mueller concluded that there was no rationale under current obstruction of justice statutes to bring charges against Trump.
When it comes to the danger posed by largely worthless documents, classified or not, seized by the FBI, some 12 boxes, it pales into insignificance compared to the national security threats from Biden’s proxy war against the Russian Federation and recent provocations with China. While all the anti-Trump news outlets look for more justification to charge Trump with crime, Biden continues to endanger U.S. national security at an alarming pace. What’s more threatening to U.S. national security boxes of worthless docs from a locked basement or fighting a proxy war against the Russian Federation? There’s no proportionality in Washington, only extreme partisanship, especially against Trump who’s hinted he plans to run in 2024. If Democrats and the press get an indictment for technical violations of various records act, they hope it kills Trump’s chances in 2024.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
