DOJ Scrambles to Find Non-Existent Evidence of 'Intent'



Under pressure from President Biden to find a way to prevent Donald Trump from becoming America’s 47th President of the United States, Attorney General Merrick Garland unleashed an army of FBI agents to scour Mar-a-Lago in search of something, anything that might fill in the enormous gap in DOJ’s case against the former president: The glaring absence of evidence of specific intent needed to bring any charge against former President Trump.


While DOJ can snow a grand jury into believing lame evidence credible and succeed in indicting just about anyone (not difficult when the prosecution runs the show unopposed), it cannot be sure of a conviction from a court without evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of the specific intent necessary to prove its case. That evidence rarely exists and proof of it is, indeed, a very tall order. Short of planting evidence or making things up (in other words committing the kind of government corruption and fraud as occurred in the deceitful manipulation of evidence by DOJ and FBI in support of the Russia hoax or, more recently, in the FBI fabricated Whitmer kidnapping plot), DOJ is destined to hit a very high, virtually impenetrable burden of proof that will dash its partisan dreams to pieces.

From the warrant released by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhardt on August 12, we see in attachment B the legal predicate offered by Justice for the search: 18 USC §§ 793, 1519, and 2071. For want of evidence, each statutory section fails in Trump’s case when evaluated fairly, and never should have been accepted as adequate justification under the Fourth Amendment for the unprecedented issuance of the warrant against a former President on the eve of his announcement of a second candidacy for that office. That want of evidence, of course, did not stop DOJ because the entire unprecedented pursuit is one driven by political motivations, not objectivity. DOJ is not investigating a crime for which it has probable cause; it is trying to discover fragments of proof that can be woven into a tale of criminality to, at a minimum, place a cloud over candidate Trump’s head or, in their ideal scenario, justify preventing him from becoming the 47th President of the United States.

Section 793 is a section of the Espionage Act which prohibits removal and misuse of defense information when done by one “with intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation.” DOJ scoured Mar-a-Lago through use of an ex parte warrant in a desperate attempt to find some scrap of evidence to shore up an otherwise inadequate case under this section. This now explains why they even went to the extreme of going through Melania’s dresses and the Trump bedroom. The aim was to find something, anything to support an “intent or reason to believe that . . . information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation.” DOJ was engaged in a massive KGB-style fishing expedition, angling to find fragments that could be woven together through a mighty stretch to make out an Espionage case against former President Trump (it's Russia, Russia, Russia all over again).

They are struggling at this very moment to come up with some kind of plausible story line suggestive of the needed criminal intent, a story line of fiction detached from reality. Make out Trump to be a spy for a foreign power or to be endeavoring to harm the United States and you will obtain an indictment, but winning a trial on the merits, where all relevant countervailing evidence (not just the DOJ story line) is before a judge and jury, and conviction appears an illusory goal. Obtaining a conviction for a specific intent crime is an extremely difficult mountain to climb in the absence of a confession or direct and irrefutable testimony and a case, to quote the discredited former FBI Director James Comey, no reasonable prosecutor would bring.

Section 1519 likewise requires DOJ to prove specific intent. It must show from direct evidence or testimony that Donald Trump intentionally endeavored to impede or obstruct an investigation by covering up or destroying records. The section reads: “Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or . . . in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.” Proving a violation of this section is all but impossible in the absence of direct evidence or a confession of specific intent. Who but a far-left lunatic thinks a conviction under this section likely against the former President?

Section 2071 does not even apply to the President of the United States. This section applies to documents that are “filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States.” The documents at issue were not ones filed or deposited with the Office of the President under the plain meaning of the section. They were documents reviewed and used by the President in the development of executive decision-making under his Article II authority. But even if we omit that bar to prosecution, and the legislative history which makes it plain that the section was not intended to apply to the President, we have again the extraordinary burden of proving specific intent. The section requires proof that Trump “willfully” concealed, removed, mutilated, obliterated, or destroyed, or attempted to destroy a protected document. Despite its facial inapplicability, section 2071 is the one DOJ is determined to apply to the President, however, because the section includes within it the political end-game: Violation carries with it not only the potential for imprisonment for up to three years but also disqualification “from holding any office under the United States.”

In the end, remember DOJ never made Hillary Clinton account for the overwhelming proof of her violation of the Espionage Act through her willful transfer of classified emails from the state department to her private server, her destruction of mass quantities of that evidence during the course of the FBI investigation (bleach bit software and hammers), and her overt obstruction of FBI’s investigation into that evidence. Compared to the mountain of evidence DOJ had on Hillary and did nothing, DOJ has nothing at all on Trump. Comey announced to a shocked legal world in flagrant disregard of the proof that would undo Clinton that “although there is evidence of potential violations regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.” And then there is oh so much evidence of criminality by Hunter Biden and of violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by President Biden (indeed direct evidence of complicity with foreign powers to the personal financial advantage of the Biden family through a multi-year, multi-million-dollar influence peddling scheme with America’s greatest enemies), but DOJ does nothing; indeed appears to have buried the evidence (where is the Hunter lap top FBI seized?).

American justice is not whatever those in power proclaim it to be in service of one political party. That form of justice can be had in any of a number of tyrannical states worldwide, Putin’s, Xi Jinping’s, Jong-un’s, Khamenei’s, Diaz-Canel’s, or Maduro’s, but it is the opposite of equal justice under law at the root of American jurisprudence, where an objective rule of law applies to all. While Attorney General Merrick Garland gives lip service to equal justice, he epitomizes through his actions the politicization of justice, zealously going after party opponents for whom evidence is lacking while taking no action whatsoever against Democrats for whom evidence of criminality is manifest. Impeachment of Garland is not an option if we are to restore the rule of law and blind justice; it is a necessity.

 

Shooter gives not a duck fart about intent.
Shooter knows the law cares, but IF Trump took documents he knew to be secret, or classified, or whatever, then he needs to be held to the same standard that Clinton was held to. And Clinton told the world that she certainly knew the laws/regulations dealing with classified and top secret information and then lied about violating those laws/regulations.

 

This partisan Democrat Soviet-style clown show is intended to distract the American people from their failed agenda and an attempt to hurt the popularity of Trump.... Nothing less, nothing more....
However it's not working, in fact, it's having the opposite affect.... I bet the leftwing trolls are still waiting for Trump to go to jail for tax evasion. Good luck with that too.....

 

Due to the treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republican false propaganda noise machine cranking out nothing but lies and misinformation its very hard for Americans to see what is really happening and how serious it is. But its not hard for the rest of the world to see the truth.


Disbelief as foreign press covers Trump’s classified documents scandal

Bob Brigham
August 13, 2022



BBC anchor James Reynolds gives Donald Trump the breaking news treatment / screengrab.

The international press has been following Donald Trump’s classified documents scandal and four key countries may have significant national interests at stake if any of the information was compromised.

"When Donald Trump's Florida home was searched earlier this week, it unleashed a political firestorm unlike anything in recent memory," British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) correspondent Gareth Evans reported. "The FBI took 11 sets of classified files in total, including four that were labeled 'top secret'. Three sets were classified as 'secret documents' and three were 'confidential.'"

The cache also included files marked "TS/SCI", a designation for the country's most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause "exceptionally grave" damage to US national security.

On the other side of the world, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was also covering the scandal under the headline, "Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago was a 'nightmare' environment for housing classified documents, experts say."

"Early in his presidency, he spontaneously gave highly classified information to Russia's foreign minister about a planned Islamic State operation while he was in the Oval Office, US officials said at the time. But it was at Mar-a-Lago that US intelligence seemed especially at risk," the Australian network reported.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation interviewed former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary McCord.

"Even just retention of highly classified documents in improper storage — particularly given Mar-a-Lago, the foreign visitors there and others who might have connections with foreign governments and foreign agents — creates a significant national security threat," said McCord. "Clearly they thought it was very serious to get these materials back into secured space."

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) used the headline, "Trump under investigation for Espionage Act violations, FBI search warrant reveals."

"US media speculated they feared nuclear secrets could get out without urgent action," CBC reported.

Radio New Zealand (RNZ) featured the headline, "FBI removed top secret documents from Trump's home, Justice Department says."

"FBI agents took more than 30 items including more than 20 boxes, binders of photos, a handwritten note and the executive grant of clemency for Trump's ally and longtime adviser Roger Stone, a list of items removed from the property showed," RNZ reported. "Numerous federal laws prohibit the mishandling of classified material, including the Espionage Act as well as another statute that prohibits the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. Trump increased the penalties for this while he was in office, making it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison."

These four countries may have important self-interest in whether the documents were compromised. Included in the 15 boxes recovered from Mar-a-Lago in January were reportedly "signals intel" information.

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States together form "The Five Eyes" — which the UK Defense Journal describes as the "intelligence alliance of the Anglosphere."

"The Five Eyes was formally founded in the aftermath of the Second World War, through the multilateral agreement for co-operation in signals intelligence (SIGINT), known as the UKUSA Agreement, on 5 March 1946," UK Defense Journal explained. "Initially, compromising only the UK and the United States, it expanded to also include Canada in 1948 and Australia and New Zealand in 1956, all of these last three English-speaking countries, members of the Commonwealth of Nations and with similar political systems when compared to Britain. Thereby, the ‘Five Eyes’ term was created from the lengthy ‘AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/ Eyes Only’ classification level that included the ‘eyes’ that could have access to high profile papers and information."

ALSO IN THE NEWS: She’s loaded. They all have guns': Lauren Boebert neighbors forced to call 911 over speeding and property damage

Watch the BBC's report on Donald Trump below or at this link.




https://www.rawstory.com/trump-signals-intel-five-eyes/

 

John Bolton: Trump's 'desperation' around classified docs is 'almost certainly a lie'

Sarah K. Burris
August 14, 2022



Trump Photo: Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock John Bolton photo by Christopher Halloran

New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Zolan Kanno-Youngs penned a piece detailing the remarkable similarities between Donald Trump's evolving alibis for how he ended up with classified information in his safe at Mar-a-Lago and his previous scandals.

Trump's first moves were attacking the FBI, alleging they planted evidence, he was a victim, there was a break-in, it was a witch hunt, and he's being attacked by rogue law enforcement. The excuses, justifications and claims expanded from there, but they're all remarkably similar to the playbook Trump has used for over decades, the Times explained. Most visibly, it was part of the plan when an investigation explored whether his political campaign was conspiring with the Russian government in 2016.

"In both instances, he claimed victimization and mixed some facts with a blizzard of misleading statements or falsehoods. His lawyers denied that he had tied his administration’s withholding of vital military aid to Ukraine to Mr. Trump’s desire for investigations into Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son, Hunter Biden," wrote the Times.

Trump then tried to use classic whataboutism, claiming that Hillary Clinton had 33 million classified documents and somehow sprinkled acid on them. That is false. Then suddenly, it was former President Barack Obama who had 33 million emails that were carted off to Chicago. The National Archives called that a lie on Friday as well.

The report went on to cite the Kash Patel interview in which the Trump administration official claimed that the former president had declassified everything as a former president. According to right-wing writer John Solomon on Fox, Trump had a "standing order" that “documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them.”

"That claim would not resolve the investigation. Two of the laws referred to in the search warrant executed this week criminalize the taking or concealment of government records, regardless of whether they had anything to do with national security," the report said. "And laws against taking material with restricted national security information are not dependent on whether the material is technically classified."

John Bolton made it clear that the claim is "almost certainly a lie."

“I was never briefed on any such order, procedure, policy when I came in,” Bolton said, according to the Times. He also said that he'd never been told of something like that while working for Trump's White House nor had he heard of such a thing. “If he were to say something like that, you would have to memorialize that, so that people would know it existed."

He also told the Times that there are secure rooms and built for Trump at Bedminster and Mar-a-Lago where sensitive materials were able to be viewed. So, none of those documents would have to be declassified to begin with.

“When somebody begins to concoct lies like this, it shows a real level of desperation," he said.

Trump also released a statement in June saying all documents marked "classified" were returned to the government.

Read the full report at the New York Times piece here.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-john-bolton-lie-documents/

 

This is too complicated for Trump's poorly educated white constituency. I was hoping they would find proof that Trump has pressured his sex partners to abort what he did to them. That is about what it would take to break the hold Trump has on the gaping hinds of flyover country. Even then, most would dismiss it as fake news.

 

Over 7 years. 30 31 32 federal and state investigations, not including the civil stuff.
No indictment
No perp walk
No trial
No conviction
No jail cellI

When the despicables finally manage to at least get an indictment deplorables might take a closer look at the allegations. You know, to try and sort out the propaganda and lies from any nuggets of truth not yet mutated into lies.

 

This is just a typical Trump lie created so his smart supporters can repeat it to his stupid supporters. Trump will never make this claim under oath. Now that he's realized pleading the 5th means he doesn't have to spend hours preparing for a deposition, he'll probably never testify under oath ever again.

As Trump's lies go, this one of his more pathetic attempts. It will never become an issue in court as long as Trump keeps paying his attorneys.

Some where there is a person who packed the filed in boxes and there's another person who put them in the basement of Mar Lago. The FBI has already talked to both of them, because that's what the FBI does.

The planted evidence defense is just to pacify the base so they don't have to speculate about Trump selling military secrets to China.

 

Wait.
Did trump sell something to China? Or was it Russia? Or maybe Saudia Arabia. No! Wait! It was Iran, right?

 

That he took them isn't enough?

Do we need to start asking bank robbers why they did it before we try them?

They didn't ask Sandy Berger why he took those papers.

 

I'm sure there is some written document that states what security measures need to be in place for any classified documents viewing room. I would also think there would need to be some government inspection to verify that the standards have been met.

Or maybe it just needs the blessing of the president, just like he waved his hand to give Jarod his clearance.

 

There's evidence they didn't do this for the Kavanaugh investigation.

 

Why do you care? Do you have a preference? Russia could certainly use some help right now. The word is they are a little short on cash right now, but you know they're good for it, right.

 

Your first assessment is correct. Declassifying previously classified material has to go through a procedure where at a bare minimum it has to be stamped "declassified." And of course anything being declassified should go through a thorough intelligence review to make sure it is not revealing methods and sources. But even if it didn't when classified material gets found outside secure locations the only thing that matters is what it says at the top of the page. And if it says classified instead of declassified then its classified. Which of course it what it says on the documents found at Mar a Lago.

And then there is an entirely separate level if it involves our nuclear weapons program. Not even the president has the authority to declassify that information on their own because it is required by law to go through a review process by more than one government agency.

 

Now the irony of this is just funny. One of the first things Trump did when he came into office was increase the penalties for mishandling classified material. Making it a felony with a five year sentence. Which he tried to enforce with a vengeance against leakers.

And now this.


Trump's DOJ won a 2018 case that undermines claims about his broad declassification powers

Brad Reed
August 15, 2022



President Donald Trump (left) stands next to Attorney General Jeff Sessions (right) as he spoke following his swearing-in in 2017. Image via AFP-Jiji.

Allies of former President Donald Trump have claimed that he unilaterally declassified every single government document that he took with him to Mar-a-Lago on his way out of the White House in 2021.

Many legal experts have cast doubt on claims that Trump can simply will documents declassified without going through any kind of formal process, and New York Times reporter Charlie Savage points to a case won by Trump's own Department of Justice in 2018 that rebuts the theory that presidents have near-omnipotent declassification powers.

The case in question involved a New York Times request for documents relating to covert operations in Syria that Trump had revealed in a tweet by criticizing "massive, dangerous, and wasteful payments to Syrian rebels" made by the United States government.

By talking about the matter publicly, argued the New York Times, Trump had in essence declassified the existence of the program, which would then make documents about it available to reporters through requests via the Freedom of Information Act.

RELATED: GOP consultant slams Republicans' 'ridiculous' excuses for Trump Mar-a-Lago documents scandal

The Trump DOJ pushed back on this, however, and successfully argued that mere presidential proclamations are insufficient to formally declassify documents.

"The Times cites no authority that stands for the proposition that the President can inadvertently declassify information and we are aware of none," wrote the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in its decision against the Times. "Because declassification, even by the President, must follow established procedures, that argument fails."

Read the DOJ's entire filing at this link (PDF).



https://www.rawstory.com/trump-declassification/

 

I began to question the morality of the War in Vietnam when I watched a news broadcast of American servicemen burning down a South Vietnamese village because it was suspected of harboring Viet Cong guerrillas. Previously I had thought that we were in Vietnam to protect the villagers from the Viet Cong.

I continued to support the War in Vietnam, but as time went on I did so with less enthusiasm.

 

Oh, now there is something to hide.....


Justice Department opposes release of affidavit underlying FBI raid
The Department of Justice filed a motion on Monday opposing the release of the affidavit underlying the FBI's search warrant for former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.

"If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps," the DOJ wrote.

"The fact that this investigation implicates highly classified materials further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and exacerbates the potential for harm if information is disclosed to the public prematurely or improperly."

The Justice Department told the court that it does not object to unsealing some other documents, including cover sheets for the search warrant application and the government's prior motion to seal.