This search warrant on the Cult Leader's compound sure took attention away from January 6th...

Is that good or bad, if that is the case?

If Trump is charged with crimes in the attack on our Capitol, will his supporters take it more seriously than the "raid" upon his compound?

If they don't fight for an espionage charge, will they fight for a charge of seditious conspiracy?

What will it take for them to stand up and fight for Trump if they do not do it for espionage?

In my opinion, it makes it easier for the DOJ to investigate and convict in the January 6th investigation, with this alleged espionage hanging over the Cult Leader's head?

Just my opinion.

I'm A Loser

Unless it is discovered that Trump sold or bartered these documents to other countries or leaders...

Then he will not be charged with espionage and the investigation will continue behind the scenes while the January 6th investigation proceeds on its course.

The obstruction of justice is a serious charge. When he did not turn over the documents when he was told to do so with a subpoena, that will be a tough charge to overlook.

It is on a par with the obstruction of justice when conspiring to stop the electoral votes on January 6th? Maybe they can combine the obstruction charges?

From my perspective, that is the least of charges that he could be convicted for.

Of course, there are some very serious charges that will have to be adjudicated.

The "civil war" is real.

It is not a war with one side in a deep trench shooting at the other side in their muddy hole. At least, not yet.

The "civil war" is between competing propaganda outlets and media operations. The war is between facts and fictions. The war is between truths and lies.

As in all wars, one side or the other expects to reap financial rewards for their instigation and incitements. They lie because it is profitable.

Unfortunately, there are casualties. The lies are a real enemy. People suffer and die from them.

It is not easy to distinguish because each side believes it is in possession of the truth. They believe equally that the other side is wrong.

The only thing we, as Americans can do, is to put all the cards on the table and study them very closely.

The One-Man Crimewave Has Been Temporarily Deterred

Like a five-year old testing the boundaries, each of his crimes became progressively worse than the previous. His Party failed miserably in not noticing the pattern of his crimes.

After escaping all the charges of colluding with Russia and after trying to extort the President of Ukraine to spill dirt on his political opponent, and after he tried to steal an election, and after he incited an insurrection and attempted to overthrow the government, and after two impeachments, he decided to steal America's secrets so he could use them at a later date to profit himself.

But finally, the Attorney General could take no more. He sent him to his room. Predictably, he was kicking and screaming the entire time, refusing to take any responsibility, and blaming others for doing worse things than he.

Now that he faces a possible charge of espionage, obstruction of justice, and destruction of government documents, perhaps the DOJ can get on with their other investigation, in which the J6 Committee has been gathering information for several months.

Did he conspire to incite a mob and to halt the Electoral Votes being counted on January 6th? Did he try to bribe different state officials to change the vote totals to his favor? Did he plan a coup to keep himself in power?

Will his present difficulties keep him occupied enough so that the other investigation can continue without as much interference as might have been expected?

For many Americans, after six or seven years, they are able to breathe a sigh of relief, if only for a temporary moment.

Trump has declassified government documents before...

So, he knew the procedure.

https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/southern-cone/2019-04-12/declassification-diplomacy-trump-administration-turns-over-massive-collection-intelligence-records

(snip)

THE UNITED STATES DECLASSIFICATION PROJECT FOR ARGENTINA

The revealing CIA “intelligence information cables” on Operation Condor are part of a major collection of records released on April 12 at a government event in Washington D.C., "Declassification Diplomacy: The United States Declassification Project for Argentina." During the diplomatic ceremony, hosted by U.S. Archivist David Ferriero at the National Archives, U.S. officials completed the turnover of some 7500 CIA, FBI, DOD, NSC and State Department records—47,000 pages in total—to Argentina’s Minister of Justice and Human Rights, German Garavano. Garavano graciously thanked the Trump administration for fulfilling a formal request for the records by the Argentine government, made on the fortieth anniversary of the military coup during a state visit to Argentina by then-President Barack Obama.



Before Obama left office, his administration released the first two tranches of Argentina records, drawn from documents on file at the Presidential libraries. During a summit meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri in April 2017, President Trump personally handed him a diskette containing another tranche of records. But, three years after Obama’s initial authorization, the most sensitive and revealing intelligence documents are only now being released, marking the completion of the Declassification Project for Argentina.

Neil Katyal made a very good point about "classifications" of document.

More or less, he said "classifications" were not all-relevant in this case. It is nothing more than a diversion.

He said obstruction of justice does not need to have "classified" documents to be a crime. The charges being made are crimes whether they are "classified" or not.

The Republicans, and Trump, are putting much of their emphasis on "classification" of documents and it's not that relevant to the crimes that have been committed.

Never admit nothing and never show any guilt.

Deny everything and blame someone else.

Start a narrative (lie) before the fact, to have an excuse.

Always have an antagonist. Demonize them. Make them an enemy.

Always make it between "us" and "them".

Never show any shame.

Always be ready to lie.

And then lie some more.

Trump has decided to try and make some lemonade out of his huge box of lemons.

He has weighed his options. What is best for him?

He knows he cannot stop the release of the documents. He might be able to stop them for a week or two, but they are coming out.

With that in mind, he decided to make the most out of it right now, rather than to wait for the sure eventuality. If he waited, it would make him look worse in the eyes of his supporters.

So, he could pretend that the FBI planted the evidence at his place and he could pretend that he is as innocent as the morning dew. In the meantime, he would lie his ass off to his people, because they will believe anything. Even if some do not believe him, he will still be able to recoup much of his losses if he can convince his people it was all a witch hunt and he was set up by the Democrats and the FBI.

I think that is probably what he is thinking during this crisis time for the Big Lie.

A lot of questions this morning.

For example, why did the DOJ (FBI) wait so long if they knew there were sensitive documents at Trump's compound?

At first, at the request of the National Archives, they gave Mr Trump a subpoena to turn over the documents. He turned over 15 boxes to them. But, that was not all of them. I suspect that may have been a crime?

Then they tried to negotiate with him to get the remaining documents. They knew then that he did have possession of the boxes of documents. After 60 days and nothing from Trump, they decided to go in discreetly and seize them. It was a question of national security.

It seems to have been a cat and mouse game between the Cult Leader and the FBI, with the FBI trying to preserve the evidence.

But another question that I have?

Has he already gotten rid of some of the documents? He certainly had the time and the opportunity as the FBI seemed to be frozen with indecision.

Did he sell the secrets to Saudi already? Is the FBI a day late and many secrets short?