There it is, 2 weeks after the fact. Trump’s legal strategy is shitty…

On Aug 8th I said —if you thought the lawful search warrant was “overly broad” then file a motion to quash or filing a motion for a 3rd party (Special Master) I guess better late than never..

Prerequisite Background:

• August 11, 2022: Attorney General Garland has a few facts for us regarding the Search Warrant executed at Trump’s Mar A Largo

• August 12, 2022: Siri what is Espionage? And why can’t the MSM get their act together, there’s more than 1 warrant —I still maintain (irrespective of the DOJ’s filing) that there are several ongoing investigations and likely several other warrants. I also think Kash Patel should adhere to the doctrine; “silence is the refuge of the wise, zip your yapper Kash because your prolific appearances (Fox News) that’s going to come back and haunt you.

• August 13, 2022: What’s the difference between, treason, espionage and sedition…let’s find out. —I make zero apologies for the length of that particular article, it was a heavy research lift but I felt my readers would appreciate one article with a veritable cornucopia of actual facts and original documents

• August 16, 2022: Re Trump warrant: “…to protect the integrity of an ongoing law enforcement investigation that implicates NATIONAL SECURITY..

I guess two weeks after the fact is better late than never…said no competent attorney, ever.

Some of my readers will disagree with me (and I’m okay with that) if Trump “truly” felt the August 8th search warrant was “overly broad” and/or a “political witch hunt” (spoiler: um… they are not and this is a regurgitation of Trump’s narrative) —-commonsense would then dictate that his legal team would have immediately filed for (and yes in this order); a TRO, a preliminary injunction and/or an injunction. Yet it took two weeks after the fact Trump is demanding extraordinary relief and his arguments are weak.

If Trump had a competent legal strategy or at a minimum listened to his attorneys, He would have undoubtedly asked the court to “appoint a special master” on August 8th or shortly thereafter. Cough do you remember Michael Cohen’s search warrant? That his legal team almost immediately filed for an appointment of a special master? Ultimately a the SDNY Judge agreed to the appointment, thus causing a slight delay in Cohen’s indictment. I think it’s safe to assume that could be the very same likely scenario at play here, regarding Trump’s Warrant.

Conversely I feel like this needs to be said: “out loud and in writing” after reading Trump’s August 22, 2022 —27 page filing See Scribd link —I can’t help but think there are numerous reasons for Trump’s belated filing:

• Trump’s position as the perennial Victim (he’s not a victim) is the same dog, no new tricks. For someone who’s obsessed with being viewed as strong, Trump sure whines like a little cry baby and it strains credulity that he’s some how the victim. Well maybe he us a victim of his own stupidity and arrogance but then again if you believe Trump then I have a bridge to sell you in the Arizona desert.

• Trump tried to assert that “he’s concerned about the temperature and heated rhetoric” —all while failing to actually acknowledge that there’s nothing, which would preclude him from telling his Domestic Terrorist, I mean MAGA-GOP to calm down. Or being held accountable that Trump is throwing gasoline on a raging inferno that he set.

• Trump is using the execution of a lawful search warrant as a fundraising boom. He is also playing super fast and loose with the facts (that we know of) surrounding the search and seizure warrant —all while failing to acknowledge that the FBI/DOJ already has a “filter team” protocol in place.

The COMPLAINT/Motion for Judicial Oversight and Additional Relief against United States of America…filed by Donald J. Trump. Again see SDFL-ECF for the filing or via my Scribd Account —honestly it’s a poorly written and horridly argued position. I’m not kidding his attorney apparently failed to run a basic spell check, and the irony of me saying that is not lost on me. The provocative and incendiary language contained herein is likely one of the shittiest filings I’ve read in a long time. Setting aside the extraordinary relief Trump is seeking, the subterfuge is only accentuated by the highly dramatic and bombastic language. No real competent attorney would have submitted this filing. I’m not kidding about that. But I’m certainly open to a divergent opinion. In all seriousness the hyperbolic language and lack of applicable case law is both precious and egregious… (snort)

Trump sure plays the victim card, a lot…

Intellectually I understand the relief Trump is seeking, but there are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Trump should have filed this motion on August 8, 2022 or at the latest on August 9, 2022

2. The SDFL Judge has yet to rule (at the time of publication) —he is waiting for the various 3rd party intervenors (the MSM) and the DOJ to file various responses

3. The Government has had two weeks to review the materials seized pursuant to the judicially authorized search and seizure warrant

4. the footnote on page 1 of Trump’s filing is off-the-walls insane and his argument is the least persuasive argument I’ve read in a long time…because he made the mistake of only focusing on “Republican voters” whereas other polls have him losing “an election held today”…

You’ll note that Trump argues that he’s “trying to preserve Executive Privilege and/or attorney client privilege” —but I’d like to remind you that in January 2022 Trump lost, SCOTUS (8 to 1) held that Executive Privilege is retained by the “current” executive. And in some (very) narrow instances a former POTUS “might have a colorable executive privilege claim. See January 2022 article here because Trump’s regurgitating a failed legal argument is adorably anemic.

The fact is yes there might be a very narrow executive privilege but certainly not the ubiquitous argument Trump makes. The relief of an appointment of a special master, it’s best to wait and the DOJ’s counter argument. Absurdly though Trump wants the SDFL Court to order the Government to “pause” the criminal investigation. Again Trump fails to cite applicable case law. Moreover that’s not how criminal investigations with severe National Security implications operate. In short Trump’s filing is nothing more than him trying to control the direction of an investigation that has a very strong predicate. Additionally one thing keep in mind is what Trump wants, Trump doesn’t always get.

🌶spicy sidebar🌶

The fact that the DOJ sent an additional subpoena to the National Archives, what that tells me is;

• the DOJ is likely cross referencing what documents they concluded Trump unlawfully retained and they are likely double checking that the Government clawed back all of the classified documents.

• The recent news/disclosure that the DOJ subpoenaed additional CCTV footage of Mar-A-Largo —the subtext is the FBI wants to know who accessed that “storage room”, did said person have to mandatory security clearance to handle TS and TS/SCI -SAP documents (you can read more here and here)

In short investigators want eyes on who accessed the storage room and where they went after accessing the storage room. Again there had to be something that triggered investigators to seek a lawful search and seizure warrant and repeatedly noted the date/time the warrant was obtained —opining that something must have occurred thusly adding a new found urgency to clawback the documents he unlawfully took with him to Florida..and by all appearances other reporters noted the date/time the warrant was obtained.

• look at the date the warrant was authorized, it’s August 5th, and only executed on the 8th because agents specifically timed it when Trump wasn’t at his property.

And if you’ll recall, last week I speculated that there might (operative word) be a link to the recent IRGC Assassination plot to murder our Country’s former National Security Advisor —not to belabor that point —it’s speculation and there’s nothing in the public domain (yet) to prove or disprove my previous speculation. Whispers it okay for you to disagree with me, I won’t take it personally. I don’t think I’m the only one speculating on the catalyst for the search warrant. I suppose only time will tell who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s clear the DOJ & FBI have multiple investigators, as previously noted last week in the Government’s reply brief

“…No understanding stress that it would cause most Americans..”

That’s literally a central argument in Trump’s filing and I find it both amusing and horrifying. Particularly since Trump, himself is stoking the flames and he knows exactly what he is doing by firing up his Domestic Terrorist, I mean his MAGA-GOP supporters. Years ago I gave an analogy of what/who/when/how of Trump. But I guess I should remind you:

…Donald Trump is the pyromaniac that gets pissed off that the fire department showed up to put the fires out that he started…

Firstly the documents were lawfully seized do not belong to Donald Trump…these documents belong to the American people with the lawful custodian being the National Archives. Trump also fails to acknowledge that his attorneys signed an Affidavit—which stated in part “there are no classified documents remaining at Mar-A-Largo” -obstruction, lying something something because I still haven’t found evidence that Trump’s Mar-A-Largo attorneys actually have the prerequisite security clearance, or if the temporary SCIF was taken down —I did submit several FOIA request but I’m waiting on a response from the DOD, DHS, US Secret Service and GSA (again if you know how DC works then you know which agency to ask for documents)

Kash Patel is implicated & he should zip his trap

moreover Kash Patel is implicated and I don’t think it’s a smart legal strategy for Kash to appear on Fox News. If anything Kash should hire a competent white collar attorney and keep his yapper shut…. And lastly the Government already returned Trump’s three passports —whereas he had numerous TS/SCI SAP documents in his unsecured Mar-A-Largo

…agents seized documents, privileged and/or potentially privileged materials,and other items- including photos, handwritten notes,and even PresidentTrump's passports… that were outside the lawful reach of an already overbroad [sic] warrant. [former] President Trump like a citizen… is protected by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Property seized in violation of his constitutional rights must be returned forthwith.

Law enforcement is a shield that protects Americans… it cannot be weapon for political purposes., we seek judicial assistance in the aftermath of an unprecedented and unnecessary raid on [former] president Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

To be clear Trump does make a decent argument…

As it relates to attorney client privileged documents but my retort would be: crime-fraud exemption you recalcitrant lawless POS. Not the least of which you had our Country’s most secret and sensitive documents at your tacky and unsecured Mar-A-Largo “home” but pages 3 & 4 is Judicial Gaslighting by Trump…here Trump blatantly ignores that the National Archives and the DOJ attempted for over one year to clawback those documents

Moreover on pages 5 & 6 Trump completely disregards and misrepresentations of the efforts of both NARA & DOJ’s unsuccessful attempts to clawback those documents, truly makes my blood pressure skyrocket because this is what we call subterfuge…and shitty subterfuge at that —Because as previously detailed in February 2022 the NARA only clawed back 15 boxes —also I’m going to remind you that in Jan 2021 I was like “red lights blinking why did Trump change the POC for the NARA and his presidential records” but I also pointed to the January 19, 2021 change in POCs Moreover if you want to know who the FBI/DOJ have spoken to, see the second paragraph and I’ll let you draw your own (factually informed) conclusions …because I said what I said and I don’t regret it, largely because I had facts and documents to substantiate my positions…

…to be clear I wasn’t being dramatic when I tweeted out Trumps’ January 19, 2021 letter, this was me saying “he probably took documents that he had no lawful reason to have”… but then again it’s not like some of us were like “I’ll bet you that POS has boxes of documents he shouldn’t have” — so weird how a prediction from Jan 19, 2021 appears to be largely accurate, but I digress (see February 2022 NARA letter ) —I mean I literally told you that the NARA had officially stated that some of the documents they recovered (and attempted to recover) were clearly marked as classified —which is why it’s unclear how this was ever considered “breaking news” and why I kept referencing the change in the main POCs concerning the Presidential Records. Because again I tend to pay attention to tiny details and that’s how I knew in January 2021 there was an issue.

Additionally to those who said I was wrong about the “Grand Jury Subpoenas” I now refer you to page 5 —therefore any questions about the SDFL Grand Jury should now be settled… or not. In all seriousness (and for the umpteenth time) I would highly recommend you bookmark this NARA webpage because these are open source public documents. I suppose not only reading those documents and understanding the subtext. To be clear when I saw the January 19, 2021 change in POC, that’s when I knew that Trump unlawfully retained documents and it was just a matter of time and paying attention to the NARA’s various communiques. But I digress, again.

Because by now I do think that my readers are far more informed that random people on social media. However there’s nothing and I mean nothing that would prevent Trump from releasing the June 8, 2022 letter from Jay Bratt —the fact that Trump could have released both the Warrant Coversheet, inventory list and the aforementioned DOJ letter, is telling and not in a good way. Here we can observe Trump’s natural behavior “in the wild” where he’s always the victim, engages in advanced gaslighting and ultimately lands in “victim” land.

A “heated discussion “ with Jay Bratt…

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Jay Bratt called Trump’s attorney to inform them that over 30 FBI agents were executing a lawful search and seizure warrant. Especially if the Attorney Bratt called was the former OAANN “news anchor” —notwithstanding nothing in Trump’s brief should be interpreted as arguments “in a solid legal foundation” —if I’m going to be honest I’m pretty sure a 3rd year or junior partner could have written a far more articulate and persuasive notion. This Motion filed by Trump is akin to a raging narcissist douche canoe having a full blown panic attack and then needs to double fist double stuffed Oreos into his fugly calorie hole. I mean page 7 paragraph C is a thing of absolute beauty (not to be confused with the purported “absolute immunity”) of which I would expect that to be Trump’s main affirmative defense, should he be indicted.—whispers: dear sweet baby Jesus, can you please make about 84+ million Americans prayers/wishes come true? We need perp walks. Like multiple public perp walks:

….Bratt…phoned counsel for Trump… informed him that a group of FBl agents at Mar-a-Lago to execute…search warrant.Heated discussion ensued as to why the Government did not make a voluntary request to further explore the premises{sic}, given the expansive assistance that Trump had provided to that point.

Donald had a love message for Attorney General Garland…like a typical mob boss… #spydipshit007

Setting aside the audacious temerity of Trump and his MO of charming his way out of accountability, I actually screamed WTFINGF is this…because this is what I mean about Trump’s expert gaslighting skills. Trump is the pyromaniac that sets a fire, and then he gets pisses off when the fire department shows up to put out the fire he started… but this level of rank subterfuge and gaslighting. Trump literally confirmed that on August 11, 2022 he attempted to send a message to Attorney General Garland…

… Trump wants the Attorney General to know; that he has been hearing from people all over the country about the raid…If there was one word to describe the mood, it is “angry”.''The heat is building up. The pressure is building-up. Whatever I can do to take the heat down, to bring the pressure down, just let us know.

I mean Trump’s chutzpah is kind of hilarious, for a variety of reasons. For Example: 1) the target of a criminal investigative with major National Security implications does not dictate the terms, 2) releasing the affidavit (even in a heavily redacted form) would in fact put the investigators sources and methods in jeopardy, 3) the Government’s position has remained steadfast, that releasing the affidavit would provide Trump (and arguably folks like Kash Patel) a blueprint of who the witnesses are and how the Government knew there was a large tranche of TS/SCI-SAP documents at Mar-A-Largo

What does Trump want?

Easy that answer is nicely condensed on page 21 which reads in part:

CONCLUSION -For the foregoing reasons….Trump respectfully requests that this Court

1. issue an order that appoints a Special Master;

2. enjoins further review of seized materials..until a Special Master is appointed;

3. requires the Government to provide a more detailed Receipt For Property; and

4. requires the Government to remm any items seized that was not within the scope of the SearchWarrant.

Again like I said last week —if Trump truly believed this warrant was overly broad and that the “deep state” is out to get me… then he would have filed this on August 8th —the unfortunate reality is Trump’s filing is purely a political, self serving ploy. Moreover it also lacks a competent attorney that apparently couldn’t be bothered to run a basic spell check. Or properly cite case law but then again whadda I know.

Prologue on my MIA & Grief…

Lastly yesterday I took the family on a six mile hike to the (affectionately known) Devil’s Bathtub —it should be known as the polar bear jacuzzi because even with 95+ degrees and >70% humidity that pool was ice freaking cold…

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…Also I’m taking a few more days off. Earlier today my (former) boss’ monthly candy arrived and it triggered my grief. For over a decade I had his favorite candy delivered (either to my home or actual office) —I had momentarily forgotten that apparently I scheduled 2lb bags every other month and individual bags for other months because I’m that thorough.

So when the package arrived today it actually triggered my grief… I’ll explain more tomorrow—but I was so mad at the delivery I threw it in the trash can, only to immediately retrieve it. I also reached out to my grief counselor who suggested that I stop the delivery. I’m not in a good head space because I feel like canceling the monthly delivery will be me forgetting him. It’s a weird dichotomy because on one hand I’m better but then something random happens and I’m back to square one.

Grief is like a boiling caldron of love, pain, regret, confusion and just when you think you’re better —something happens that reaffirms that you’re not over the death. I hate where my headspace is because it’s paralyzing and it’s starting to adversely effect my actual productivity. Although I did go for a run and filmed this sunset but the pain is back to being raw.

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Again you can save yourself $2.70 by pulling down Trump’s filing from my Scribd account. The highlights and snark are my gift to you.