Search warrant shows Trump under investigation for potential obstruction of justice, Espionage Act

[AntiFascist]

Source: Politico

Search warrant shows Trump under investigation for potential obstruction of justice, Espionage Act violations

A search warrant viewed by POLITICO reveals that the FBI is investigating Donald Trump for a potential violation of the Espionage Act and removed classified documents from the former president’s Florida estate earlier this week.

By BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN, KYLE CHENEY and NICHOLAS WU

08/12/2022 03:03 PM EDT

A search warrant viewed by POLITICO reveals that the FBI is investigating Donald Trump for a potential violation of the Espionage Act and removed classified documents from the former president’s Florida estate earlier this week.

A receipt accompanying the search warrant, viewed by POLITICO on Friday, shows that Trump possessed documents including a handwritten note; documents marked with “TS/SCI,” which indicate one of the highest levels of government classification; and another item labeled “Info re: President of France.”

The warrant shows federal law enforcement was investigating Trump for removal or destruction of records, obstruction of an investigation, and violating the Espionage Act. Conviction under the statutes can result in imprisonment or fines.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/12/search-warrant-shows-trump-under-investigation-for-potential-obstruction-of-justice-espionage-act-violations-00051507

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

[MontanaMama]

2. Kicking with gusto.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

3. 👍🏼

[CanonRay]

4. He's too stupid to know what to steal

so who helped him?

[MontanaMama]

16. My money is on Jared.

If he had help, it was Jared.

[LiberalArkie]

41. I think the FBI got the boxes from Jared's (stuff?)

[LymphocyteLover]

57. Really? Wow. That woud make sense if Jared was involved though...

[thucythucy]

67. Let's not forget the Flynn brothers.

I have a feeling they might be pulled into this as well.

[ShazzieB]

27. And who packed those boxes?

Thats what I want to know.

I don't believe for a minute that Trump would have lifted one tiny hand to do such menial labor. There is more to this than we know yet.

[mchill]

50. They'll be looking for fingerprints

[ShazzieB]

66. Yes. DNA, too.

[FakeNoose]

59. I'm guessing Cassidy Hutchinson was one of the packers

... hence, the leak to J-6 committee.

[emulatorloo]

5. Kick and bookmarking...

[PortTack]

6. Hate to say this...Comey testifying to Congress over another issue said they usually do not charge

Individuals for taking documents unless there’s a 3rd party involved…i.e. selling docs.

[Sogo]

8. Tell Sandy Berger that:

In 2005, he was fined and sentenced to two years of probation plus community service for unauthorized removal of classified material from the National Archives. He gave up his license to practice law.

[PatSeg]

14. And he just took what he could stuff

in his pants.

[Mr. Evil]

53. And since there's nothing in his pants,

there's plenty of room to stuff stuff in there.

[PatSeg]

55. Ha, ha, ha!!!

And is that how you earned the name "Mr. Evil"???

[Mr. Evil]

60. Actually,

I got it from Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. They performed a concert in Poland during the Soviet Union 'iron curtain' days and after the show he exited the stage wearing a robe (not unlike a robe a boxer wears before and after a fight) that had 'Mr. Evil' on the back. As soon as the VHS of the concert came out I bought it. As soon as I saw that I just started laughing my ass off. Heavy Metal humor can be a bit warped at times but, it is still humorous nonetheless.

Mr. Evil is like living next door to Satan as if it's OK, as long as he's a good neighbor. You know like, 666 the number of the beast. 664, the dude next door.

[PatSeg]

61. I love a good origin story

[Mr. Evil]

62. Me too.

I have my days!

[PatSeg]

70. Good day for a good story!

[PortTack]

76. I so hope you are right!!

[AntiFascist]

11. ...

Last edited Fri Aug 12, 2022, 04:12 PM - Edit history (1)

[brooklynite]

26. If you're going to post a meme, make sure it's accurate

The line attributes to Arte Johnson on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In

[AntiFascist]

29. OH!!! That's right, fixed it, sorry n/t

[reACTIONary]

75. And was usually followed by....

... "But Stupid".

[Sogo]

7. ....imprisonment of fines.....AND disqualification from holding future office....

I believe this would fall under the removal or destruction of records.

[Justice matters.]

20. And it's still just the 1st blatant case...

Still waiting for the next one, like Conspiracy to Obstruct a Congressional Proceeding et al.

[Sogo]

54. It's the low hanging fruit, and the penalty gives us a great

relief from his absolute corruption.

Maybe the most important outcome for our national security....

[emulatorloo]

9. "removal or destruction of records, obstruction of an investigation, and violating the Espionage Act

Well, well, well.

[Irish_Dem]

10. They had to get the classified documents out before they indicted him for any reason.

Once indicted, Trump would do anything to burn down the country.

[twodogsbarking]

12. Obstruction of justice, Espionage Act. Has a nice sound, doesn't it

[Meadowoak]

13. Fry his fat treasonous ass.

[tinrobot]

15. Espionage means he shared/sold sensitive information.

The next question is what did he sell and to whom?

[AntiFascist]

17. Exactly, and the FBI wouldn't have moved on this unless they had good sources. n/t

[question everything]

24. Anyway we can subpoena the translator from the Helsinki meeting with Putin

to at least see what she remembers?

[LeftInTX]

25. He's being "investigated", not charged

[3Hotdogs]

35. I don't think so. The "espionage" in the title refers to the law signed by Trump

that prohibits the removal of documents. It has espionage in the title but does not refer to James Bond type of selling stuff to spies.

That doesn't mean that Jared didn't negotiate a deal for docs. It just means that the title of the law is deceptive.

[AntiFascist]

65. The cited code also includes communication or transmittal of documents....

and there is speculation that only a serious threat to national security would cause the FBI to do this, more than just him keeping these documents locked in his home.

[3Hotdogs]

69. You're right.

He had two of his meatballs going through the stuff

[ancianita]

18. Whew. Now we know, and I'm relieved that it's as serious for tfg as I've hoped.

[oldsoftie]

71. Don't get ahead of the facts yet. We really know NOTHING about what was found.

And this mean nothing to me until I see some HORRID seizure of something major. Just saying "its classified" isn't enough. Lots of things that are classified can actually be mundane by themselves.
I'm hoping but not getting my hopes UP

[ancianita]

73. No. I won't. I'm just glad the investigations' probable causes fall under

the three 18's.

18 U.S. Code 2071 -- concealment, removal of federal records, which bans one from ever holding office
18. U.S. Code 793 -- The Espionage Act (ten years per page)
18 USC 1519 -- Destruction, alteration or falsification of records in Federal investigations (a probable mole)

And there are SCI docs, and SigInt docs.

We've got at least one "who." It was all on his property. No one else would ever have been able to use that property that way. Investigating any other "who"s will only meet and exceed the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard for conviction.

[Mr. Ected]

19. I realize this is way to early to ask this question, but is the death penalty in the equation?

I mean, if you are convicted of gathering and delivering defense information in order to aid a foreign government, you can be sentenced to life in prison or face a death sentence. Economic espionage can also lead to 15 years imprisonment and a fine up to $5 million.

If he sold or tried to sell any of those documents, top secret, classified or not, to another government, his ass is grass, MAGAt mass dissent notwithstanding.

[LeftInTX]

33. No

[YoshidaYui]

21. You do know that if convicted of this CRIME, Trump is looking at 20 years plus

HE will NEVER BE ABLE TO RUN FOR ANY FEDERAL OFFICE AGAIN!

[ffr]

34. I wonder if that applies if someone like a President Pence pardoned him.

But by then, TFG would be in his mid-80s.

[question everything]

22. It never occurred to him that what he was doing was questionable

All his life he did what he wanted to do, expecting others to do what he told them, or being fired, So he took the documents probably without knowing what was in them except salivating at the 'TOP SECRET' label.

Really a child throwing a tantrum.

[LiberalArkie]

43. He was just doing what he was told to do. He is way too stupid to do it by himself.

His parents put him in private school and at 21 he was made president of Trump company. He has always done what someone else told him to do.

[orleans]

68. i can imagine some of this:

donnie sitting on the floor going through a stack of folders

"no" he tosses it aside
"no" tosses another one aside.
sees the next one is marked Top Secret.
"um.. china might like this one" and begins a save pile.
takes another bite of his hamberder then sets it down on the opened wrapper next to the save pile.
"no, no, no" tosses three folders aside
"ooohhh...." folder marked "bigley top secret"
"saudis would like this. save!"
jared takes another sip from his strawberry martini. "remember--they can't take those files with them. they can only take pictures of them. that way we can charge all those loser countries 2 Billion each!"

[Mme. Defarge]

23. When you're toast, you're toast!

And I will drink to that. 🍸😎🍸

[Baggies]

28. Seeing a lot of conjecture at this site.

And a lot of emotions minus logic and supporting facts.

I’ll wait until later. Early reports are often inaccurate and wishful thinking.

[LeftInTX]

36. The buzzword is "investigated"

It really doesn't mean too much right now...

They're looking to see "if he violated the Espionage Act"...however, what does that mean?

They have documents, but what did he do with them?
It's complicated......

If they have evidence that he gave the info to another source, yeah...but that's gonna be more difficult than seizing documents.

[AntiFascist]

38. The speculation is that they already know who was shown the docs, which is why...

they issued the search warrant in the first place, to prove that he had them. Perhaps Jared turned because he doesn't want to become the fall guy? The public interest is overwhelming, but I wonder if we'll ever be told the full story.

[LeftInTX]

40. Henry Cuellar's office was raided for his connections to Azerbaijan. Nothing came of it

[Torchlight]

42. Must be frustrating to see so many people speculating, discussing and wondering about things

Sounds serious. Good luck!

[Baggies]

47. More like entertainment.

Including your post, Thx!

[Torchlight]

51. Or just more of the same wishful thinking

you referred to. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Good luck!

[FSogol]

49. Well, la de dah!

[Ferrets are Cool]

30. I don't doubt this is true, but how the hell did THEY get to "view" it?

[AntiFascist]

32. It got leaked, I guess, possibly to prevent Trump and Murdoch from getting out in front of it?

but now it has been officially released.

[LeftInTX]

37. DOJ released them:

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22131379/220805-trump-warrant.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.617854/gov.uscourts.flsd.617854.17.0_18.pdf

[Ferrets are Cool]

63. thanks

[ffr]

31. I searched the page, but no potential death sentence for treason.

At least, not based on what the public knows yet. Just possible fines and imprisonment.

The other thing of note is that, unlike with Hillary 10 days before election, this was taken on by DOJ as the last resort. So while republicans use DOJ as their political weapon to go after their political enemies as their top priority and first resort, TFG was treated with a soft cotton glove using exhaustive attempts to coddle him into not committing espionage against America.

[cstanleytech]

39. Anyone want to bet if he thinks it is likely he will be arrested that he will pull a Snowden?

[calimary]

44. What does the "SCI" part stand for?

I assume “TS” stands for “Top Secret.”

[AntiFascist]

45. Sensitive Compartmentalized Information...

Sensitive compartmented information (SCI) is a type of United States classified information concerning or derived from sensitive intelligence sources, methods, or analytical processes. All SCI must be handled within formal access control systems established by the Director of National Intelligence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_compartmented_information

[orangecrush]

46. KICK...

[myohmy2]

48. okay...

...

[Dysfunctional]

52. I would be happy if he got 1 year in prison.

That is one year for each document to be served consecutively.

[Mr. Evil]

56. I can't wait

until they expose enough criminal acts where conviction under the statutes can result in death. Fuck that worthless, lying sack of dog shit!

[notinkansas]

58. OR fines????

C'mon - it's not like this is just a traffic ticket!

[niyad]

64. Stroke out already, you F'n, murdering, orange TRAITOR**.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

72. Lock him up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BlueWavePsych]

74. Oh yeah ... enemy combatant!

[Cozmo]

77. Could tfg have taken these docs to use as a bargaining chip should he be federally charged for J6?

Or any other of the crimes he committed while in office. This is what happens when a con man is elected to public office

[AntiFascist]

79. Nuclear documents that "could cause grave harm to national security"...

I don't know if he would be bargaining, or simply vindictive against the current government and hope for some quid pro quo that helps him get elected again.

[Cozmo]

78. Could tfg have taken these docs to use as a bargaining chip should he be federally charged for J6?

Or any other of the crimes he committed while in office. This is what happens when a con man is elected to public office