Pinglet on new theme that Trump was “hoarding documents” about Russiagate

It’s not that we didn’t already know that this, in essence, is what the raid on Mar-a-Lago was about.  It was virtually certain from the beginning that the Justice Department’s purpose has been to verify what Trump is holding that could expose more about the Obama administration’s conduct as part of Russiagate and Spygate.  (For earlier posts on this topic, see here, here, here, and here.  Most recent post first.)

So Newsweek might be said to be catching the mainstream media up to reality.

But Newsweek’s exclusive new report on the matter, attributed to “sources,” spins harder than a washing machine at the end of its cycle.  It describes former President Trump, for example, as “hoarding” materials “for years,” where it could have said something with more journalistic integrity like “saved materials during his term in office.”  The latter sounds normal – which it is;

Here’s motive on the Mar-a-Lago raid; or, Dog-paddling outside the OODA loop

Divining the principal purpose of the DOJ/FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago on 8 August 2022 hasn’t really been that hard.  The timing and its juxtaposition with the Justice Department’s motion to substitute itself for FBI employees, as defendant in Trump’s RICO lawsuit over Russiagate, have produced a “speaking timeline.”

But it’s good to know that one of the two most important events in that timeline yields a treasure trove of motive for DOJ to seize materials from Mar-a-Lago.  That event is former president Trump’s filing of an amended complaint in the RICO lawsuit, which he did on 21 June 2022.

I’ve been threatening to inspect the amendments to the lawsuit, and have now completed that extensive task (So You Don’t Have To).  The short version up front:  the amendments include a raft of details that weren’t in the original complaint, although many of them have been known for years (having come from sources like the DOJ IG report on the FISA process, and summaries of findings about Russiagate/Spygate from Senate and House committees).

Three more pings on Mar-a-Lago raid: A situational awareness adjustment

This thought-treatment I really do hope to keep tight.  Nothing has changed substantially in terms of common facts since the last article, and my hope is to help focus the speculation on the situation, which right now is all over the place.

The pings have to do with (1) what the DOJ/FBI could have been and/or probably were looking for in the 8 August 2022 raid at Mar-a-Lago; (2) what the purpose(s) of the raid may have been; and (3) what DOJ and FBI already know about Trump knows, what he’s been doing at any relevant time in the past, and what his intentions are.

Regarding (2), I suspect there was more than one purpose.

Two pings on the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago: Classification kerfuffle and Trump’s RICO suit

There is a whole lot else to say, so my apologies up front for not saying it.  I just want to keep this short (well, shorter than it would otherwise be).  Consider this an open invitation to say whatever seems to live loud within you and demand saying.

Ideally, the comments on classification of documents, presidential authority, and Trump’s holding of documents out of office would be even shorter than they’re going to be.

The bottom line on everything is that Trump was the president until 20 January 2021, and in most cases the president isn’t subject to the same agency regulations and procedures everyone else is.

That doesn’t make a clean single-color area for the president to operate in, however.  Rather, it generates a gray area largely governed by negation.