The Biden Era

[Sandy Shanks]

It should be quite a while before we trust the Republican Party again.

Trump's supporters are hard at it, creating chaos in preparation for the November mid-terms. In effect, they are endangering American democracy.

Because free elections are the foundation of American democracy, Trump's supporters are doing exactly what Vladimir Putin wants them to do.

In a way, Trump's cult is rewarding Putin for his efforts in 2016.

"The [Republican] Senate Intelligence Committee reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office."https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

These are the same people who chose our President in 2016.

ABC explains, "In Colorado, supporters of Donald Trump seeking evidence of 2020 election fraud have flooded some county offices with so many records requests that officials say they have been unable to perform their primary duties.

"In Nevada, some election workers have been followed to their cars and harassed with threats.

"And in Philadelphia, concerns about the potential for violence around Election Day have prompted officials to install bulletproof glass at their ballot-processing center.

"With ten weeks to go until the 2022 midterms, dozens of state and local officials across the country tell ABC News that preparations for the election are being hampered by onerous public information requests, ongoing threats against election workers, and dangerous misinformation campaigns being waged by activists still intent on contesting the 2020 presidential election.

"Elizabeth Howard, senior counsel in the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan think tank that tracks election rules, said it smacks of a coordinated effort!"

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Trump isn't the only one who knows how to play games with the system.

CNN reports, "The Justice Department on Tuesday will file publicly in court its response to former President Donald Trump’s bid for a special master to oversee the FBI’s review of materials seized in the Mar-a-Lago search.

"The agency was granted permission by Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida to file up to 40 pages after it said the 20-page limit set by the local rules of the court wasn’t sufficient to “adequately address the legal and factual issues raised by” Trump’s filings.

"Trump must file his reply to the Justice Department by 8 p.m. ET Wednesday night, per Cannon’s order, and the judge has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to consider Trump’s request for a special master."

The Post reported, "FBI agents have already finished their examination of possibly privileged documents seized in an Aug. 8 search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, according to a Justice Department court filing Monday that could undercut the former president’s efforts to have a special master appointed to review the files."

The DOJ has no need for privileged documents, and Trump can have them. The DOJ is only interested in classified documents. Is Cannon smart enough to figure that out? Has she figured out she is wasting everyone's time including her own?

Cannon is a late Trump appointee, and some are wondering why she got involved in what is clearly a DOJ responsibility. Since the DOJ has had its hands on the classified documents Trump stole for over three weeks, and the work has already been done, Cannon's decision to get involved appears to be a bad career move.

The smart play would be to get uninvolved after Thursday's hearing.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham, threatened that there would be "riots in the streets" if Trump is indicted.

ABC reports, "Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is facing backlash after claiming political violence will break out if former President Donald Trump is indicted for mishandling presidential records.

"President Joe Biden on Tuesday, while not mentioning Graham by name, appeared to call him out at a political rally in Pennsylvania, saying, "the idea you turn on a television and see senior senators and congressmen saying if such and such happens, there'll be blood in the street. Where the hell are we?"

"Graham's comments came at a time when Trump supporters' threats against law enforcement have escalated following the Mar-a-Lago search."

In a show of sheer desperation because the leader of their party is alleged to be guilty of multiple crimes, "Graham and many other Republicans have argued that Trump is facing a double standard from how the DOJ treated Hillary Clinton," ABC.

ABC continued, "Specifically, Clinton, Trump's 2016 Democratic rival for president, was not charged after probes into her use of a private email server containing classified information while she was secretary of state.

"The two cases are not the same, however. In both cases, the FBI launched criminal investigations, obtaining search warrants to obtain or access relevant documents. But in Clinton's case, the FBI said in findings released in July 2016, the classified information had been improperly transmitted via carelessness, not in an attempt to circumvent the law. The caliber of "classified information" found on Hillary Clinton’s private servers was not the same as what was found at Mar-a-Lago, particularly as it relates to highly-sensitive Special Access Programs."

As Republican supporters are threatening both law enforcement and America's free elections and their leader stole classified documents and is facing judgment day as it relates to his coup attempt, it is difficult to understand the Republican Party these days.

They are expected to win control of the House of Representatives in November?

What is going on?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Guess what? Stop the presses! Donald Trump lied!

Also, the former Republican President is not very bright. He never should have had his lawyers demand a special master from a now very vulnerable judge career-wise.

Because of that court filing, the Justice Department was given the opportunity to file publicly a lengthy response to Trump’s bid for a special master.

CNN reports, "Former President Donald Trump has pushed an “incomplete and inaccurate narrative” in his recent court filings about the Mar-a-Lago search, the Justice Department said in a historic court filing late Tuesday night.

"Prosecutors fleshed out new details about the ongoing criminal investigation into Trump’s potential mishandling of classified documents, which he took from the White House to his resort and home in Florida. Trump and his allies have denied any wrongdoing.

"The Justice Department filing gave federal investigators the chance to rebut – on the record – many of the claims that Trump, his lawyers and his political allies have been making as they’ve harshly attacked the FBI’s unprecedented search of his residence."

Thank you, Mr. Trump, the DOJ.

CNN continued, "Documents were “likely concealed and removed” from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to “obstruct” the FBI’s investigation, the Justice Department said in its filing Tuesday.

"What’s more, the DOJ said that the search “cast serious doubt” on his lawyers’ claims that there had been a “diligent search” to return classified material in response to a grand jury subpoena.

"A Trump lawyer signed a statement to the Justice Department in June attesting that all of the classified material at Mar-a-Lago had been returned."

“That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the ‘diligent search’ that the former President’s counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter,” DOJ wrote.

It goes without elaboration that Trump has made his lawyers extremely vulnerable because they passed on his lies to the DOJ.

It is never very smart to lie to the DOJ.

Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party and the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for President.

What is going on?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "Donald Trump is considering waiting until after the November midterms to launch a third presidential campaign as he navigates a widening array of legal troubles and mounting concerns that some of his hand-picked Senate candidates may be weaker than he once thought, sources familiar with his thinking tell CNN.

"After months of eyeing Labor Day weekend as the target launch date for a 2024 campaign, Trump has spent the past few weeks backing away from that timeline following the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and an increased panic among Republicans that the party may not be in for the red wave it has long anticipated this November.

"While his timeline could shift again between now and November, the onslaught of political and legal concerns has the former President feeling nervous about prematurely diving into the 2024 primary."

Only to be indicted by the DOJ for obstruction and espionage as it relates to stolen classified documents.

Hearings by the House January 6 committee looking into Trump's coup attempt to overthrow the elected government are scheduled to resume in September.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"Documents were “likely concealed and removed” from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to “obstruct” the FBI’s investigation, the Justice Department said in its filing Tuesday.

"What’s more, the DOJ said that the search “cast serious doubt” on his lawyers’ claims that there had been a “diligent search” to return classified material in response to a grand jury subpoena."

This hearing did not go well for Trump. The Trump-appointed judge demurred on making a decision on the special master.

One of Trump's lawyers characterized the stolen classified documents -- some of them above Top Secret -- as an "overdue library book." Then he declared that the ongoing dispute "has been transformed into a criminal investigation."

Just what Trump needed to hear from his own lawyer, an incomprehensible statement followed by a highly prejudicial statement.

ABC reported, "Cannon, a federal judge nominated by Trump, indicated that if she were to appoint a special master it would not have an impact on the current ongoing assessment by the intelligence community.

The DNI is looking into how much damage was done as a consequence of the stolen classified documents and whether any human intelligence sources were in danger, particularly those providing intell from our foreign adversaries.

That should tell Cannon something. Don't get involved in this.

NBC reported, "A federal judge in Florida said at a hearing Thursday that she will unseal a more detailed inventory of items FBI agents seized in the Aug. 8 raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

"Judge Aileen Cannon also will make public a status report by the investigation team probing the removal of documents from the White House when Trump left office in early 2021."

It sounds like Cannon is already backing out. These decisions will not be helpful to Trump.

Jay Bratt, the DOJ’s top counterintelligence official, at the hearing also argued that Trump is not entitled to a review by a special master of the documents because “he is no longer the president.”

“And because he’s no longer the president he had no right to those documents,” Brat said.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"A federal judge in Florida said at a hearing Thursday that she will unseal a more detailed inventory of items FBI agents seized in the Aug. 8 raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

"Judge Aileen Cannon also will make public a status report by the investigation team probing the removal of documents from the White House when Trump left office in early 2021."

Donald Trump wants to be our President again, and is the leading contender for the Republican nomination.

However, the fact remains, he is not very bright.

He has lost sight of the fact -- or didn't know it to begin with -- that one of the reasons the DOJ keeps its investigations close to the vest is to protect the accused.

The accused in the case of stolen classified documents is Donald Trump!

Every time the DOJ is forced by Trump's lawyers to reveal more information regarding the ongoing investigation of Donald Trump, it reveals more damaging evidence supporting Trump's guilt in the matter.

Little wonder as to why Trump can't get good lawyers. Trump is his own worst enemy. Lawyers do not like clients that have that peculiar characteristic.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The theft of classified documents which ended up in Trump's home in south Florida is not the only thing on the minds of prosecutors at the DOJ.

There are some Republicans who wish they never heard of Donald Trump. He is in the process of doing tremendous damage to the GOP, and many deal with him by ignoring him. Most Republicans are totally silent when it comes to the leader of their party.

Here is one reason why.

ABC reports, "Two former top Trump White House lawyers are expected to appear Friday before a federal grand jury investigating the events surrounding Jan. 6, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.

"Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, ABC News reported last month.

"The move to subpoena the two men has signaled an even more dramatic escalation in the Justice Department's investigation into the Jan. 6 attack than previously known. Members of former Vice President Mike Pence's staff have also appeared before a grand jury."

A resumption of the January 6 committee hearings is just around the corner.

Can you blame Republican leaders for not wanting to deal with Donald Trump?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

ABC reports, "Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, unsealed a more detailed inventory of what the FBI seized in the search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate last month.

"The judge, who is considering the Trump legal team's request to name a third party to review the materials, ordered the release in a court hearing in Florida Thursday."

If you are Trump, the result of the judge's order is catastrophic.

ABC continued, "The expanded property list gives further detail of the volume of material seized by agents in the search and how it was intermingled with seemingly innocuous items such as newspaper clippings, photographs, books and clothing. It describes hundreds upon hundreds of U.S. government documents collected by investigators without any classification markings that were grouped in some cases with only a few documents that bore classification markings ranging from Confidential to Top Secret/SCI (Sensitive compartmented information)."

Did Trump get caught?

We know there is no control over the comings and goings at Mar-a-Lago except for Trump.

We know there was no control over the access to these documents other than Trump.

We know Trump has never provided a reason as to why he stole the documents, not even a lie.

There is a possible explanation.

We know Vladimir Putin helped Trump become our President in 2016.

"The [Republican] Senate Intelligence Committee reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

Has a Russian agent already been allowed to see and record relevant intelligence from the documents?

Is this why the DNI is assessing the damage done by Trump?

Intel officials will assess 'risk to national security ... - NBC News​

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Things keep looking up for our economy. Inflation is easing. Then there is the new jobs report.

ABCreports, "U.S. hiring slowed from its breakneck pace but remained robust in August, with the economy adding 315,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rising to 3.7%, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.

"The report comes one week after Fed Chair Jerome Powell triggered a stock sell-off and stoked recession fears with his vow to fight inflation with interest rate hikes "until the job is done."

"The Fed has instituted a series of aggressive borrowing cost increases in recent months as it tries to slash near-historic inflation by slowing the economy and choking off demand. But the approach risks tipping the U.S. into an economic downturn."

The booming economy will not cooperate with the Fed.

"So far this year, however, employment has boomed. The robust hiring numbers have defied expectations and quieted fears of a major slowdown.

"U.S. hiring far outpaced expectations in July, as the economy added a blockbuster 528,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last month.

"The jobs added in July exceeded the already-robust hiring sustained over the first half of 2022, during which the economy added an average of 461,000 jobs each month," ABC.

Why Americans are giving Biden poor marks on the economy is a mystery, particularly when it is known from a historical perspective that Republican administrations have a history of recessions.

The last Republican President had a recession. The Republican President before him had a recession. The Republican President during the eighties had a recession.

Do Americans really think the Republicans can do a better job on the economy? If so, what in the world is the basis for that belief?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"The [Republican] Senate Intelligence Committee reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

Trump led a coup attempt to overthrow the elected government culminating in the ransacking of our capitol on Jan. 6. Some died, 140 police were assaulted, the life of the vice-president was threatened, and the business of Congress was halted.

Trump said he would issue full pardons and a government apology to rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “I am financially supporting people that are incredible and they were in my office actually two days ago, so they’re very much in my mind,” Trump said. “It’s a disgrace what they’ve done to them. What they’ve done to these people is disgraceful. I mean full pardons with an apology to many,” he told conservative radio host Wendy Bell on Thursday morning.

Members of his cult love that kind of talk. Trump is, after all, talking to them.

After his seven million vote defeat, Trump stole important documents from us.

"The expanded property list gives further detail of the volume of material seized by agents in the search and how it was intermingled with seemingly innocuous items such as newspaper clippings, photographs, books and clothing. It describes hundreds upon hundreds of U.S. government documents collected by investigators without any classification markings that were grouped in some cases with only a few documents that bore classification markings ranging from Confidential to Top Secret/SCI (Sensitive compartmented information)," ABC.

Trump and his followers are doing the bidding of our foreign adversaries by attacking the foundation of our democracy, free and fair elections. Trump and his misguided followers are still saying he won the election without ever producing evidence of such an outrageous lie.

It is entirely possible that Trump may be indicted for espionage, obstruction of justice, and/or sedition for Jan. 6.

Our President said recently, "There's no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the 'MAGA Republicans,' and that is a threat to this country."

CNN reports, "If Republicans take back the House in the November midterm elections, that would give them unilateral subpoena power,"

And all of this would be swept under the rug.

Is that what we want?

Is that what Republicans want?

Or do they want to be done with the Trump curse?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

This does not come as a surprise from a federal judge appointed by Trump and confirmed after he lost reelection by over seven million votes.

Unquestioned is the fact that Trump stole hundreds of pages of classified documents from the American people and carelessly stored them in his Mar-a-Lago resort.

NPR reports, "U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has granted former President Donald Trump's request for a special master to review documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago last month, temporarily stopping federal prosecutors from using those documents in their investigation into obstruction and mishandling of government secrets.

"The decision was expected. Last weekend, the judge said she was inclined to grant Trump's request, and a hearing on the matter took place last Thursday. At that hearing, the Justice Department laid out its argument against the special master and signaled it was likely to appeal such a ruling.

"Cannon, a Trump appointee, cited in her order on Monday the need to ensure "the appearance of fairness and integrity under the extraordinary circumstances presented."

"The FBI and the Justice Department have become vicious monsters," Trump in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on Saturday campaigning for Doug Mastriano.

Trump thinks he won the 2020 election. Mastriano agrees with them. Both are challenging the very basis of American democracy, free and fair elections. Has Trump's federal judge misplaced her sentiments?

Furthermore, Cannon's order contradicts itself here.

NPR continued, "The judge also ordered the government to cease any review or use of the materials for its criminal investigation until the special master review is completed, but Cannon said the intelligence community may continue its review to determine potential national security risks (created by Trump's theft) from the classified material being kept outside of a secure government facility."

"Cannon set a deadline of Fri. Sept. 9 for the two parties to submit a joint filing with a list of proposed candidates to be named special master and a detailed proposal to establish the duties and limits of the special master, as well as a schedule for the review and compensation.

Legal experts have said that requesting a special master is another attempt from Trump to undermine the work of the Justice Department and question their integrity.

It seems apparent that Trump's judge doesn't trust the DOJ. Strangely enough, she apparently trusts Trump more.

Did Cannon just make a very bad career move?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

NPR reports, "U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has granted former President Donald Trump's request for a special master to review documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago last month, temporarily stopping federal prosecutors from using those documents in their investigation into obstruction and mishandling of government secrets.

Trump stole hundreds of classified documents from the American people. Because the theft created a national security threat, the DOJ conducted a warranted search of Mar-a-Lago to return the documents to a secure location while they conducted an investigation of possible crimes, improper conduct of classified documents, espionage, and obstruction of justice topping the list.

It appears that the federal judge appointed by Trump thought it was important to protect Trump from the DOJ, citing "bias" and "leaks to the media," even though it was Trump who unleashed the media storm regarding the search.

To protect the accused (in this case, Trump), witnesses, and investigation techniques, the DOJ avoids publicity in its investigations.

Trump blew such secrecy all to hell. The judge didn't know that.

This is the man the federal judge wants to protect from the excesses of the DOJ.

ABC reports, "In his first rally since the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago home last month, former President Donald Trump took the stage in Pennsylvania for nearly two hours during which he responded to the raid on his home last month and President Joe Biden's remarks earlier this week."

"The shameful raid and break-in of my home Mar-a-Lago was a travesty of justice," Trump said of the search. "The FBI and the Justice Department have become vicious monsters."

ABC continued, "Trump's rally also comes as fallout continues from the Aug. 8 FBI search at his Mar-a-Lago estate, where agents recovered classified documents as part of an investigation into his handling of presidential records after leaving office.

Trump almost immediately launched into a response to the raid of his Mar-a-Lago home Saturday, framing it as persecution of a political enemy. He attacked law enforcement without offering any substantive response to the allegations against him regarding his handling of classified documents.

Trump also had words for our President.

“Joe Biden came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to give the most vicious, hateful and divisive speech ever delivered by an American president.....He's an enemy of the state," Trump said.

Our President spoke about MAGA Republicans who attacked law enforcement and a former President who stole vital documents from the American people and took them to his home.

Trump's vicious speech made little sense to anyone ... unless one was a member of his cult. Since reality is something they avoid, they loved it, and Trump was speaking to them.

"I don't feel he did anything wrong. I think that will come out in the end, but they just want to turn people against Trump," said Barbara, a voter from Mountain Top, Pennsylvania.

This is the man the federal judge wants to protect.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

This is the man the federal judge wants to protect.

"The [Republican] Senate Intelligence Committee reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

It would appear that Trump and the MAGA Republicans are attacking the very foundation of American democracy ... free and fair elections.

CNN reports, "In a surveillance video, Cathy Latham, a former GOP chairwoman of Coffee County who is under criminal investigation for posing as a fake elector in 2020, is escorting two operatives working with an attorney for former President Donald Trump into the county’s election offices on the same day a voting system there was breached, newly obtained video shows.

"The video sheds more light on how an effort spearheaded by lawyers and others around Trump to seek evidence of voter fraud was executed on the ground from Georgia to Michigan to Colorado, often with the assistance of sympathetic local officials.

ABC reports, "Donald Trump first introduced unsubstantiated election fraud conspiracy claims into the political mainstream during the 2016 campaign before making them the focus of his final months in the White House and the two years since, inspiring a slew of candidates and supporters who believe the same.

"It's an alarming trend, according to some election experts and historians who warn, if left unabated, it could weaken -- or in the extreme -- dismantle American democracy.

"The riot instigated by Trump at the Capitol exemplified how extreme election denial has been on the rise, especially among Republicans -- and can be intertwined with violence. And the constant drumbeat of denialism, these experts say, is eroding the very foundation of trust that democratic institutions rely on to function."

The denial of reality by Trump Republicans is on full display on this forum. Because they are uninformed they often make up scenarios that have little basis in fact, and, of course, sources supporting their odd scenarios are completely absent. Basically, they just say whatever they want to say and the truth to them is immaterial.

With Vladimir Putin's help, these voters chose our President in 2016 and Republicans may gain control of Congress in about sixty days. That makes Trump Republicans very dangerous.

To fully understand the threat to us, Wendy Weiser said it best.

"For the election system to work, our entire democracy to work, depends on trust in the election system. That is the reason why there is and has always been a peaceful transition of power after elections in the United States. And if that belief isn't there, then there's a real risk that can see more resistance to peaceful transitions of power, more resistance to the electoral system overall."

Wendy Weiser directs the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice.

"At least 23 people who deny the results of the 2020 election are running for secretary of state in 19 states across the U.S., according to the group — a number that has alarmed voting and elections experts. Four of those states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada — are ones in which Biden scored his narrowest victories in 2020," NBC.

Secretaries of state run elections.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

"The FBI and the Justice Department have become vicious monsters. Joe Biden came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He's an enemy of the state," Trump said."

CNN reports, 'It is extraordinary for a defeated ex-president to play a starring role in the first midterm election since he lost power. Yet Donald Trump’s decision to use the 2022 elections as a stage to avenge his 2020 defeat and President Joe Biden’s strategy of making the man he vanquished the focus of the Democratic campaign are shaking up conventional wisdom about November’s critical vote.

"A race expected to turn on Biden’s unpopularity and high inflation had already been shaken up by the overturning of a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion by the Supreme Court, whose conservative majority Trump had solidified. Now, the ex-President has roared back to center stage, powered by his inflammatory efforts to turn the midterms into a proving ground for his false claims the 2020 election was stolen and reverberations of the FBI search of his resort in Florida.

"History would suggest the Democrats – as the party of a first-term president – will face a drubbing in the midterms.

"But Trump has yet again shattered expectations and is turning what had been shaping up as a referendum on Biden and the economy into one on his own grievance-fueled politics.

Indeed, among the many issues being discussed involving Trump's theft of hundreds of pages of classified documents and the return of the Jan. 6 committee hearings this month, Trump was highly instrumental in the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. Without Trump's three picks for the Supreme Court that would not have happened.

The fact that Republican Party support for government control of a pregnant woman's health will likely turn every suburban and urban woman against the GOP is a definite edge for Democrats.

In a controlled environment, Democrats may even be thanking Donald Trump while Republicans may be cursing the horrible timing.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

When the federal judge stopped the DOJ from investigating the classified documents Trump stole from the American people, this is what she got herself into!

The Post reports, "A document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, was found by FBI agents who searched former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club last month, underscoring concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about classified material stashed in the Florida property.

"Some of the seized documents detail top-secret U.S. operations so closely guarded that many senior national security officials are kept in the dark about them. Only the president, some members of his Cabinet or a near-Cabinet-level official could authorize other government officials to know details of these special-access programs."

"The [Republican] Senate Intelligence Committee reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...rms-russia-aimed-to-help-trump-in-2016-198171

Trump still hasn't offered an explanation as to why he stole hundreds of pages of classified documents.

Not even a lie. That is very odd. Very much out of character. By now we should have received at least a lame excuse.

ABC continued, "Documents about such highly classified operations require special clearances on a need-to-know basis, not just top-secret clearance. Some special-access programs can have as few as a couple dozen government personnel authorized to know of an operation’s existence. Records that deal with such programs are kept under lock and key, almost always in a secure compartmented information facility, with a designated control officer to keep careful tabs on their location.

But such documents were stored at Mar-a-Lago, with uncertain security, for more than 18 months after Trump left the White House.

It is difficult to accept that a federal judge was foolish enough to get involved in all this and halt the DOJ's investigation of a national security threat.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

As Republican leaders in Congress try desperately to avoid Trump, his only support now is from fools. Fools like Senator Lindsey Graham who threatened there would be mayhem if Trump is indicted for stealing classified documents.

Graham is from South Carolina, and it is hard to believe a man that stupid could be a Senator, but it illustrates my point.

Then there is Doctor Oz, a Trump endorsed candidate for Senator in Pennsylvania who is running against a tattooed bald man who dresses in a hoodie, has severe health problems, has missed months of campaigning, and Oz is losing.

Grassroots Republicans are so uninformed they avoid this thread entirely. Too much reality for them. Reality is something they try to avoid while extremist far-right sources fulfill their fantasies.

These are Trump's people, and they chose him as our President in 2016 with Vladimir Putin's help and are expected to win control of Congress in November.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

CNN reports, "Ex-Attorney General William Barr’s scathing critique of a major court victory for Donald Trump in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents drama is escalating the scrutiny of the judge who put the brakes on the investigation."

The so-called "major court victory for Trump" causes about a 60-day delay for the DOJ to examine the classified documents Trump stole from the American people.

60 days before an election the DOJ does not provide any information that may affect the election. The November mid-terms are about 60 days from today.

Prior to the judge's biased decision, the DOJ had the classified documents for three weeks which they were busy analyzing.

Conclusion: it was an empty victory for Trump.

Anyway, back to the CNN story which concerns Trump's old friend. It is safe to say, however, they are no longer friends.

"On Tuesday, Barr took aim at a decision by Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon to grant Trump’s request for a “special master” to vet for executive and legal privilege issues the material taken from his home in last month’s FBI search."

“The opinion, I think, was wrong, and I think the government should appeal it. It’s deeply flawed in a number of ways,” Barr said on Fox on Tuesday.

"It was the second time in just a few days that the former attorney general had taken to the network favored by conservatives (and Trump) to hammer Trump on the controversy.

"Barr’s outspokenness will have consequences. First, such comments by a longtime political and legal conservative will add credibility to growing questions not just about Cannon’s legal reasoning but also whether Monday’s ruling, which delivered several big wins to Trump (really?), was motivated by loyalty to the president who appointed her."

Pardon me, but isn't that obvious? Her decision violates both legal opinion and common sense in addition to blaming the DOJ for what Trump has done ... unleashing a political storm. The DOJ wants to keep its investigations quiet, but the federal judge didn't know that and blamed the DOJ for "bias and media leaks."

The naive judge was also completely unaware of political blow-back. Trump started a media frenzy. The DOJ complied.

Back to CNN, "Barr’s criticism added to that of many legal experts over the quality and potential consequences of Cannon’s legal opinion.

"After last week calling Trump’s demand for a “special master” a “red herring,” Barr on Tuesday argued that the fundamentals of the case against Trump and those around him in Florida were already set."

“The government has very strong evidence of what it really needs to determine whether charges are appropriate – which is government documents were taken, classified information was taken and not handled appropriately,” Barr told Fox.

The forum's Republicans will remain unresponsive to the issues of this report.

 

[Teri]

The topic was Biden's era. Seems any topic has someone turn it to ...Trump. No wonder, with the bad conditions now...during ...Biden's ...era.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

The topic was Biden's era. Seems any topic has someone turn it to ...Trump. No wonder, with the bad conditions now...during ...Biden's ...era.

Do you know what "era" means? If not, look it up.