DOJ/FBI Affidavit Unsealed

[Blkfyre]

https://apple.news/AXxnTc_LqQbWZmgUOWcAz8w

Authorities discovered 184 documents bearing classified information in boxes that Donald Trump returned to national archives representatives in January of this year, prompting investigators to seek a search warrant of the former president's Florida estate to uncover more top-secret records, according to an extraordinary FBI affidavit that was unsealed on Friday.
"There is probable cause to believe that additional documents that contain classified [national defense information] or that are Presidential records subject to record retention requirements currently remain at the premises," an FBI agent wrote in the Aug. 5 affidavit. "There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found at the premises."

When the FBI reviewed these boxes in May, they identified 184 classified documents in 14 of the 15 boxes, each marked with varying levels of classification.
Some 67 of the documents were marked as confidential, 92 were marked as secret, and 25 were marked as top secret. These three levels of classification refer to documents that could reasonably result in damage to US national security, with the latter two classifications denoting documents that could cause "serious" and "exceptionally grave" damage.

Sen. Mark R. Warner, the Virginia Democrat who serves as chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement, "It appears, based on the affidavit unsealed this morning, that among the improperly handled documents at Mar-a-Lago were some of our most sensitive intelligence – which is one reason the Senate Intelligence Committee has requested, on a bipartisan basis, a damage assessment of any national security threat posed by the mishandling of this information.
"The Department of Justice investigation must be allowed to proceed without interference," Warner said.
Asked by reporters at the White House on Friday whether he believed national security was threatened by Trump keeping the documents at Mar-a-Lago, President Joe Biden responded, "We'll let the Justice Department determine that."

[HighStepper]

"Information from a broad range of civilian witness."  This means the witnesses were not law enforcement and that there were many witnesses.

Next is to see Trump filing more crazy motions in court, and mouthing off lunacy on social media.

The affidavit shows that this is not just a retrieval action, but also a criminal investigation. Trump knew what he had and lied about having the documents that were seized.

Since before May 2021, the National Archives were trying to retrieve documents stolen by Trump. The extreme deference, treating him with kid gloves, was only because he was a former President.

[HighStepper]

Angry letter from a librarian talking point.
Steven Miller on the Jessie Watters show, said the affidavit showed it was angry unfulfilled partisan bureaucrats at the National Archives decided they would sic the FBI at political whim on Trump for purely political reasons. The idea of the National Achieves has authority to tell a president what records a president can and cannot keep is next level insane.  It is like the National Weather Service raiding Mar A Lago because they think Trump is using the water sprinklers too much. This is like living in a banana republic. Bureaucrats in the National Archives sent men with guns to Trump's home because they wanted to.

Watters and Miller purposely avoided mentioning the Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. ß2201-2209, that governs the official records of Presidents and Vice Presidents. Establishes public ownership of ALL Presidential records. No mention of the process needed to take action to seize the stolen records.

No wonder we have such division in America today. Right Wing shock jocks spouting misinformation and disinformation.

EDIT:
Text message from viewer: Never cross the International Librarian Cabal!
Jessie Watters: These people are more powerful than the director of the FBI

[Bande]

This shall be interesting since The president is the one that classifies these documents and no one else.

Another interesting thing is they are trying to determine how Trump may have broke the law with these documents.
I would think they would have all that determined prior to Raid and media smear campaign.
I forecast nothing will be found and the F.B.I. / D.O.J. will be eating CROW once again.
All media production to smear a party prior to mid terms...

[bats]

This shall be interesting since The president is the one that classifies these documents and no one else.
Another interesting thing is they are trying to determine how Trump may have broke the law with these documents.
I would think they would have all that determined prior to Raid and media smear campaign.
I forecast nothing will be found and the F.B.I. / D.O.J. will be eating CROW once again.
All media production to smear a party prior to mid terms...

First, he lost all his presidential powers as of 12:01 pm on January 20, 2021. After that time, he had zero classification authority.

Second, we already know that Trump returned 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives, which found that many of the documents were highly classified. That's when the Archives contacted DOJ.

What we don't yet know is why Trump held onto these documents for so long. When Trump announced the search he claimed he was being treated unfairly, and that if the government had wanted the documents all they had to do was ask.

But they'd been asking him for months, and many documents remained in his possession. That's the reason they took the intrusive step of getting a search warrant. Trump brought this on himself.

We also know that the search of MAL yielded still more classified documents, some of which related to the most sensitive secrets the United States holds.

Again, why was he holding onto them? Was he just being his usual idiot self, or was there something more nefarious going on? That's what we're going to find out eventually.

[HighStepper]

This shall be interesting since The president is the one that classifies these documents and no one else.

I understand how you might think that, however, it is not as simple as that. There is a course on classification should you be interested in putting in the time.Link

Original Classification Authority - An individual authorized in writing, either by the President, the Vice-President, or by agency heads or other officials designated by the President, to originally classify information in the first instance.

Think it through. The CIA or an intelligence agency gets information from a foreign person that is an intelligence asset about a threat to the US. That info would be classified. The President could declassify that report THROUGH A PROCESS that would let other agencies know that the document is no longer classified. Presidents while in office have the power to declassify information. As Bats pointed out, that authority lapses as soon as they leave office.

Another interesting thing is they are trying to determine how Trump may have broke the law with these documents.
I would think they would have all that determined prior to Raid and media smear campaign.

No the determination task that is at hand is how much potential damage to security may have occurred by Trump's mishandling of the documents.  Has our nation been compromised?

Everyone now knows that FBI took around 20 boxes of documents from Mar-a-largo including 11 sets of classified records. Some of the documents were marked as TS/SCI or top secret/sensitive compartmented information.

Ask yourself why did Trump have these documents in his home? What was he going to do with them?

As we have discussed before, and as Bats above, even IF there were no classified documents (and there were) Trump still violated the Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. ß2201-2209. Trump and his supporters MISTAKENLY believe presidential papers belong to the president. They DO NOT. They belong to the American people.

The FBI did their job following legal process. Trump brought this on himself by taking documents he had no right to have. Trump refused to give them back when asked nicely to do so. Then a subpoena was issued to get the documents. He gave some of them back, keeping some and LIED about giving them all back. see also

So what was the government supposed to do? Bow down to Trump, as he tells those that are suppose to have the documents to go fuck themselves? He may be a "god" to some, but he is not a god to most.

It should be noted that he has not been indicted yet.

[Danno]

 If the documents were planted by the FBI, why do you want them back? If the documents were planted by the FBI, how where you able to declassify them? Should of returned them all the first time and this wouldn't be an issue.
 Guess we now know why the Saudi's gave $2 billion to Jared and $1.5 billion to Steve Mnuchin. Now they know all the secrets, including names of our spies. FUCKED UP

This shall be interesting since The president is the one that classifies these documents and no one else.

Another interesting thing is they are trying to determine how Trump may have broke the law with these documents.
I would think they would have all that determined prior to Raid and media smear campaign.
I forecast nothing will be found and the F.B.I. / D.O.J. will be eating CROW once again.
All media production to smear a party prior to mid terms...

[Danno]

Trump has said he unilaterally declassified the documents using his presidential authority. Other Trump officials have publicly said the former president had a standing order that any documents taken from the Oval Office to the residence were immediately declassified.

However, Bolton told the Times he had never been told of such an order during his time in the White House or afterward.

"I was never briefed on any such order, procedure, policy when I came in," Bolton said.


"If he were to say something like that, you would have to memorialize that, so that people would know it existed," Bolton added.

[Hobby]

Trump sure unzipped his fly on this one...

[Hobby]

This shall be interesting since The president is the one that classifies these documents and no one else.

Another interesting thing is they are trying to determine how Trump may have broke the law with these documents.
I would think they would have all that determined prior to Raid and media smear campaign.
I forecast nothing will be found and the F.B.I. / D.O.J. will be eating CROW once again.
All media production to smear a party prior to mid terms...

How do you know Trump classified these documents? Could have been classified years earlier. There is a procedure to classify and declassify it is not like Trump just says this is classified or declass with the wave of his hand... records are kept, Then there is the procedure to destroy Top Secret documents. let Trump produces the records that back his claim... he can't because it did not happen... How dumb does he think we are?

[Blkfyre]

https://www.businessinsider.com/lindsey-graham-trump-prosecution-for-classified-info-will-cause-riots-2022-8

"Most Republicans including me, believe when it comes to Trump, there is no law. It's all about getting him," Graham said. "And I'll say this, if there is a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle, there will be riots in the streets."

"If they tried to prosecute President Trump for mishandling classified information after Hillary Clinton set up a server in her basement there literally will be riots in the street," he said. "I worry about the country."


So when BLM riot in the streets over police killing people, that's a bad thing and they should all be locked up, but criminal charges against Trump IS a reason to riot in the street?

The hypocrisy of the Republican party never ceases...

[HighStepper]

This is not the totality of the Republican Party. Unfortunately there are way too many that fit the category. Only about 30% of Republicans blame Trump for the January 6th riot on the Capitol. Also see MAGA Maniacs Incite Violence

Lindsey Graham is engaging in mob racketeer rhetoric. "This is a very nice restaurant you have, it would be a shame if something bad was ever to happen it."