Mar-a-Lago search appears focused on whether Trump, aides withheld items

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

In the months before the FBI’s dramatic move to execute a search warrant at former president Donald Trump’s Florida home — and open his safe to look for items — federal authorities grew increasingly concerned that Trump or his lawyers and aides had not, in fact, returned all the documents and other material that were government property, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Officials became suspicious that when Trump gave back items to the National Archives about seven months ago, either the former president or people close to him held on to key records — despite a Justice Department investigation into the handling of 15 boxes of material sent to the former president’s private club and residence in the waning days of his administration.

Over months of discussions on the subject, some officials also came to suspect Trump’s representatives were not truthful at times, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

On Tuesday, a lawyer for Trump said the agents who brought the court-approved warrant to Mar-a-Lago a day earlier took about 12 more boxes after conducting their search.


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/09/trump-fbi-search-mar-a-lago/

[PortTack]

1. It's also been said they view M lardo as an ongoing crime scene...what's that?

[Jarqui]

2. "12 more boxes after conducting their search"

which basically and very likely justifies the search warrant.

They asked and asked. He wouldn't deliver. Boom.

I heard or read they had dogs there to sniff for USB drives.

What is worse for Trump is the additional scrutiny those 12 boxes will get: "why would Trump withhold these documents from us? ...." and the evasive action may well serve as evidence of intent - he knew what he did and that it was wrong so he tried to hide it. So it was probably and not unexpectedly a stupid thing to do because intent can be the toughest part to prove.

And it appears Trump wasn't the only one trying to deceive them so they probably have a smaller fish to flip against Trump.

I see very little that is good longer term coming out of this for Trump.
He'll try to cash in and will. And he'll rile up the base.
But when the evidence comes out, it will pop like a balloon - particularly if he's been selling some of these secrets.

[usonian]

3. Crime in progress.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/viktor-orban-christian-politician-racist-cpac/
A day before his appearance at CPAC, Orbán and his delegation met with former President Donald Trump at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Diplomat pouch full of secrets. Headed for Putin?

Checking to see what's missing. Those 12 boxes?

[Marthe48]

4. I heard either Joyce Vance or Jill Wine-Banks say

one of the items traitor took and might be in with the boxes of papers is a White House menu. Makes me grin thinking traitor might get taken down because he stole a menu. Heh.

I heard that last night during TRMS.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. Sounds like he had the opportunity to return everything.

Being the arrogant prick he is he refused.

[Igel]

6. "Appears."

You have a warrant to look for a stolen library book and find a body with a knife corresponding to the wounds, the body/knife evidence are admissible.

A "visitor" to campus was caught--he was not a student and was there without checking in at the front office. But he wasn't sporting that stylist student ID and graduation-year-coded lanyard on his person.

He drove. Gee, let's look at his car. Oh, gee, is that a gun in the front seat of his car?

Warrant said they could look in his car. So they looked in the car. Yes, there was a gun. But you know, in the guy's car trunk they found a drug stash that would have kept a single adult and his an underage girlfriend high for years.

Gee, maybe he had more in his apt. So they got a warrant for his apartment. And found drugs for the masses. He was a serious distributor. Hundreds of pounds of weed, pounds of other narcotics.

Bye-bye. No proof he was a rapist--he probably was--but you know, being in a high school without checking in, just to deliver lunch to your girl? Got him a long, long federal sentence as a dealer.

Did he deal on campus? Probably. Who cares? It's been years, and, you know, he's still in prison.

Al Capone was nailed on tax evasion. Was the that the *real* reason he was nailed?

No. The *apparent" reason for a warrant doesn't need to be the *actual* reason for a warrant. You get the warrant, turn over the soil and see what's buried, then you proceed.