# FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 8, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329 "2022-08-08T23:18:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 102
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2021 "2022-08-31T09:11:59Z")
The picture of the documents on the floor seems to show the documents right next to a door. As though, depending on the positioning of the blinds, anyone outside could look right at them. [![](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2022/08/31/f2b10864-44fa-40c7-b1a1-1ae16e851fbc/thumbnail/620x366/007b0b5e8a7e561f25691de8d43c239f/secret-documents.png) ](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2022/08/31/f2b10864-44fa-40c7-b1a1-1ae16e851fbc/thumbnail/620x366/007b0b5e8a7e561f25691de8d43c239f/secret-documents.png) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2022 "2022-08-31T09:59:27Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Say what? We had a discussion about the etymology of Mar-A-Lago. Let’s rebrand it to “NARA-lardo”, as that makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2023 "2022-08-31T10:50:27Z")
Far be it from me to tell the _Time_ editor their job, but an update of _Knock Knock_ for 2022 would be a lovely cover for the next issue. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2024 "2022-08-31T11:53:31Z")
When I was in the military in my early days, someone once told me that the best way to think of classified documents was to think of them as weapons, and to manage them as such. A few years later I actually was the custodian of a unit’s classified document account, including NATO SECRET docs and TOP SECRET docs. About ten years after that I was working in a SIGINT facility and I had to get clearances that I had never heard of before and was told never to speak of by name. Possessing these documents is something that should never be done cavalierly. He deserves some really serious shit for this. But I fear that somehow he will magically teflon his way out of this. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2025 "2022-08-31T11:56:58Z")
That picture is _in situ_? I haven’t seen anything to say one way or the other. For some reason, I thought they’d laid out the documents found in that box on the floor themselves to take the picture. Is 2A the box number? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2026 "2022-08-31T12:09:32Z")
I’m _sure_ they’re laid out for the evidence photo and weren’t found like that. Frankly confused as to how there can be any confusion about that. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2027 "2022-08-31T12:09:48Z")
Mostly likely the 2A placard is an evidence marker placed by the search team. There’s also the “L” at the bottom to document the size of the documents. They’ll do a version with and without these additions to document that their placement did not cover or block evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2028 "2022-08-31T12:10:22Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The beauty of it is that the picture is in the DOJ filing immediately after the certification from one of Trump’s lackeys that “based on information provided to me” we ain’t got no classified documents – we looked real hard, and there ain’t nuthin’. […] > > So it’s a slam-dunk that Trump responded to a subpoena with blatant lies regarding possession of highly classified information. No, no. He told the exact truth. He said he ain’t got NO classified documents. That is true. He had a number of documents different from NO documents. He said there ain’t nothing. This was also true. He had _something_. He didn’t have _nothing_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2029 "2022-08-31T12:10:44Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Frankly confused as to how there can be any confusion about that. Presumably because the agents themselves wouldn’t have been allowed to sort through the items and potentially view documentation they don’t have clearance for? The idea of them opening each box and flipping through the materials looking for classified documents to lay out on the floor doesn’t really line up with how we’ve heard the search was conducted. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2030 "2022-08-31T12:13:03Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > The picture of the documents on the floor seems to show the documents right next to a door. As though, depending on the positioning of the blinds, anyone outside could look right at them. I don’t think it’s a door, or a blind. The handle is too low, close to the ground to open a door. I think it’s the bottom drawer in a cabinet. If you look, you can see the tip of another handle above it, with a horizontal line separating them. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2031 "2022-08-31T12:14:56Z")
No, the FBI should _fingers crossed_ be sufficiently well trained not to do something exceedingly stupid like spread out evidence they found in boxes or a cabinet (much less spread them out so haphazardly with some items just lying on top of others and one document with a page flipped open like that) just so they could take photos. That scene, with the exceptions of the “L” and the 2A placard, should be precisely as they found it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2032 "2022-08-31T12:27:13Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > That picture is _in situ_? I haven’t seen anything to say one way or the other. For some reason, I thought they’d laid out the documents found in that box on the floor themselves to take the picture. > > Is 2A the box number? I had assumed that it was _in situ_, but actually, according to the DOJ filing, it does appear that they were (rather haphazardly) laid out by the FBI for the purpose of being photographed. The only description of that photograph within the text of the DOJ filing describes it as “_redacted FBI photograph of certain documents and classified cover sheets recovered from a container in the ‘45 office’_.” So I gather from this that the docs were originally in some type of box. I can only surmise why one of the documents is flipped open, but maybe it’s so the unredacted version of the photo shows the nature of the information the document contained, for those with clearance to see it. It’s also noted that “_thirteen boxes or containers contained documents with classification markings, and in all, over one hundred unique documents with classification markings—that is, more than twice the amount produced on June 3, 2022, in response to the grand jury subpoena—were seized_”. Finally, it’s noted that: > The classification levels ranged from CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET information, and certain documents included additional sensitive compartments that signify very limited distribution. In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents. In short, this is really serious shit, combined with blatant obstruction of justice. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2033 "2022-08-31T12:30:48Z")
A lot of those documents are just white rectangles. And some of those don’t look natural. I’m going to guess that those white rectangles were photoshopped by the FBI to avoid the possibility of giving away secrets. The only pages not whited out are cover pages; anything that’s actual classified doc got the white-out treatment, even if the camera was too far away to read the text. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2034 "2022-08-31T12:50:44Z")
When I was an account custodian, one of my docs was a one-page NATO SECRET letter that, over time, had slid between two fat classified binders and seemed to have disappeared. Until I found it (in a secure filing cabinet in a vault), I thought that I was doomed. I wonder if Trump feels that way, or if he’s just too damned arrogant and/or stupid to understand. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2035 "2022-08-31T12:52:45Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The only description of that photograph within the text of the DOJ filing describes it as “_redacted FBI photograph of certain documents and classified cover sheets recovered from a container in the ‘45 office’_.” So I gather from this that the docs were originally in some type of box. I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2036 "2022-08-31T13:00:04Z")
i reckoned on them either coming from or going into the box in the picture. usually they are a bit less scattered in an exhibit photo. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2037 "2022-08-31T13:02:18Z")
Looks like you’d scrape your knuckles turning that handle. I’ve never seen doors (?) with hardware like that. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2038 "2022-08-31T13:05:36Z")
it does look like a cabinet/cupboard. a bit surprized that the handles aren’t in a gold finish… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2039 "2022-08-31T13:07:04Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > If his attorneys had any brains, … they wouldn’t be working for Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2040 "2022-08-31T13:14:06Z")
> **[Ex-Federal Prosecutor: Trump's Lawyers Need To Lawyer Up After New DOJ Filing](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/andrew-weissmann-trump-attorneys-doj_n_630efe27e4b065bfc4b33a61)** > > Andrew Weissmann said if he were advising Trump's attorneys, he'd tell them to "stop talking" and "get the best defense counsel you can possibly get." “Everything Trump touches dies”. Still true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329.md?page=101) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329.md?page=103)