Category: Justice Department

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Crime Donald Trump Espionage Justice Department

Unsealed Filing Reveals A ‘Significant Number Of Witnesses’ Reported Trump To DOJ

Donald Trump is going to have trouble sleeping tonight, especially since the Justice Department has just made it clear that there are numerous people at Mar-a-Lago who turned him over to the DOJ for hoarding classified documents.

The heavily redacted affidavit used to justify a search warrant of Trump’s Palm Beach resort reveals that prosecutors are worried witnesses could face threats or other harm in order to obstruct the ongoing investigation.

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance focused in on the mention of multiple witnesses during an appearance on MSNBC:

“One very interesting tidbit we get from the legal memo that DOJ submitted to unseal the redacted version of the affidavit is what I think is the first effort to quantify the number of cooperating witnesses that DOJ had when they obtained this search warrant. They’re talking about the need to protect their witnesses from any sort of potential harm, and they say that there are a significant number of civilian witnesses. So we don’t know — is that five? Is that 10?”

Vance continued:

“But I think it’s important to realize here that DOJ was not just relying on one or two witnesses. Likely this is, as they say, a significant number of civilian witnesses as well as people in law enforcement who need to be protected as this investigation moves forward, and that puts into context what we’re looking at here.”

Additionally, Vance noted the unprecedented nature of what the country currently finds itself in the middle of:

“We’re talking about a former president of the United States who’s clearly taken with him when he left office materials, whether they’re classified or not, that could do grave damage to our national security if they’re disclosed in an inappropriate fashion, and not only is that former president resistant to returning those documents, also DOJ has legitimate reasons to believe that there are risk to witnesses who are helping complete this investigation. That should be a sobering moment for us to realize we’re in this situation with former President Trump.”

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Crime Donald Trump Espionage Justice Department

DOJ Subpoenas Security Video From Mar-a-Lago – Suspects Trump May Still Have Classified Material

The Department of Justice has subpoenaed security video from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort because “officials are not certain whether they have recovered all the presidential records,” according to The New York Times.

Sources told the Times that Justice Department officials are trying to get additional footage of the August 8 raid at the ex-president’s Palm Beach golf resort, a clear signal that the investigation is expanding.

The Times also reports that over 300 sensitive documents were taken by Trump when he left the White House.

Documents seized by the FBI were marked “Top Secret,” “Secret” and “Confidential.”

The disgraced former president is suspected of having violated several sections of federal law, including the Espionage Act, which could result in Trump serving decades in prison if he is charged and found guilty.

On Monday, Trump and his attorneys filed a bizarre court document in which they argue that the former president did indeed engage in illegal behavior:

Specifically, the filing states that Trump was subpoenaed on May 11, 2022, and “On June 2, 2022, President Trump, through counsel, invited the FBI to come to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve responsive documents.”

Approximately a month later, Trump extended an invitation for the FBI to return and verify what he had in his possession. That raises the question of why still had documents after June 2. That led to the search warrant being issued because the ex-president was still in violation of the law.

The court filing also has a direct admission from Trump that he did indeed take classified government documents, which is expressly forbidden and illegal under both the Espionage Act and the Presidential Records Act.

Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe had this to say about Trump’s amateurish court filing:

“It doesn’t really give any good reasons for thinking this warrant was illegal. In fact, one of the amazing things that I agree with is a statement on page 13 that President Trump, he still calls himself President Trump, should not be treated differently from any other citizen. Finally, he gets that right. Any other citizen who took top-secret material to not just a private home but a resort, like Mar-a-Lago, which has been penetrated by Chinese spies and perhaps by others, would be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. So, he is sort of asking Merrick Garland to prosecute him. Thank you, Mr. Trump, I won’t call him President Trump.”

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Crime Donald Trump Espionage Justice Department

Trump’s Latest Court Filing ‘Sort Of Asks For Garland To Prosecute Him’: Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe

Earlier today, attorneys for disgraced former president Donald Trump filed a lawsuit asking a judge to appoint a special master who would review the documents seized from the failed ex-president’s Mar-a-Lago golf resort.

CNBC reports on the suit:

Trump’s lawsuit, which suggests the Aug. 8 FBI raid was politically motivated, also asks that the Department of Justice be blocked from “further review of seized materials” from his Mar-a-Lago residence until the so-called special master is appointed to review the documents.

Special masters are appointed in criminal cases when there is a concern that some material seized by authorities should not be viewed by investigators because it is protected by attorney-client privilege or other factors that weigh against it being used in a prosecution.

But according to Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe, the lawsuit is “very strange” and likely to make it more certain that Attorney General Merrick Garland prosecutes Trump, telling MSNBC host Joy Reid:

“It’s very strange. For one thing, it’s filed not on behalf of private citizen Trump but filed on behalf of President Donald J. Trump. You know, it’s never been clear that he distinguishes between himself as a private citizen and himself as president. That may help explain just psychologically why he feels he’s entitled to all these papers. He says they’re his. That’s one thing that’s really strange. Another thing that’s quite strange, you mentioned yourself just a minute ago: he waited a couple of weeks. So, it’s sort of too late to ask for some new special master.”

Tribe also noted that Trump attacks the Justice Department for taking three days to obtain and execute the search warrant:

“Then, finally, it’s strange, not so much what it says but what it doesn’t say,” he continued. “It doesn’t really give any good reasons for thinking this warrant was illegal. In fact, one of the amazing things that I agree with is a statement on page 13 that President Trump, he still calls himself President Trump, should not be treated differently from any other citizen. Finally, he gets that right. Any other citizen who took top-secret material to not just a private home but a resort, like Mar-a-Lago, which has been penetrated by Chinese spies and perhaps by others, would be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. So, he is sort of asking Merrick Garland to prosecute him. Thank you, Mr. Trump, I won’t call him President Trump.

“If he’s being treated not as president but as a citizen, he’s got to be indicted. Otherwise, the rule of law just doesn’t mean anything.”

 

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Crime Donald Trump Justice Department WTF?!

After Calling FBI Agents ‘Sleazy,’ Trump Now Claims He Always ‘Had Their Backs’

When FBI agents served a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort on Aug. 8, disgraced, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump said some incredibly nasty things about the agency and agents who had participated in the search.

Specifically, HuffPost notes, Trump used just about every pejorative imaginable to attack FBI:

Trump attacked the FBI as seditious, abusive, criminal and “sleazy” after agents hauled out about 20 boxes of White House material from his Florida home, including 11 sets of classified information. Those records should have been turned over to the National Archives when Trump’s term ended, according to the Presidential Records Act.

In days that followed the search, Trump baselessly called it a “sneak attack” and a “raid,” a “siege,” and “corrupt.” He also claimed FBI agents “planted” evidence in his home.

Now, however, as the possibility of being charged with violating the Espionage Act becomes more of a reality, Trump has changed his tune and is praising the FBI:

Now, Trump claims agents are “furious at FBI leadership” for the “political weaponization against a president (me).”

They “don’t like being ’used’ by people they do not agree with, or respect,” he wrote in the post. He went on to add that agents are not “thrilled with the leadership” of the Department of Justice.

Why did Trump make such a dramatic shift? That’s unclear, but it may have something to do with him wanting to appear as supportive of law enforcement even though he clearly thinks he’s above the law and shouldn’t be subjected to a search, even if he has allegedly committed some of the most serious crimes that any president can be suspected of.

Some have suggested that Trump’s verbal attacks on federal agents have led to an uptick in threats against them, and the FBI Agents Association issued a statement which reads:

“FBI Special Agents are dedicated members of the law enforcement community who put their lives on the line every day to protect the public from criminals and terrorists. Special Agents and their families should never be threatened with violence, including for doing their jobs. The threats made recently contribute to an atmosphere where some have, or will, accept violence against law enforcement as appropriate. It is not. This is not a partisan or political issue. It is a matter of public safety and basic decency. Calls for violence against law enforcement are unacceptable, and should be condemned by all leaders.” 

It remains to be seen if Trump will still be behind the FBI if and when they show up to arrest him.

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Crime Donald Trump Espionage Justice Department

Michael Cohen Warns: Trump Will Blackmail DOJ By Threatening To Give Top-Secret Information To Foreign Countries

Michael Cohen, who served as Donald Trump’s personal attorney for over a decade, says he believes his former client may attempt to share top-secret information with foreign countries if the Justice Department indicts him for violations of the Espionage Act.

Appearing on MSNBC Sunday, Cohen was asked by host Michael Steele:

“Based on everything you know about him, why do you think he wanted to keep those top secret documents at Mar-a-Lago.”

Cohen responded:

“He’s gonna use it as a get out of jail free card. It’s a way to extort America turn around to say if you put me in jail, if you go after me — he’ll even say his children — I will have my loyal supporters who you do not know who has copies of information that may have been, and again this is my conjecture, that I would take those documents, I will release them to Iran, to China, to North Korea, to Russia.

“You want to take me down, I’ll take the whole country down.”

Cohen added:

“Remember, and I’ve said this with you 1000 times, Mike, Donald Trump doesn’t care about this country,” he continued. “He doesn’t care about anyone or anything other than himself.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mGz5ZoKjQ0&feature=emb_logo

Based on Trump’s past actions and behavior, Cohen is probably correct. But if the failed, one-term president does indeed give away classified information to our adversaries, he needs to keep in mind that he could wind up like Ethel and Julius Rosenberg: On federal death row, waiting to be executed, and so can anyone who assists him.