I've just gotta say this too - that the extent to which the GOP has attuned its reality to Trump's "greatness" is appalling. He is a mere private citizen, yet ironically, the outrage seems to stem from their perception of him as some sort of potentate or royalty to whom the laws do not apply. The groveling knucklehead Pence has expressed his dismay that his former boss (who was willing to see Pence die for the crime of upholding our Constitution) should be subjected to treatment not fitting for King Donald.
Already the criminal cult of personality is busy weaponizing this warrant by claiming Biden "ordered" it. They forget all the times Trump publicly directed the Justice Dept. to investigate Democrats, beginning with his delusion in March 2017 in which he was convinced Obama "wiretaped" Trump Tower. There was a Senate investigation instead, which found nothing.
Who is the danged fool who called it a raid and caused the news media to follow suit? It was not a raid, but the execution of a search warrant. To the best of our knowledge, a "raid" is a forceful entry. The FBI worked with the Secret Service to execute the warrant, and you can bet it was planned to take place when the Trumps weren't there.
Of course the hyperbolic noises being made by the right wing media and the GOP are meant to help Trump, who is perfect and innocent. None are a surprise. It even shows how low Trump has sunk, that he can't get a personal lawyer who doesn't sound like Saul Goodman defending the Salamancas.
Unfortunately, "raid" is a short, one-syllable word. "Execution of a search warrant," accurate though it is, can't hold a candle to it. Having written headlines (and subject lines) myself, I have no trouble understanding why "raid" has caught on, even among those who know better.
Aug 10, 2022·edited Aug 10, 2022Liked by Aaron Rupar
The "danged fool" who called it a raid was Trump. Better to ponder... Mar-a-lago is such a huge place! They can't be searching top to bottom. How do they know where to go? Is the warrant very specific? Can they just go anywhere in the compound? It has been suggested that they must have a tip. Beautiful minds want to know.
It's no more "huge" than anywhere else. And they're not your local sheriff. They have plenty of manpower, so of course they have the capability to search "top to bottom." "How do they know where to go?" They go everywhere, dude.
Philip Bump @ WAPO has the info (Halligan is a Trump lawyer) :
quote- The search: It involved “30 to 40” personnel, she told CBS, with “a handful dressed in suits, but most wore T-shirts, cargo pants, masks and gloves.” Some 10 to 15 vehicles were involved, including a box truck. FBI agents searched “a bedroom, a storage area and an office,” Halligan said.
The “storage area” is likely the basement. As the Justice Department was engaged earlier this year with Trump’s team about potential documents stored at Mar-a-Lago, it noted that the basement was poorly secured, prompting Trump to add a lock to the door. “When FBI agents searched the property Monday, Bobb added, they broke through the lock,” The Washington Post reported.- end quote
Everyone is calling this a raid-- leaning into the term. Trump can depict himself as victim and those that want to see him get his comeuppance can cheer that he was raided. .
Having seen aerial photos of the place, I'm inclined to disagree. It's the size of a village center, or maybe Buckingham Palace. There seem to be multiple buildings in addition to the main "house." And OMG is it garish or what?
Yes, it is. Tacky as hell, which is why it sat empty for years, a white elephant on the real estate market, until Trump bought it for pennies on the dollar. I don't think the FBI would search dining rooms or guest quarters, but they would search the business offices and Trump's living quarters. Any other areas would be searched pursuant to the warrant. It could be that they were looking for a specific item or items, hence the opening of his personal safe.
People think of what they see on TV when there is a police raid - SWATs, battering rams, bullhorns etc. The search warrant was executed with the assistance of the Secret Service detail assigned to Mar A Lago - they work for us and are not Trump's private security guards - and Trump wasn't there. We don't even know if the warrant was part of a criminal investigation, so calling it a raid may not be appropriate although obviously, the damage is done.
Excellent report - the unbelievable hypocrisy, and the reveals. The two-faced cravenness, myopic self-service, tightrope walking of Pence and McCarthy rallying around Trump for partisan power. This is just jaw dropping chutzpah. This DEPENDS on people forgetting, on forgetting what they said. Whatever sticks at the moment. So it's a service here to bring the past up, to have the evidence on hand to throw back at them.
The investigators may come up with "bupkes" because Trump may have flushed any incriminating evidence. But what is missing is still missing one way or another unless found. And maybe they will find what else. It is said that they must have some recent info of what they could find. Andrew Weissmann former federal prosecutor and F.B.I. general counsel who worked on the Mueller investigation is good in this Q&A if you can get it.. https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-the-fbis-raid-of-mar-a-lago-could-mean-for-trump?
We do not in fact know what the warrant was for. It seems that the NY Times could have gotten its information from Eric Trump, who did not actually see the warrant.
Exactly. Every speculation has come from Republicans. They are known liars. To them it’s less concerning that the warrant is for documents rather than for J6 evidence. Until I see the warrant I’ll reserve speculation.
I'm not a praying person, but I pray for the day when these people get so tangled up in their own lies that they fall down and can't get up again.
Oddly enough, what just popped into my head was Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Are there portraits or maybe photos of these people stashed away somewhere that reflect the ugliness of their lies and their deeds? Will any of them ever look their ugliness in the eye?
I’m still in the Garland is useless camp. He could’ve prosecuted Trump ten times over based on Mueller. Mueller interviewed 500 witnesses and subpoenad 2500 documents, yet Garland chose to go with the ridiculous assertion that the evidence wasn’t enough. The Daniels bribe indictment even named Trump, and nothing from Garland, not even a mention. Anyway it’s already too late, so much damage has been done it’ll take decades to reverse. Color me nonplussed. Aside from the fact that wasn’t Giuliani and Eastman and Gaetz and others raided many months, even a year, ago? And crickets.
Garland is what we have. You go to war with the soldiers you have. Mueller disappointed too remember. We have been chomping at the bit about Trump from day one, in disbelief that he was not somehow taken out of office. Over and again there has been reticence because this could boomerang on the Democrats and a very careful line had to be walked. Past tense now. That Garland has been reticent, despite our impatience and the clock ticking politically, has served to legitimate him in many eyes. There are those, though, who will claim this is political regardless and those who complain about Garland ( me too). Biden has been staying out of this mostly, trying to move us forward as much as possible. The damage done is not Garland's to reverse in a day or even months. We used to say, everything happens the way it's supposed to happen... go figure, but it relaxes one.
I've just gotta say this too - that the extent to which the GOP has attuned its reality to Trump's "greatness" is appalling. He is a mere private citizen, yet ironically, the outrage seems to stem from their perception of him as some sort of potentate or royalty to whom the laws do not apply. The groveling knucklehead Pence has expressed his dismay that his former boss (who was willing to see Pence die for the crime of upholding our Constitution) should be subjected to treatment not fitting for King Donald.
Already the criminal cult of personality is busy weaponizing this warrant by claiming Biden "ordered" it. They forget all the times Trump publicly directed the Justice Dept. to investigate Democrats, beginning with his delusion in March 2017 in which he was convinced Obama "wiretaped" Trump Tower. There was a Senate investigation instead, which found nothing.
Who is the danged fool who called it a raid and caused the news media to follow suit? It was not a raid, but the execution of a search warrant. To the best of our knowledge, a "raid" is a forceful entry. The FBI worked with the Secret Service to execute the warrant, and you can bet it was planned to take place when the Trumps weren't there.
Of course the hyperbolic noises being made by the right wing media and the GOP are meant to help Trump, who is perfect and innocent. None are a surprise. It even shows how low Trump has sunk, that he can't get a personal lawyer who doesn't sound like Saul Goodman defending the Salamancas.
Unfortunately, "raid" is a short, one-syllable word. "Execution of a search warrant," accurate though it is, can't hold a candle to it. Having written headlines (and subject lines) myself, I have no trouble understanding why "raid" has caught on, even among those who know better.
The "danged fool" who called it a raid was Trump. Better to ponder... Mar-a-lago is such a huge place! They can't be searching top to bottom. How do they know where to go? Is the warrant very specific? Can they just go anywhere in the compound? It has been suggested that they must have a tip. Beautiful minds want to know.
It's no more "huge" than anywhere else. And they're not your local sheriff. They have plenty of manpower, so of course they have the capability to search "top to bottom." "How do they know where to go?" They go everywhere, dude.
Philip Bump @ WAPO has the info (Halligan is a Trump lawyer) :
quote- The search: It involved “30 to 40” personnel, she told CBS, with “a handful dressed in suits, but most wore T-shirts, cargo pants, masks and gloves.” Some 10 to 15 vehicles were involved, including a box truck. FBI agents searched “a bedroom, a storage area and an office,” Halligan said.
The “storage area” is likely the basement. As the Justice Department was engaged earlier this year with Trump’s team about potential documents stored at Mar-a-Lago, it noted that the basement was poorly secured, prompting Trump to add a lock to the door. “When FBI agents searched the property Monday, Bobb added, they broke through the lock,” The Washington Post reported.- end quote
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/10/trump-fbi-search/
Everyone is calling this a raid-- leaning into the term. Trump can depict himself as victim and those that want to see him get his comeuppance can cheer that he was raided. .
Having seen aerial photos of the place, I'm inclined to disagree. It's the size of a village center, or maybe Buckingham Palace. There seem to be multiple buildings in addition to the main "house." And OMG is it garish or what?
Yes, it is. Tacky as hell, which is why it sat empty for years, a white elephant on the real estate market, until Trump bought it for pennies on the dollar. I don't think the FBI would search dining rooms or guest quarters, but they would search the business offices and Trump's living quarters. Any other areas would be searched pursuant to the warrant. It could be that they were looking for a specific item or items, hence the opening of his personal safe.
Well it’s a lot huger than my house…
Marycat-You sound like you know they go everywhere...where do you get your info?
People think of what they see on TV when there is a police raid - SWATs, battering rams, bullhorns etc. The search warrant was executed with the assistance of the Secret Service detail assigned to Mar A Lago - they work for us and are not Trump's private security guards - and Trump wasn't there. We don't even know if the warrant was part of a criminal investigation, so calling it a raid may not be appropriate although obviously, the damage is done.
Excellent report - the unbelievable hypocrisy, and the reveals. The two-faced cravenness, myopic self-service, tightrope walking of Pence and McCarthy rallying around Trump for partisan power. This is just jaw dropping chutzpah. This DEPENDS on people forgetting, on forgetting what they said. Whatever sticks at the moment. So it's a service here to bring the past up, to have the evidence on hand to throw back at them.
The investigators may come up with "bupkes" because Trump may have flushed any incriminating evidence. But what is missing is still missing one way or another unless found. And maybe they will find what else. It is said that they must have some recent info of what they could find. Andrew Weissmann former federal prosecutor and F.B.I. general counsel who worked on the Mueller investigation is good in this Q&A if you can get it.. https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-the-fbis-raid-of-mar-a-lago-could-mean-for-trump?
Thanks!
We do not in fact know what the warrant was for. It seems that the NY Times could have gotten its information from Eric Trump, who did not actually see the warrant.
Exactly. Every speculation has come from Republicans. They are known liars. To them it’s less concerning that the warrant is for documents rather than for J6 evidence. Until I see the warrant I’ll reserve speculation.
Excellent analysis as usual Aaron…..thanks for the research….they’re such hypocrites ‼️‼️‼️
you're welcome!
Oh boy. The next few months are going to be "fun".
Love it!!!
I'm not a praying person, but I pray for the day when these people get so tangled up in their own lies that they fall down and can't get up again.
Oddly enough, what just popped into my head was Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Are there portraits or maybe photos of these people stashed away somewhere that reflect the ugliness of their lies and their deeds? Will any of them ever look their ugliness in the eye?
I'm still reeling from a former president who buried his ex-wife on his golf course in order to get a tax break.
And no matter what he does, the cult thinks he has the right to do it.
When they make us hate, they have won. We must remember this.
The lickspittle politicians won’t ever denounce trump. They’re afraid he’ll sic his MAGGOTs on them.
I’m still in the Garland is useless camp. He could’ve prosecuted Trump ten times over based on Mueller. Mueller interviewed 500 witnesses and subpoenad 2500 documents, yet Garland chose to go with the ridiculous assertion that the evidence wasn’t enough. The Daniels bribe indictment even named Trump, and nothing from Garland, not even a mention. Anyway it’s already too late, so much damage has been done it’ll take decades to reverse. Color me nonplussed. Aside from the fact that wasn’t Giuliani and Eastman and Gaetz and others raided many months, even a year, ago? And crickets.
Garland is what we have. You go to war with the soldiers you have. Mueller disappointed too remember. We have been chomping at the bit about Trump from day one, in disbelief that he was not somehow taken out of office. Over and again there has been reticence because this could boomerang on the Democrats and a very careful line had to be walked. Past tense now. That Garland has been reticent, despite our impatience and the clock ticking politically, has served to legitimate him in many eyes. There are those, though, who will claim this is political regardless and those who complain about Garland ( me too). Biden has been staying out of this mostly, trying to move us forward as much as possible. The damage done is not Garland's to reverse in a day or even months. We used to say, everything happens the way it's supposed to happen... go figure, but it relaxes one.