A tantalizing promise was made by the judge who approved the unprecedented raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart promised to show a little leg to allow Americans to see the reasons he was incensed by “reliable” stories from the FBI to sign a warrant to let investigators upend history and take presidential documents and search Melania’s closet.
Reinhart, instead of inflaming anger in half the country who sees the raid as yet another instance of politicians using the FBI as private security officers to conduct naked political acts such as Russiagate, said in court and in an order this week that he would “reject” the Government’s argument stating that the record is sufficient to keep the entire Affidavit sealed.
People who believe in equal justice will find this promising. We might be surprised by Reinhart’s release of portions of the search warrant. But don’t get too excited. Judicial Watch and a phalanx media outlets filed motions for the Feds not to wear kimonos on documents. However, there may be a twist at the end.
Prepare yourself. Trump will look terrible if the affidavit is revealed. There will not be any fan mail, nice words, or exculpatory evidence, as in all other prosecution documents. Trump was also asking for the affidavit’s public release. It doesn’t get much worse than making up stories about the current president being a Russian spy, or organizing a riot. What could this information tell you that would make it worse than being impeached for a phone call asking about Biden’s corrupt business dealings with Ukraine? This investigation also includes FBI supervisory intelligence agent Brian Auten. He was the same agent who claimed Hunter Biden’s laptop entrails contained Russian disinformation. It’s going to be terrible, and it’s not going to be good.
A Facebook rant was posted by the judge against Trump. He also recently resigned from a case that involved both Trump and Hillary Clinton, the woman who orchestrated the Russian collusion hoax.
Why didn’t he withdraw from this case? This is a great question.
Second, the judge placed all FBI arguments to suppress or redact the documents under seal. We don’t know if anything will be changed. Reinhart stated that he would still think about whether there was a more cost-effective way to seal the entire document. The Government claims that redacting and unsealing the Affidavit in part is not an option, as the required redactions “would be so extensive that the document would be devoid of any content that would meaningfully improve the public’s understanding these events beyond what is already in the public record.”
Trust us, the act of raiding the home of a former president for the first time ever in our nation’s history, after all, that we’ve experienced, is not without context. We also know we have an “understanding” of the events beyond what’s in the public records. It’s difficult to believe that a sentient judge, who has watched the FBI circus for six years, doesn’t know that the FBI leaked false news to the media about the above, and then about Trump’s nuclear secrets. This was likely recycled into the warrant affidavit. It’s like Russia Collusion.
Mike Davis, a former Senate Judiciary Counsel, told me on my Adult in the Room podcast that there weren’t any nuclear documents in Trump’s secure facility at Mar-a-Lago according to the FBI.
He said that Trump could have these nuclear records, but it was completely bogus as there is no Q classification on the records they received back. So clearly there were no nuclear secrets in Trump’s possession that the FBI found. Davis went on to go through the codes for how each entity categorizes classified materials. He joked that Trump was going to launch from Mar-a-Lago. Biden’s Secretary of Defense was tricked to verify his authorized search because that’s how the protocols work…
He was puzzled as to why it took President Biden 18 years to address the issue, even if there were nuclear secrets in Trump’s possession. The FBI took days to issue a search warrant to Garland after he was informed that there was a concern about nuclear secrets in Trump’s possession.
The Feds are also concerned about the Trump search warrant documents being released. This is because they want to disclose sources, methods, and interview techniques. This makes sense. It is embarrassing to advertise your tricks publicly. As when James Comey, the disgraced FBI chief, sent Peter Strzok to find out what he could about a death investigation. He invited him to drop by for an interview (aka an official chat) with Trump’s national security advisor Michael Flynn during his chaotic transition period. This is an incredible ethical feat for the FBI.
A damning Inspector General report on the FBI and DOJ’s mischiefs is included in the public record. I don’t care if you hate Trump, and the magistrate indicated that he does. But how can you sign off on a warrant for a search warrant from the same people who used Hillary Clinton’s fake Trump Russia hoax to obtain spy warrants and lied four more times? Does pattern recognition count as part of judge school?
My favorite part of the judge’s order is his acknowledgment of “the intense public interest in an unprecedented search for a former president’s residence.” As if that were new to him. The judge must also have known that the public records statutes weren’t criminal, so the FBI didn’t have to pull off a Waco seizure of the former president’s residence. He must also have known that the president has the right to classify, deselect, and hold documents for an exceptional period. And that these aren’t criminal offenses, so there is no felonious charge or obstruction of justice. Our intrepid magistrate was not stopped by that.
It’s impossible for anyone to miss any of these data points so let’s just assume that magistrate Bruce Reinhart is familiar with them. He wants us to believe that he knows the ropes and is facing this moral dilemma. He believes the FBI’s “reliable information” and feels compelled to release the data. Hear his pain.
Remember who he really is. He is the judge who ignored the law and believed in a weaponized FBI. And he signed a warrant to capture a politician he publicly disapproves of within 90 days after an election.
Don’t forget. Don’t let this happen.
