Photo Above - News Chopper 7 footage of the "surprise" federal raid on Mar-a-Largo last year.
Not shown - any progress on the Georgia election interference investigation.
Trump indicted in Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation - The Washington Post
Finally!! Trump is indicted for something real. Not just a civil complaint about groping. Or being a venal example of American politics at its most offensive. Those classified docs wallpapering Trump's Mar-a-Largo mansion are getting their day in court. At least 7 of them, apparently. See link above (Warning - this is a free link to a Washington Post article – not a CNN or Fox video, in case you're disinclined to read).
There are probably grounds for exultation here. And I promise I will raise a champagne glass. But first, a few of those inevitable, pesky questions. And apologies for my poor previous predictions.
I HAD been conjecturing - more than once – that all these several criminal prosecutions were being “slow walked” by their respective Attorney Generals and Special Prosecutors. Delayed to ensure an indictment 30 seconds after Trump inevitably won the Republican Presidential Nomination next summer. Yesterdays indictment probably HELPS the republican party, and the DOJ should be commended for not abusing the legal system to play games with the presidential nomination process.
But still . . . there were ELEVEN THOUSAND classified documents? And nearly a year in the hands of the DOJ? How long does it take to confirm that seven of these docs were actually classified? Apparently each one said so at the very top. Maybe a thousand people were needed to go through all those boxes and find which ones were the most egregious? I expect that now these docs must be produced as evidence in court. And we will finally get to see which ones Trump stole. Or at least the doc titles. That info has never been released. But still – 11,000 classified docs, reviewed for 11 months? This is like evaluating a cockroach infestation for a year before finally buying a roach motel.. At a cost of millions. In any case, we are all going to LOVE seeing which 7 documents got nominated for Oscars here.
Biden's own top secret doc - uncovered in private residences/garages/consulting offices will probably not be nominated. There were similar docs at Mike Pence's house. And a few other career politicians. Hillary Clinton, notably, escaped prosecution when government docs were found on democrat election laptops in 2016. Trump's apologists will try to create an equivalence. Not having seen ANY of the Trump or Biden documents in question, it would be wrong to say they ARE equivalent. Or to deny that they are. Point/Counterpoint – Yes, Trump had waaay more docs. Counterpoint – Biden's documents were found abandoned in bizarre, insecure places like his garage, and empty offices at a Democrat consulting firm. This is the debate pundits worried about as soon as the Biden docs surfaced.
"How can we charge one guy but not the other?" Well, the DOJ apparently found a way. That's what having hundreds of staff attorneys and a full year to debate the situation will get you.
Again – let me reiterate – the DOJ charges against Trump are (almost) timely and seem entirely appropriate. People suspected of crimes should get their day in court - instead of becoming sensational media fodder for years. The US constitution guarantees the accused a swift and fair trial.
Now here's my second question: (but no apology) Why these docs, and NOT the Georgia election interference, are the 7 layer beefy burrito? I can't think of a single more egregious example of undermining elections in American history. A politician making repeated demands to “find” votes that were never cast. This is without a doubt a crime. There is indisputable evidence, in recordings and emails and other docs. Beyond any credible defense. Trump attorneys can't concoct a claim these calls were an oversight, or an attempt to help prepare for a post-presidential tell all book.
Please – let's not get allow the "yes but" crowd to hijack this post into OTHER examples of election fraud. The dead habitually voting in Chicago. Gerrymandered districts, which a bipartisan supreme court majority just declared illegal. Voting without ID, by mail AND in person, months in advance, and failing to ensure a proper chain of custody on the ballots until counting day. Those are certainly an assault on election integrity too. But not nearly so well documented as the Trump/Georgia thing.
As an observer of history and politics, I would have expected the Geogia election fraud to bubble to the top, instead of umpteen thousand documents mishandled by who knows how many politicians. But that's just my old school allegiance to free and fair elections raising its hand.
Years of investigations. Thousands of attorneys. Millions of dollars. And finally, an indictment on 7 classified docs. Probably a hilariously bad cost/benefit equation, but the cause of justice has at least been advanced another step.
I just hope this means we can finally expect action in the four other ongoing investigations, where prosecutors have been too timid to either indict or dismiss.
Do your damn jobs, and stop wasting our tax dollars walking around in circles . . ..
