I tend to stay away from “breaking” news that every other political pundit on the planet is in the process of beating to death, but the latest revelation surrounding the FBI’s Monday raid on Donald Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach was too “good” to pass up — and boy, do questions abound.
As reported by John Solomon, founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of Just the News on Thursday, two months before the Mar-a-Lago raid, Trump “secretly received a grand jury subpoena for classified documents belonging to the National Archives, and voluntarily cooperated by turning over responsive evidence, surrendering security surveillance footage and allowing federal agents and a senior Justice Department lawyer to tour his private storage locker, according to a half dozen people familiar with the incident.”
The FBI on Monday raided that very storage locker. Does that strike you as odd? Me, too.
While the cooperation was mostly arranged by Trump’s lawyers, noted Solomon, the former president personally surprised the Justice Department’s National Security Division prosecutor and three FBI agents who arrived at Mar-a-Lago on June 3, “greeting them as they came to pick up a small number of documents compliant with the subpoena,” the sources told JTN.
Here’s more, via Just the News:
The subpoena requested any remaining documents Trump possessed with any classification markings, even if they involved photos of foreign leaders, correspondence, or mementos from his presidency.
Secret Service agents were also present and facilitated the visit, officials said.
Trump signaled his full cooperation, telling the agents and prosecutor, “Look, whatever you need let us know,” according to two eyewitnesses. The federal team was surprised by the president’s invitation and asked for an immediate favor: to see the 6-foot-by-10-foot storage locker where his clothes, shoes, documents and mementos from his presidency were stored at the compound.
Given Trump’s instruction, the president’s lawyers complied and allowed the search by the FBI before the entourage left cordially. Five days later, DOJ officials sent a letter to Trump’s lawyers asking them to secure the storage locker with more than the lock they had seen. The Secret Service installed a more robust security lock to comply.
The Trump Organization also received a request for surveillance video covering the storage locker and volunteered the footage to federal authorities, according to the sources, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, given the secrecy of the grand jury subpoena.
Again, more than a year and a half after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and aftermath, what changed between June 3 and Monday? Why the raid on at least one of the assumed critical areas that Trump had voluntarily allowed being searched, just two months earlier? What changed to not only make a second search necessary but to turn it into a yuuge news event, as well? I bet we can figure it out.
As we reported Thursday morning, FBI Director Christopher Wray finally responded to questions about the raid on Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago, deflecting like crazy and saying he’s “concerned” about “threats” being made to FBI agents after they ransacked the former president and first lady’s home.
As we also reported, Biden’s inept attorney general, Merrick Garland spoke briefly on Thursday afternoon, saying the Justice Department has asked a federal magistrate judge to unseal copies of the search warrant that triggered Monday’s unprecedented raid on Mar-a-Lago. Garland also confirmed that he had “personally approved” the decision to seek a warrant, reportedly for “classified documents” Trump may have kept in his residence at the resort. The AG spoke for roughly four minutes and took zero questions from reporters. Why not? Garland said he asked the judge to unseal copies of the search warrant that triggered the raid, yet he refused to take questions about the raid.
Again, odd? Hell, yeah. Why no questions, Mr. AG?
Was Garland afraid he’d mix up the “facts” or deviate from the official line? Enquiring minds want to know — including what else might have transpired or been discovered — or not — that led to a raid on Trump’s personal storage locker that he had already voluntarily helped agents search. Important questions that deserve legitimate answers.
Noted George Washington University Law professor Jonathan Turley had similar questions, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity, “The more we learn, the more confusing this gets.” As transcribed by JTN:
Did they relay this history to the magistrate? That, according to these sources, the president had cooperated. I mean, the idea that he was subject to a subpoena, complied with a subpoena, didn’t challenge it, voluntarily showed the storage room to the agents, followed their advice, secured it to meet their demands.
All of that is hardly a basis for saying now we need to send in 40 FBI agents on a raid. I mean, if the subpoena worked the first time, then presumably a second subpoena would work the second time if there were remaining documents.
Exactly. Why would Trump voluntarily cooperate — extensively so — a first time and not a second time? So many questions, so few logical answers.
Why you don’t suppose this whole thing is politically motivated, do you? Out of fear of a likely Democrat beatdown in the November midterms, let alone the 2024 presidential election? [snark, snark, and snark.]
As the old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. In the case of Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and Christopher Wray, where there’s stink — there’s likely rot. Stay tuned.
