About The Redacted MAL Raid Affidavit
I’ve pasted in some Twitter comments by two of my go-to legal guys, SWC and Jonathan Turley. I think SWC’s bottom line is exactly what was to be expected: From a legal standpoint the unredacted portions of the affidavit provide little meaningful information. Beyond that, however SWC makes a number of important points regarding classification and declassification, including that 1) classification markings are not dispositive as to whether the docs are still classified, and 2) there is evidence that Trump regarded the docs as declassified—and that’s all that really matters.
For his part, Turley points out that the affidavit confirms that the Trump’s team was in communication with government officials about the docs and wasn’t wholly uncooperative. That means there were—at a minumum—discussions of differences going on. That drastically undercuts any rationale for a search warrant. The affidavit further confirms that Trump told the FBI that the docs had been declassified. That, too, should have ended any consideration of a search warrant.
This was not about presidents and the documents from their administrations. It was solely about Donald J. Trump. Which suggests almost conclusively that the real purpose was to grab embarrassing or incriminating docs that the Zhou Regime doesn’t want made public.
Jonathan Turley
Having read the redacted affidavit, it leaves most questions unanswered. It also raises further doubt over the Court's acceptance that the DOJ found the Goldilocks point of getting this "just right." The DOJ released what was largely already leaked or known.
...When the court called for the release of the affidavit, he indicated that he could push back on the DOJ redactions but did not do so...
...Yet, the affidavit confirms a couple points that appeared in leaks. The affidavit does not establish that the Trump people were wholly uncooperative or non-communicative while noting that they were asked to turn over material and did not do so.
...It is confirmed that the FBI told the Court that Trump was claiming to have declassified the documents. However, there is little else on those communications, particularly after June 9th.
If you feel like you just can't get enough reading about this disgraceful episode, here's a good article:
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2022/08/26/trump-affidavit-points-to-absolutely-insane-justification-for-the-fbi-raid-n618264
For me, this simply confirms that--reading between the lines--this was a setup job from the get go. It was never legitimately about presidential records. It was always about Trump, and Trump alone. And about CYA for the FBI especially.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/08/26/three-minutes-of-pure-sunlight-the-truth-and-the-constitution-are-president-trumps-weapons/
Sundance is right--homerun Mike Davis. The Fox anchorette--Sandra Smith?--asks all the wrong questions. Someone didn't prepare her. Davis is absolutely right--Garland should have asked for an OLC opinion, just like Bluto DID ask for an OLC on obstruction. The fact that he didn't while he confesses to having deliberated for weeks tells you everything you need to know.