FBI Raids Mar-A-Lago

[Fitzcarraldo]

Things are getting interesting:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...ents-rcna42133

[filghy2]

What took them so long? The clock really is ticking because prosecution needs to be completed before the next administration takes office in January 2025, and there is lots of scope to delay trials through challenges, no matter how dubious. It's obvious that a Republican president would quash the case, even if it's not Trump.
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...-convict-trump

[Stavros]

So Cry-Baby Trump employs a Squadron of Lawyers, none of whom can tell him the difference between a burglary and an FBI investigation? He is not obliged to familiarise himself with the law, but ignorance is no protection.

Or maybe he thinks he is above the law? And maybe, finally, the law is closing in on this serial liar, forever-in-debt scam merchant?

"What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States."
Trump says the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home (cnbc.com)

*Note for the ignorant -the FBI is not the same as the Democrat Party. And the head of the FBI was appointed by Dopey Donald.

[broncofan]

I do agree that it's a bit of a problem that the action is coming so late.

I'll just say one thing I've been impressed with so far is that Garland's DOJ doesn't leak. They don't seem to have anyone talking to the press in advance and even after they do things no information is coming from them. I like that better than all of the public relations we've had in the past with both Republicans and Democrats in DOJ.

[Fitzcarraldo]

So Cry-Baby Trump employs a Squadron of Lawyers, none of whom can tell him the difference between a burglary and an FBI investigation? He is not obliged to familiarise himself with the law, but ignorance is no protection.

Or maybe he thinks he is above the law?

He doesn't care. He dictates his own reality ... and the world has indulged him in that for practically his entire life.

[filghy2]

He doesn't care. He dictates his own reality ... and the world has indulged him in that for practically his entire life.

He also knows the deep state conspiracy victimhood stuff plays well with the Republican base. Trump probably thinks he can milk this to get the 2024 nomination by turning it into another loyalty test - anyone not with me must be with 'them'. Most of them are obligingly echoing his claims on the raid.
https://www.vox.com/2022/8/9/2329808...blicans-regime

How does anyone in the party run against this guy if they are unwilling to contradict him?

[filghy2]

I'll just say one thing I've been impressed with so far is that Garland's DOJ doesn't leak. They don't seem to have anyone talking to the press in advance and even after they do things no information is coming from them. I like that better than all of the public relations we've had in the past with both Republicans and Democrats in DOJ.

Is there a problem though, that the absence of any public information leaves a vacuum for Trump and his acolytes to fill with wild speculations? It seems that Garland's strategy is that the best way to deal with Trump is to be as meticulous as possible about proper process, which may be why they have taken so long to act. But is that enough?

Democrats seem to have spent the past few years assuming that if they just play by the normal rules the public will eventually reject Trump and the Republicans because their awfulness will be so self-evident. That hasn't really worked.

One thing we know is that no matter how careful they are about proper process it will make no difference to Trump. If he becomes President in 2025 the first priority will be to purge the DoJ, FBI etc and install his own loyalists. He wants to run again for revenge.
https://www.axios.com/2022/07/22/tru...an-second-term

[Stavros]

Defund the Police! Defund the FBI! Defund the DoJ! Hell, Defund Everything!

"Following the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida, state lawmaker Anthony Sabatini called for the arrest of federal agents and urged the state to “sever all ties” with the Department of Justice.
...In response to the raid, Mr Sabatini tweeted on Monday night that “it’s time for us in the Florida Legislature to call an emergency legislative session and amend our laws regarding federal agencies”.He said the state should “sever all ties with DOJ immediately” and that “any FBI agent conducting law enforcement functions outside the purview of our State should be arrested upon sight”.
Florida lawmaker calls for arrest of FBI agents and for state to ‘sever all ties with DOJ immediately’ (yahoo.com)

[broncofan]

Is there a problem though, that the absence of any public information leaves a vacuum for Trump and his acolytes to fill with wild speculations? It seems that Garland's strategy is that the best way to deal with Trump is to be as meticulous as possible about proper process, which may be why they have taken so long to act. But is that enough?

Democrats seem to have spent the past few years assuming that if they just play by the normal rules the public will eventually reject Trump and the Republicans because their awfulness will be so self-evident. That hasn't really worked.

I don't want to say, well maybe nothing will work when it comes to getting Republicans to play by the rules and reject Trump. Clearly something has to be done to prosecute Trump for things he did during the transition, whether it be inciting the insurrection or removing documents to cover his bad acts.

Republicans have shown they are going to try to incite violence while denying responsibility for their incitement. But they can say it looks like a banana republic to prosecute a former president but when someone commits as many crimes as Trump did in broad daylight, if you don't prosecute him you undermine your entire system.

I see your point and am not sure. Public info would definitely help Democratic politicians make a better argument, which might reach some people. Hopefully Garland is maintaining secrecy not just for the appearance of propriety (which I agree Trumpers won't give a shit about anyway) but also because it will enable him to get evidence without telegraphing it and allowing his targets to first destroy it.

The difficulty in prosecuting Trump reminds me of the difficulty the feds had in trying to prosecute mafia bosses and why we had to pass laws like RICO that allowed greater imputation of crimes among co-conspirators. Those prosecutions usually involved going after lower-level people and getting them to flip. That takes years which we don't have.

Anyway, has anyone seen the kind of incitement the Republicans are engaged in? The Judge who issued the warrant definitely needs credible protection.

[Fitzcarraldo]

But they can say it looks like a banana republic to prosecute a former president but when someone commits as many crimes as Trump did in broad daylight, if you don't prosecute him you undermine your entire system.

Exactly. Either we're a nation of laws or we aren't. The president is not supposed to be above the law. And declaring that you're running for president is no excuse to break the law or to put ongoing cases on hold.

The silence is because they haven't charged him with anything yet. That's how our legal system works. They are still in the investigation mode. If they don't find evidence of a crime, the matter ends here.

But Trump has a copy of the warrant. He could release it at any time, but of course he won't.