The Biden Era

[Sandy Shanks]

Be careful what you wish for!

The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office.https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

The seized documents were part of an inquiry into violation of the Espionage Act and two other laws.​

The Times reports, "A list of documents removed from former President Donald J. Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, includes materials marked as top secret and meant to be viewed only in secure government facilities, according to a copy of the warrant obtained by The New York Times.

"Federal agents who executed the warrant did so to investigate potential crimes associated with violations of the Espionage Act, which outlaws the unauthorized retention of national security information that could harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary; a federal law that makes it a crime to destroy or conceal a document to obstruct a government investigation; and another statute associated with unlawful removal of government materials.

"Of the three criminal laws cited in the search warrant, one stood out as raising new questions: Section 1519 of Title 18 of the United States Code. Section 1519 is an obstruction law. It applies to document crimes undertaken “with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter” within the jurisdiction of federal departments or agencies. That raises the question: What do investigators suspect that Trump, by hoarding the documents, was trying to impede?"

A better question is, what was Trump going to do with the set of documents marked as “TS/SCI documents,” which refers to “top secret/sensitive compartmented information?"

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The seized documents were part of an inquiry into violation of the Espionage Act and two other laws.

This is what happens when one doesn't follow the law. Particularly after he became President, Donald Trump felt rules and the law applied to others, not him.

The Times reports, "A list of documents removed from former President Donald J. Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, includes materials marked as top secret and meant to be viewed only in secure government facilities.

CBS reports, "A New York State judge ruled Friday that a criminal fraud and tax evasion prosecution against the Trump Organization and its former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, can proceed.

"Weisselberg and the company asked a judge in February to dismiss all 15 counts charged against them. Judge Juan Merchan dismissed one of several tax fraud counts against the Trump Organization, but allowed all others to remain.

"The Trump Organization and Weisselberg accused prosecutors working for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of targeting them "based on political animus" toward former President Donald Trump."

That sounds familiar. No doubt Trump's education challenged followers think Trump is as innocent as a lamb.

Two days ago former President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment more than 440 times.

“If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” Trump during a 2016 rally in Iowa.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Some good news for Americans for a change as Trump's difficulties with the law are dominating the airwaves.

NBC reports, "The House passed a far-reaching Democratic bill Friday to combat climate change, extend health care coverage and raise taxes on corporations, voting along party lines to send the legislation to President Joe Biden for his signature.

"Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act represents a major victory for Democrats ahead of the November midterm elections.

"The legislation — which passed the Senate on Sunday in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie — now goes to Biden, who said in a tweet that he plans to sign it into law next week.

"The House vote was 220-207, breaking evenly along party lines as Democrats unified to support the bill while Republicans unanimously voted against it."

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump was a powerful man. As such, Trump says whatever he wants to say, and the truth doesn't matter to him.

The Times reports, "At least one lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump signed a written statement in June asserting that all material marked as classified and held in boxes in a storage area at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and club had been returned to the government."

Insider reports, "The FBI recovered 11 sets of classified records from Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, some of which were marked top secret and meant to be stored in special government facilities because of their sensitive nature, according to the inventory of seized items."

Of course, we know the lawyer's statement was false. So, why did Trump say it? Because, under the circumstances, in his mind, the fantasy would clear him of wrongdoing.

So, he said it. The fact that it was pure fantasy didn't bother Trump one bit.

Trump has another fantasy designed to protect him from legal complications. He says now that he had a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them."

Actually, that fantasy is rather humorous. Trump really is a dunderhead. Of course, his loyal followers will believe him. They always do.

The procedure by the President to declassify documents is a bit more complicated than that. Rep. Jim Hines explains.

"Of course, he's going to say that because it creates a little bit of confusion and throws a bit of mud into the water. But I can tell you as someone who also sees the most sensitive information this country has, that's utter baloney," Hines said.

Himes told MSNBC that while the President is a declassifying authority, there is a "really elaborate documented process for declassification," which can often take months.

The Times elaborates, "Apart from the fact there is no evidence that such an order actually existed, the notion has been greeted with disdain by national security legal specialists. Glenn S. Gerstell, the top lawyer for the National Security Agency from 2015 to 2020, pronounced the idea that whatever Mr. Trump happened to take upstairs each evening automatically became declassified — without logging what it was and notifying the agencies that used that information — “preposterous.”

This astonishing jump in falsehoods is the story of Trump’s tumultuous reign. By the end of his term, Trump had accumulated 30,573 untruths during his presidency — averaging about 21 erroneous claims a day. https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...isleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/

Trump's devoted followers aside, is there any reason in the world why Americans should believe anything Trump says? Proof of his willingness to create fantasies was presented here

 

[Sandy Shanks]

This astonishing jump in falsehoods is the story of Trump’s tumultuous reign. By the end of his term, Trump had accumulated 30,573 untruths during his presidency — averaging about 21 erroneous claims a day. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/
Trump's devoted followers aside, is there any reason in the world why Americans should believe anything Trump says?

This is typical of Trump, and he did it quite often as President. He thinks he is being clever when he attempts to have it both ways.

In the end, though, he looks like a fool because he immediately contradicts what he just said.

First, a pathetic attempt at a mea culpa for stealing Top Secret documents when he left the White House.

The Hill reports, "Former President Trump on Monday said his aides have reached out to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to offer “whatever we can do to help,” saying the “temperature has to be brought down” after a spike in threats against law enforcement following the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

“Whatever we can do to help — because the temperature has to be brought down in the country,” Trump told Fox News. “If it isn’t, terrible things are going to happen.”

However, he then repeated attacks on the FBI over the search for classified documents that took place at his Florida estate last week and defended his supporters’ threats.

“People are so angry at what is taking place. They are not going to stand for another scam,” describing the FBI’s past investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election as a “witch hunt.”

The [Republican] Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

Yeah, he looks like an idiot.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CBS reports, "South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham must testify before a grand jury in Georgia investigating former President Donald Trump's conduct after losing the 2020 election.

"Graham had asked a federal judge to quash a subpoena, arguing that he was performing "legislative acts" when he twice called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the election. Attorneys for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis argued in court filings that Graham was actually calling to "explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome" for Trump."

Graham didn't bother to explain why a U.S. Senator from South Carolina was calling the Secretary of State for Georgia, beyond the obvious, that is

"Individuals on the calls have publicly suggested that Senator Graham was not simply engaged in legislative factfinding but was instead suggesting or implying that Georgia election officials change their processes or otherwise potentially alter the state's results," May wrote.

Graham may still get out of this, but it is obvious that Graham was playing a role in President Trump's attempt to overthrow the elected government.

Then there is Betsy DeVos.

Reports show that former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is in talks to be interviewed by the January 6th committee.

Reporting this week revealed DeVos was in communication with the committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol in 2021. CNN cited multiple unnamed sources after the committee interviewed former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Both women were members of the former president’s cabinet and admitted they had discussions about invoking the 25th amendment after the insurrection.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump's personal attorney during the aftermath of the election has become a target in the Georgian probe.

The rulings mandating Graham and Giuliani appear come as Trump is under increasing scrutiny from a series of high-profile investigations. On Friday, a New York City judge blocked an effort to dismiss criminal tax fraud charges against Trump's company and its former CFO. Two days earlier, Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment hundreds of times while attending a court-ordered deposition in a sweeping civil fraud probe run by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The deposition came two days after the FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence for top secret documents allegedly improperly removed from the White House. Federal agents in that case are investigating Trump for potential violation of three criminal statutes, including the Espionage Act. CBS

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The [Republican] Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

ABC reports, "Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the chair and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, have sent a private letter to top intelligence officials and the Justice Department asking for more information from last week's unprecedented FBI search at Mar-a-Lago.

"The letter, sent Sunday to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Attorney General Merrick Garland, specifically seeks the classified documents that were seized and an analysis of any national security threat posed by the mishandling of the information.

"The request comes after it was revealed that 11 sets of classified information were seized from former President Donald Trump's Florida resort, including confidential, secret, and top-secret documents."

"The Senate Intelligence Committee is charged with overseeing counterintelligence matters, including the handling and mishandling of classified information, which appears to be at the core of the search of Mar a Lago," said Rachel Cohen, a spokesperson for Warner.

Recalling that Vladimir Putin wanted this man to become our next President in 2016, Trump has offered many lies and threats concerning the legal FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home, but he has never explained why he removed classified documents from the White House.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Matt Egan, CNN Business, writes. "The American economy didn’t get the memo that it’s supposed to already be in a recession.

"The brutal GDP report released on July 28, showing the economy had contracted for a second quarter in a row [by less than one percent in both quarters], led some to insist the much-feared recession had already arrived.

"And in some ways that makes sense: Since 1948, every period of back-to-back quarters of negative growth coincided with a recession."

Really? I have never accepted that concept. Employment, job growth, and consumer spending are far more important indicators of the economy's health.

Egan continued, "But the recession-is-already-here argument has been severely undermined since that GDP report came out. A series of events in the past 10 days suggest those recession calls are, at a minimum, premature.

"Yes, the economy is cooling off after last year’s gangbusters growth. But no, it does not appear to be suffering the kind of downfall that would qualify as a recession.

"Consider the following developments:

• The economy added more than half a million jobs in July alone.
• The unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, tied for the lowest level since 1969.
• Inflation chilled out (relatively speaking) in July for both the consumers and producers.
• Gas prices tumbled below $4 a gallon for the first time since March.
• Consumer sentiment has bounced off record lows.
• The stock market notched its longest weekly winning streak since November.

Despite what Republicans are saying -- they are forced to be pessimists -- the economy is doing just fine.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Is Trump really that stupid?

In a post around 1:30 p.m. ET Monday on Truth Social, the former President's social media platform, Trump claimed the FBI "stole" three passports.

Removal of a passport by law enforcement is serious business, indicating possible guilt and flight from justice.

Trump admits publicly the FBI removed his passport. (Two had expired.)

Fortunately for Trump, it isn't all that bad for him, but he didn't know that at the time.

CBS reports, "Passports belonging to former President Donald Trump that were taken by the FBI during the search conducted at his South Florida residence last week have been returned to the former president, a law enforcement source confirmed to CBS News.

"The source said the passports were given back to Trump after they were discovered by a "filter team," a group of federal investigators who screen the materials seized during the execution of a search warrant for privileged or extraneous information.

"The FBI said in a statement that when executing search warrants, the bureau "follows search and seizure procedures ordered by courts, then returns items that we do not need to be retained for law enforcement purposes."

Is Trump losing it?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Is Trump really that stupid?

Is Trump losing it?

The Post reports, "The Justice Department on Monday asked a judge to keep sealed the sworn affidavit underpinning last week’s extraordinary FBI search of former president Donald Trump’s Florida residence, a document thought to hold key details about the government’s investigation into the potential mishandling of classified materials.

"Monday’s court filing was made in response to requests from multiple media outlets, including The Washington Post, seeking the affidavit’s public release."

Trump is alleged to have committed three possible crimes, removal or destruction of classified documents, obstruction of justice, and violation of the Espionage Act.

The affidavit contains evidence of such crimes that allowed the judge to sign off on the search warrant.

How does Trump feel about making the evidence of his alleged crimes public?

“I call for the immediate release of the completely Unredacted Affidavit pertaining to this horrible and shocking BREAK-IN,” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Nobody can be that stupid!

It seems readily apparent that Trump has lost interest in his political future, and is far more interested in learning the evidence and witnesses against him in a possible criminal trial.

In the meantime, Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Numerous Republicans running for office seek his endorsement by claiming Biden is a fake President, and Trump is the leading candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024.

Republicans are expected to win control of Congress in November.

How do Trump's followers feel about all this? We don't know. As is their custom, they remain totally silent on these issues.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

It is unlikely that the supporting affidavit behind the now-public search warrant for former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate will be made public.

In addition to the media, Trump wants the affidavit to go public as well so he can learn what the DOJ has on him and the identity of supporting witnesses.

Which is just another reason why the judge will not allow the affidavit to go public.

ABC explains, "The Justice Department said in a new court filing Monday that it opposes an effort by multiple media organizations, including ABC News, to unseal the supporting affidavit behind the now-public search warrant for former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

"There remain compelling reasons, including to protect the integrity of an ongoing law enforcement investigation that implicates national security, that support keeping the affidavit sealed," the filing states.

"Disclosure of the government’s affidavit at this stage would also likely chill future cooperation by witnesses whose assistance may be sought as this investigation progresses, as well as in other high-profile investigations," the filing states. "The fact that this investigation implicates highly classified materials further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and exacerbates the potential for harm if information is disclosed to the public prematurely or improperly."

"Further explaining their request to keep the underlying affidavit sealed, prosecutors note it "would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps."

That is exactly what Trump wants to do.

The unsealing could also impact the civil liberties of those whose actions are detailed in the underlying affidavit, prosecutors said.

That would be Trump.

It would be quite surprising if the judge allowed this to happen.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Lincoln Project is a conservative group, which has long opposed Trump and his Republican allies. It issued a strongly worded statement late on Tuesday following the primary defeat of Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney.

Trump Republicans have largely abondoned conservative principles. The statement essentially said that the Republican Party is no longer a conservative party. It is something else entirely.

Tonight, the nation marks the end of the Republican Party. What remains shares the name and branding of the traditional GOP, but is in fact an authoritarian nationalist cult dedicated only to Donald Trump.

In 2016, Vladimir Putin helped Trump become our President.

"The [Republican] Senate Intelligence Committee reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

The cult members don't care. Most of the uninformed educationally challenged members don't know of Putin's role in 2016.

Putin is pleased with his choice because our nation is in turmoil as the former President is embroiled in a number of investigations. They would include White House documents, the Jan. 6 coup attempt to overthrow the elected government, civil and criminal business actions in New York, and Trump's tax returns.

The cult members don't care. Most of the uninformed educationally challenged members don't know of Trump's multiple criminal liabilities, and they don't know they are doing the bidding of the Russian dictator.

All the cult members have one thing in common. They don't know, and they don't want to know. They are not fans of reality, and, beyond the Farm Report, they rarely watch responsible news programming, believing it to be fake news because they report the difficulties faced by their cult leader, Donald Trump.

They believe. That's all they know, and that is all they want to know.

Proof is this thread. A number of reports involve Trump's many problems with the law. Trump Republicans are a no-show. They don't defend Trump. They don't support Trump.

Their support for their cult leader is based entirely on avoiding what Trump says and does.

The mystery is, why Trump? Why a man with inherited billions? Why an extreme narcissist who doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone except himself?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

ABC reports, "Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday he'd consider testifying before the House Jan. 6 committee if asked, in some of his most specific comments yet on the prospect.

"Appearing at a "Politics & Eggs" breakfast in Manchester, New Hampshire, where presidential hopefuls often speak since the state holds the nation's first primary, Pence was asked if he'd be "agreeable" if the committee were to call on him to testify.
"If there was an invitation to participate, I would consider it," Pence responded."

"But you've heard me mention the Constitution a few times this morning. In the Constitution there are three co-equal branches of government, and any invitation that would be directed to me I'd have to reflect on the unique role I served as vice president."

"Any formal invitation rendered to us, we'd give it due consideration. But my first obligation is to continue to uphold my oath, continue to uphold this framework of government enshrined in the Constitution, this created the greatest nation in the history of the world," he continued.

What a load of crap, but that is Pence. A typical politician, he talks but doesn't say a damn thing.

 

[The Duke]

According to FiveThirtyEight, which is a poll that averages several leading polls, our President's current approval number is 42%. That's not very good, and it is somewhat of a mystery.

CNN reports, "The United States is rapidly approaching a major jobs milestone that highlights the historically strong economic recovery from Covid-19.

The axiom is true. Presidents, unless they do something drastic, have very little control over the economy. Nonetheless, if the economy is good, they get the credit, as in the case of Trump. If there are serious problems with the economy, the President gets the blame, as in the case of Biden.

ABC reports, "Employers posted a record 11.5 million job openings in March, meaning the United States now has an unprecedented two job openings for every person who is unemployed.

"The latest data released Tuesday by the the Bureau of Labor Statistics further reveals an extraordinarily tight labor market that has emboldened millions of Americans to seek better paying jobs, while also contributing to the biggest inflation surge in four decades."

According to CNN, 66% of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy.

The AP reports, "President Joe Biden on Wednesday highlighted new figures showing the government’s red ink will grow less than expected this year and the national debt will shrink this quarter as he tried to counter criticism of his economic leadership amid growing dismay over inflation going into midterm elections that will decide control of Congress.

"Biden, embracing deficit reduction as a way to fight inflation, stressed that the dip in the national debt would be the first in six years, an achievement that eluded former President Donald Trump despite his promises to improve the federal balance sheet."

Stocks rallied on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point.

"The Dow ended the day up by more than 900 points, and the S&P 500 gained almost 3 percent," NPR.

When it comes to the economy, Americans are naive.

It's going to lead to world famine, and that very well may be the goal.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The Post reports, "The Justice Department on Monday asked a judge to keep sealed the sworn affidavit underpinning last week’s extraordinary FBI search of former president Donald Trump’s Florida residence, a document thought to hold key details about the government’s investigation into the potential mishandling of classified materials. The court filing was made in response to requests from multiple media outlets, including The Washington Post, seeking the affidavit’s public release.

Because multi-billion dollar news corporations are involved, the judge decided to play Solomon ... cut the affidavit in half in an attempt to please everyone.

That never works.

In any case, the Times explains, "A federal judge ordered the government on Thursday to propose redactions to the highly sensitive affidavit that was used to justify a search warrant executed by the F.B.I. last week at former President Donald J. Trump’s private home and club, saying he was inclined to unseal parts of it.

"Ruling from the bench, the judge, Bruce E. Reinhart, said it was “very important” that the public have as “much information” as it can about the historic search at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s Florida residence, noting that there were portions of the affidavit that “could be presumptively unsealed.”

Meaning large portions of the affidavit will remain unsealed to protect the accused (Trump), witnesses, and vital investigative procedures.

Meaning, Trump won't get his hands on the witness list or what the DOJ has on him.

Speaking of Trump, the Times reports, "Although Mr. Trump himself has called on social media for the affidavit to be released — echoing similar demands made by congressional allies like Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina — his lawyers were conspicuously absent from the legal proceeding surrounding the unsealing process. At any time, Mr. Trump could have filed papers asking Judge Reinhart to make the affidavit public, but he chose not to."

Looks like Trump didn't want all that evidence against him to go public after all. He finally wised up. No doubt his lawyers had something to do with his new brain.

"Judge Reinhart’s decision appeared to strike a middle course between the Justice Department, which had wanted to keep the affidavit entirely under wraps as its investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents continued, and a group of news organizations, which requested that it be released in full to the public," the Times.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Weisselberg is falling on his sword.

CNN reports, "Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in a 15-year-long tax fraud scheme, and as part of the deal he has agreed to testify against former President Donald Trump’s real estate company at trial.

"In court Thursday, Weisselberg said, “Yes, your honor” when asked if he was pleading guilty of his own choice.

"Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 felonies and admitted he failed to pay taxes on $1.7 million in income, including luxury perks, such as rent and utilities for a Manhattan apartment, leases for a pair of Mercedes-Benz cars and private school tuition for his grandchildren.

"The plea puts him at odds with the Trump Organization, where he worked for 40 years, and his testimony could damage the company, if it goes to trial on related tax charges as scheduled in October."

Will this ever end with Trump? He is the leading candidate in the Republican Party for President?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Because the former Republican President is dominating the news with his lies, fantasies, and several problems with the law, President Biden has a difficult time getting any media time.

A while back he had a great week with momentous bills sponsored by him being passed by Congress. In his spare time, he gave the order to hit the leader of Al Qaeda, but all that was in the past and Biden returns to being a no-frills President, very much unlike his colorful predecessor who couldn't get through the day without controversy or striking up a new conspiracy.

Our President quietly goes about doing his job. It is quite refreshing, and his low marks from Democrats and independents are a mystery. Perhaps they want a return to the chaos of the previous administration. Perhaps the Democrats and independents don't know what they want. Perhaps these Democrats want to yield control of Congress over to Republicans in November. That is, in fact, what they are doing.

We know their understanding of economic conditions is immature at best. President Biden inherited inflation problems caused by the pandemic, resulting supply problems, robust spending because of full employment, and exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Biden did not cause the inflation, and he has very few tools to combat it.

Indeed, the President has very little control over the economy. Proof of that is FDR, the New Deal, and the Great Depression which began a few months before he took office. The New Deal was a decade-long massive government program to combat the depression.

FDR's New deal did not succeed. World War Two ended the Great Depression, not the President's monumental solution.

The vast majority of Democrats and independents do not know any of this. So, they blame Biden for their shopping ills.

That is too bad. Joe Biden is a kind and gentle man who just wants to do what is best for the American people.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The unsealing could also impact the civil liberties of those whose actions are detailed in the underlying affidavit.

The judge wanted to appease the media moguls. It is doubtful any harm will be done.

CNN reports, "A US magistrate judge started the process of potentially releasing some information from the affidavit that the Justice Department used to obtain a search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence.

"Judge Bruce Reinhart said during a hearing at the West Palm Beach courthouse that he was planning to unseal portions of the affidavit, which is sought by various media outlets and other organizations.

"Reinhart set in motion on Thursday the possible public release of a heavily redacted version of the affidavit for the search at Mar-a-Lago. The judge plans to hear more from the Justice Department by next Thursday about how extensively investigators want to keep confidential the document that describes their investigative steps and methods leading to the need for the search.

"Prosecutors will have the opportunity to propose redactions and explain why each piece of information needs to be kept from the public eye, Reinhart said. Those proposals will be due noon ET on August 25.

"A document unsealed Thursday, which offered specifics about the crimes the Justice Department is investigating, including “willful retention of national defense information,” sharpens the focus on the former President as a possible subject of the criminal probe.

"But the specific language on “willful retention” could point to the role of the former President, who would have been authorized to possess national defense documents while in office but not once he decamped to his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida."

Little wonder as to why the DOJ wanted to keep witnesses and investigative methods under wraps. There is a time and a place for disclosure. The time is not now, and why the media is intent on helping Trump with the law is a mystery. For a story?

The time is in the future. The place is a court and a jury of Trump's peers.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The judge wanted to appease the media moguls. It is doubtful any harm will be done.

Politico reports, "The federal magistrate judge who authorized the warrant to search Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate emphasized Monday that he “carefully reviewed” the FBI’s sworn evidence before signing off and considers the facts contained in an accompanying affidavit to be “reliable.”

That said, the judge appears to be arguing with himself.

The Hill writes, "A federal magistrate judge reviewing whether to release the affidavit that pushed him to approve a warrant to search former President Trump’s home said Monday that while he believes public interest favors releasing the document, redactions could make it “meaningless.”

"While Reinhart previously suggested he would release a redacted version of the affidavit, he warned that approach could shift after reviewing DOJ’s proposed redactions."

“I cannot say at this point that partial redactions will be so extensive that they will result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the government,” he wrote.

The affidavit lays out a “roadmap” to its ongoing investigation, and gives “highly sensitive information about witnesses” along with “specific investigative techniques.”

DOJ has until noon Thursday to submit its proposal for redactions.

When the judge releases the redacted version of the affidavit is in serious question.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The judge wants it both ways, playing off the DOJ and the corporate news moguls. The result is gibberish.

“I cannot say at this point that partial redactions will be so extensive that they will result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the government.”

Then we have Donald and still another delaying tactic. He is a little late. The DOJ has had the documents from Donald's home for two whole weeks.

The court filing could -- and it is likely to -- backfire on Trump, but, then, he never was very bright. No doubt he had the final word on the filing.

The Post explains, "President Trump’s legal team on Monday asked a federal judge to appoint a special master to oversee review of classified documents and other materials the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago this month and to force the Justice Department to provide a more thorough explanation of why the search was necessary.

"The motion was the Trump legal team’s first court filing since the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago — Trump’s Florida home and private club — on Aug. 8.

"Trump and his lawyers argued in the filing that the court-approved search warrant was overly broad and accused the Justice Department of for years treating the former president unfairly.

"They asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart to order the FBI to return any information taken from Trump’s property that went beyond the scope of the search warrant. The filing said a special master could sift through the seized material and set aside any that could be shielded from government review because of legal privilege."

The FBI has already returned Trump's personal items like his passport. The DOJ is only interested in the classified documents Trump stole from the White House.

The DOJ is not new at this. The problem is, Trump has this habit of thinking everyone is as dimwitted as he is. There is little doubt the DOJ has already returned any items of a lawyer/client privilege nature. They don't need them, and they don't want them.

All Trump's lawyers want to do is delay the inevitable.