The Evidence is Mounting

Trump Investigations Intensify

Hey everyone!

Yeah, this post was supposed to have been published tomorrow, but as with last weekend, it was a busy day. I felt especially terrible due to the severity and urgency of this news story, but I hope you like it just the same.

Off we go!

This Monday, August 8, the FBI conducted a search of Donald Trump’s estate in Florida. This was in response to the growing allegations that the former president illegally removed classified records from the White House and is housing them at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. This would be a breach of the US Presidential Records Act, a federal law that regulates the preservation of written documents pertaining to the presidency.

This means that, coupled with the January 6 hearings illustrating Trump’s assault on democracy on that fateful day, he might have actually broken the law.

A person that Reuters describes as being “familiar with the matter” (their identity was removed for obvious reasons) said that the feds confiscated 10 boxes of papers, and a safe that was searched turned up empty. When an active investigation is in place, the FBI and Justice Department usually do not comment on the issue, nor provide answers, so what those papers were about is still up in the air. If I could guess, though, I’d say that it was some of those missing communications or evidence to prove the wrongdoing. Normally, the government’s silence on investigations is fine, preventing anyone from tampering with the case, but this time Trump is using that information vacuum to pass off his own twisted narrative. He claims that the search was politically motivated, part of a Democrat “witch hunt” meant to tarnish his reputation. Of course, this is false. Government law clearly states that a search like this can be conducted with a warrant and probable cause. The probable cause is there, as was a warrant. The whole operation is almost guaranteed to have been approved by the head of the FBI, who wasn’t a Democrat, but a Republican appointed by none other than Donald Trump. And, of course, in such an operation it is compulsory that it is given the go-ahead by a judge, who are supposed to be the pinnacle of justice and fairness in America. Even if not all judges are perfect, the judge in question is in a position proven by a New York Times article to be selected by other judges, and thus there is no chance of it being a partisan candidate. So, forgive me, but I don’t really understand Trump’s logic.

The pressure is mounting against Trump, that’s for sure. The heat grew when the New York attorney general, Letitia James, began her own investigation into Trump’s business practices. According to Reuters, the goal of the probe was to investigate

Whether the Trump Organization inflated real estate values to obtain favorable loans and understated asset values to get tax breaks.

Trump and his relatives fought long and hard to avoid personal testimony. They lost, and Trump today faced a daylong interview with James.

He answered one question.

It was asking for his name.

For all the others, Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment, his right to not incriminate himself. He still had plenty to say, though; instead of complying with the authorities, he did the exact opposite, blatantly accusing the Ms. James of having “openly campaigned on a policy of destroying me.”

In my own mind, if Trump had nothing to hide, why wouldn’t he have answered the questions? That alone seems pretty suspicious.

Despite the mounting evidence of Trump, Republicans continue to stand with him. Mar-a-Lago became a rallying cry of those who opposed the FBI’s lawful investigation. Republicans have promised their own investigation of the search “when” they gain control of the government. And Trump has long been teasing whether or not he’s going to run for president again in 2024. He even used the FBI search to solicit campaign donations. I’m sorry if I sound partisan, but I think that nominating a possible felon on multiple charges and insurrectionist for president is an extremely poor idea.

This fight will continue in the coming days and months. Buckle your seatbelt, because it’s going to be nasty.

This is a super important story in American politics, so here’s my complete list of sources:

F.B.I. Search of Trump’s Home Pushes Long Conflict Into Public View - NY Times

Trump uses FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home to solicit campaign donations - Reuters.

GOP rallies around Trump following FBI search of his estate - AP News

Live Updates: Trump Takes the Fifth Amendment in New York Deposition - NY Times

Trump declines to answer questions in N.Y. attorney general investigation - Reuters