Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Edge-]

I know the big thing is, how would they know he shared it?

Monitoring foreign chatter and picking up indications that countries got information that they were very much not supposed to, and then finding out that said information was part of what Trump brought with him down to FL. Picking up on external communications similar to the Trump Tower stuff from the campaign days and investigating further. There are plenty of options.

So it makes me wonder if some of the intelligence agencies have given him trap information to see if other intelligence agencies around the world began acting on that trap information.

That's...absolutely ludicrous and bordering on the line of a conspiracy theory, dude.

Maybe they even went as far as to go undercover and attempt to buy the documents.

Again, unlikely, though it's doing wonders being in-line with the "THIS WAS A DEEP STATE SETUP!" type arguments we're seeing all over the place.

[fwc577]

Monitoring foreign chatter and picking up indications that countries got information that they were very much not supposed to, and then finding out that said information was part of what Trump brought with him down to FL. Picking up on external communications similar to the Trump Tower stuff from the campaign days and investigating further. There are plenty of options.



That's...absolutely ludicrous and bordering on the line of a conspiracy theory, dude.



Again, unlikely, though it's doing wonders being in-line with the "THIS WAS A DEEP STATE SETUP!" type arguments we're seeing all over the place.

I wouldn't go as far to say as it is conspiracy theory stuff. Intelligence community has been worried about Trump since day one. He's publicly leaked shit under the guise of ignorance already. Maybe there was real fears he might attempt to abscond with classified information and sell it to the highest bidder and so actions were taken to ensure that they would not only know for sure but be able to source it back to the Trump family.

[Breccia]

simply put and is a slap on the wrist then yes this looks bad for FBI, DOJ and I guess Biden.

Respectfully disagree.

For one, almost every carbon-based life form in the country has already decided that this was too long coming, or the worst thing since the Holocaust they deny.

For two, Biden's been hands-off this whole thing the entire time. Anyone who was going to blame Biden can see "for one" above, because they're already past logic.

And for three, as much as deplorables keep shrilling "this has never happened before!" that's kind of the point. We've never had a White House Resident commit such a wide spectrum of crimes in broad daylight. And this was just for the classified intel he wanted to regift to Putin, not the treason he led.

This isn't a slap on the wrist. This is a warning shot. Georgia and NYState are already saying "well, if the local FBI branch can do this, surely we as entire states can" which by the way completely neuters DeSantis' own shrilling. But it should also be a giant red flashing sign that says "cooperate with legal authorities or the next one will hurt".

Oh, and as people here keep saying, if they find the stuff Trump illegally stole, not only are the FBI immediately proven in the right, Trump could go to jail.

[Edge-]

Intelligence community has been worried about Trump since day one.

I mean sure, and it's a completely valid, well founded worry on their part. That doesn't mean they're gonna use him as bait with "fake" classified information, in fact I'm pretty sure that's actually illegal.

He's publicly leaked shit under the guise of ignorance already.

I mean, he had the authority to declassify anything he wanted. So him tweeting out detailed satellite images that give our adversaries and idea of just how high the resolution on our top secret spy satellites that we don't even acknowledge publicly is like...yeah, a very good reason for the intelligence community to be worried about him continuing to do so.

Maybe there was real fears he might attempt to abscond with classified information and sell it to the highest bidder and so actions were taken to ensure that they would not only know for sure but be able to source it back to the Trump family.

Again, that all sounds fairly illegal and like fantastical justifications for the existence of a "DEEP STATE".

[postman1782]

Remember when the Intercept was all about truth and transparency ...


Transparency that electorally helps the GOP: good
Transparency that electorally hurts the GOP: bad precedent

That moron doesn't know that you can't just declassify it, and keep it. He's a dumbass.

[Breccia]

That moron doesn't know that you can't just declassify it, and keep it. He's a dumbass.

Even if you could, Trump didn't. The mayor could remove a stop sign, but if he runs it first, he still gets a ticket.

[Levelfive]

I know the big thing is, how would they know he shared it? So it makes me wonder if some of the intelligence agencies have given him trap information to see if other intelligence agencies around the world began acting on that trap information. Like, maybe word filtered down about some accounts or locations that the government secretly held that suddenly were seized and after some determination, they realized the only way this information got into the hands of a rival government is through the documents that Trump stole.

Maybe they even went as far as to go undercover and attempt to buy the documents.

It's possible it's as simple as someone talking, though apparently in June one of the people who met with Trump is head of counterintelligence/export control. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/live-b...?entry=1428130

There's also this: "Breaking: The FBI has seized the cell phone of Republican Congressman Scott Perry a day after executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago." which someone else pointed out is the same guy who met with Mark Meadows, after which Meadows reportedly burned papers from the meeting, so maybe Meadows, after hearing them laugh in the press that they were going to leave him twisting in the wind, decided it was time to cooperate. It's all wild speculation at this point, but I agree it would have been such a terrible move to go after him for "merely" stealing classified documents that I think there's probably more to it. Also pretty wild that there's zero leaking and no one really knows anything.

[Blur4stuff]

As crazy as the past several years have been, I get the impression the rest of this year is going to be even bigger in the history books.

[Edge-]

https://thehill.com/regulation/35945...ttorneys-says/

“Specifically, the Campaign has unequivocally sworn in the enclosed declaration that it ‘shall not ever enforce or attempt to enforce any confidentiality or non-disparagement provisions contained in any written agreements signed by any employees, independent contractors, or volunteers who worked for the Campaign on the 2016 Presidential Election,’” lawyers for the campaign told a federal judge in New York in a letter dated Tuesday.

Huh...wonder why they're doing this and what the results will be?

[Breccia]

wonder why they're doing this and what the results will be?

1) They probably couldn't.
2) Everyone's writing a book already. Some others might testify.

[Kaleredar]

1) They probably couldn't.
2) Everyone's writing a book already. Some others might testify.

Are they just realizing that these are probably actually unenforceable (an NDA can't cover something that's illegal) and they're preparing to start throwing people under the bus and not wanting said people to say "But but but it was under NDA! Take it up with Trump's lawyers instead!"

[Breccia]

Are they just realizing that these are probably actually unenforceable

No. They're just now admitting it. They always knew.

[postman1782]

Even if you could, Trump didn't. The mayor could remove a stop sign, but if he runs it first, he still gets a ticket.

Yep, people are claiming on tiktok that Trump could declassify anything he wanted to. And I just simply responded, that if he did, there would have to be a legit order to do so, that still doesn't mean he can just keep it in his fucking house.

[Edge-]

Man, the Republican buzzword for the day seems to be "stasi".

[postman1782]

Man, the Republican buzzword for the day seems to be "stasi".

Yep, I have seen them comparing the FBI to Brownshirts and other Nazi foot soldiers. Yet, the judge is a Trump appointee, his name is Bruce Reinhart. He was appointed to the Southern District of Florida by Trump in 2018. But what is REALLY FUNNY? Is that they are trying to claim that he is linked to Jeffrey Epstein, like Trump isn't LOL.


Literally on the Murdoch owned New York Post: https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/judge-...ffrey-epstein/

[Edge-]

https://newrepublic.com/article/1673...-defund-police

Will "DEFUND THE POLICE" be a losing campaign message for Republicans in this coming election like it apparently was for Democrats? We'll find out!

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/0...awyer-00050730

Seems like some updates -

Federal agents removed about a dozen boxes of materials from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and issued a warrant indicating the search pertained to possible violations surrounding classified information and the Presidential Records Act, a Trump lawyer confirmed to POLITICO on Tuesday.

News of the specifics of the search were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which wrote that agents walked away with roughly 10 boxes of material after the Monday search.

Alright, mostly known but now "officially" confirmed.

Trump lawyer Christina Bobb fleshed out other details surrounding the case. She said that Florida magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart signed off on the warrant that allowed FBI agents to search the Trump residence in Florida. Agents searched multiple areas of the property, Bobb told POLITICO, but she could not verify where the materials were confiscated from. Lindsey Halligan, another Trump attorney, also confirmed to POLITICO she was present at Mar-a-Lago for the search.

That's nice that Trump's lawyer was present for this, then they can't complain that it was done in secret and without anyone from "Team Trump" present.

Trump is likely best positioned to provide the details his allies are asking for. He has access to not only the items federal agents were looking for on Monday, but also to what was taken from his property. His lawyers likely have a copy of the search warrant, though they won’t have access to the affidavit or other documents that are typically kept confidential until the case is resolved. Plus, Trump could speak to the nature of the potentially classified material, and whether he made an effort to declassify these items before leaving the White House.

So...the only person who can shed light on this for now is...Trump, who is not exactly the best source. lol

[Breccia]

That's nice that Trump's lawyer was present for this, then they can't complain that it was done in secret and without anyone from "Team Trump" present.

Wasn't Eric there?

[Edge-]

Wasn't Eric there?

Eric, or ERIC? And which ERIC?

[Breccia]

There's a bunch of updates, big surprise I know.

1) The DoJ has officially said this wasn't done on their direction.

Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including whether Garland had personally authorized it. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the West Wing first learned of the search from public media reports and the White House had not been briefed in the run-up or aftermath.

“The Justice Department conducts investigations independently and we leave any law enforcement matters to them,” she said. “We are not involved.”

Now:

The Justice Department has been investigating the potential mishandling of classified information since the National Archives and Records Administration said it had received from Mar-a-Lago 15 boxes of White House records, including documents containing classified information, earlier this year. The National Archives said Trump should have turned over that material upon leaving office, and it asked the Justice Department to investigate.

Christina Bobb, a lawyer for Trump, said in an interview that aired on Real America’s Voice on Tuesday that investigators said they were “looking for classified information that they think should not have been removed from the White House, as well as presidential records.”

Once again, you can't just walk off with classified documents or WH records. Trump declassifying them doesn't change that the National Archives still keeps them.

2) The SS was involved.

The FBI reached out to the Secret Service shortly before serving a warrant, a third person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Secret Service agents contacted the Justice Department and were able to validate the warrant before facilitating access to the estate, the person said.

That looks right to me.

3) We know Trump left with 15 boxes, and the National Archives surely has a list of things they know Trump took he wasn't allowed to. However, agents executing the warrant were looking for anything else Trump might have taken, that we don't know about. This goes into some other discussions we've had on the topic.

4) Again, the Party of Trump trying to depict all this as Nazi fascism really need to look back at their post history since Sept 2015. Anyone who cheered at Trump wanting to investigate Clinton, which I once again decree all Trump supporters have unless they can prove otherwise by virtue of being Trump supporters, must accept the FBI raid as the right thing to do, and also applaud it. Interesting of course that I haven't had to enforce that yet. Our resident Trump supporters seem to be in lurk mode, possibly knowing full well they didn't just back a lying loser, but possibly a criminal.

[Edge-]

I imagine they'd have to pre-clear it with the USSS detail attached to Trump (or former president). That would avoid uh...some awkward situations.

- - - Updated - - -

https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/...22256499757060

According to reports, and until Joe Biden denies it, a President just raided a former President - his political opponent.

Let that sink in. There are only three branches of government. The FBI is works for the current President.

Thomas Massie is losing his mind, and his whole feed is just insane right now. But this is relevant and there are some points...

1. Joe Biden doesn't need to deny it specifically, actually, he's never threatened to weaponize the FBI or DoJ. But all the same, the White House confirmed they weren't even aware of this.

2. Trump is not his "political opponent". Neither he nor Biden have officially announced/begun their 2024 campaigns.

3. The FBI does not work for the President. They work for the Department of Justice, which works for the American people. The President nominates the heads of the FBI and DoJ respectively, who are confirmed by the US Senate.

It's incredibly to me that many elected officials honestly seem to not even have a basic grasp on how our government works. Which I guess isn't surprising in the slightest.