# 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:** 119
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2361 "2022-09-04T13:28:29Z")
All except number 2. And as for number 1 you don’t know what you don’t know. So you check it out. Doubt that for 3 the FBI is out to block his reelection, although it may be a byproduct of all if this. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2362 "2022-09-04T13:36:11Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > All except number 2. Why do you doubt no 2? I think it is very likely to be a major reason. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2363 "2022-09-04T13:55:39Z")
What, they use typewriters? ---
**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:** [September 4, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2364 "2022-09-04T14:19:08Z")
Why not? Top secret information. One single instance of the document. No copies to be made. Do not write on word processor. Do not save to hard disk. Too easy to duplicate word processor files. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2365 "2022-09-04T14:20:32Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Why do you doubt no 2? I think it is very likely to be a major reason. Because any information system that only has one copy of a very important document is a very bad system. “Need to know” doesn’t mean that only one person has a copy. What if there’s a fire? “Whoops, guess we just lost highly important information. If only we had kept a copy.” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2366 "2022-09-04T14:25:24Z")
_Especially_ because Trump was notorious for randomly snatching at pages in the middle of briefings and saying “can I keep this?” Any analyst who put the sole copy of anything in front of the tiny-mitted grabber would not be invited to the next briefing. Besides, the primary reason there is a declassification procedure is so the document and its contents can be positively identified in order to properly declassify _all other copies_ of same. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2367 "2022-09-04T14:25:40Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > What if there’s a fire? “Whoops, guess we just lost highly important information. If only we had kept a copy.” Yeah, exactly. Having only a single copy of classified information on a piece of paper would be just about the most unsecure setup I can imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2368 "2022-09-04T14:58:56Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > > Why do you doubt no 2? I think it is very likely to be a major reason. > > Because any information system that only has one copy of a very important document is a very bad system. “Need to know” doesn’t mean that only one person has a copy. What if there’s a fire? “Whoops, guess we just lost highly important information. If only we had kept a copy.” A document may constitute a unique artifact. That is, the document is itself evidence of something, rather than merely reporting information from another source. And there might be a security rule barring making copies of it. Or a document might come into being, and Trump might have absconded with it before copies could have been made. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2369 "2022-09-04T15:22:45Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Or a document might come into being On a typewriter? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2370 "2022-09-04T15:26:20Z")
What an F’n mess. Every communication that Trump makes for the rest of his life must be very closely monitored. At the very least. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2371 "2022-09-04T15:44:15Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > On a typewriter? On a typewriter. With a pencil. Obtained from another source. Whatever. But the point is that the document itself as a physical item might be important as opposed to just the information written on it. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2372 "2022-09-04T15:54:22Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > But the point is that the document itself as a physical item might be important as opposed to just the information written on it. That’s the point that strikes me as silly on its face, thus my “On a typewriter?” question. I don’t think classified documents in general are irreplaceable or unique. If they are, like say it actually is written on a typewriter, and there is no other way to reproduce that document, and destroying the piece of paper actually destroys the intel written on it, then I say that every single part of that hypothetical is terminally stupid. I just can’t even entertain the thought the my country’s intelligence operations are run like the Keystone Kops. Oops, there was a flood, we lost our entire nuclear program. Too bad we didn’t make any copies. Alright, boys, back to the drawing board! Anyone got Oppenheimer’s number? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2373 "2022-09-04T15:58:16Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > That’s the point that strikes me as silly on its face, thus my “On a typewriter?” question. I don’t think classified documents in general are irreplaceable or unique. If they are, like say it actually is written on a typewriter, and there is no other way to reproduce that document, and destroying the piece of paper actually destroys the intel written on it, then I say that every single part of that hypothetical is terminally stupid. I just can’t even entertain the thought the my country’s intelligence operations are run like the Keystone Kops. > > Oops, there was a flood, we lost our entire nuclear program. Too bad we didn’t make any copies. Alright, boys, back to the drawing board! Anyone got Oppenheimer’s number? Again, don’t think of the information on the document. Think about the possibility that the document itself might have importance and value. Like the difference between a diamond and a photograph of a diamond. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2374 "2022-09-04T16:00:45Z")
I’m saying the “reason number two” is silly on its face and not even worth consideration. > [@Napier](#): > > 1. Because these were the only copies the government had, so we’re flying somewhat blind in several areas without them. You (Acsenray) seem to be arguing something else. This whole tangent is about the plausibility of 2. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2375 "2022-09-04T16:02:54Z")
Not too sure the _President_ would be handed raw intel which had not been copied (or is not being recorded, ala a phone call with a foreign leader), but this isn’t really my bailiwick. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2376 "2022-09-04T16:12:47Z")
He would not. There may be specific documents with handwritten notes or signatures that are of historical importance to archivists, which I think is **Acsenray** ’s point, but **EllisDee** is also correct that the IC isn’t going to be “flying blind” because Trump absconded with documents that they didn’t have digital copies of. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2377 "2022-09-04T16:30:37Z")
Aren’t Melania’s NFTs functionally a photo of a diamond? 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2378 "2022-09-04T16:32:55Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Not too sure the _President_ would be handed raw intel which had not been copied (or is not being recorded, ala a phone call with a foreign leader), but this isn’t really my bailiwick. What if that artifact is created right in front of him in his office? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2379 "2022-09-04T16:34:28Z")
Remember it’s not only intelligence and national security that is at issue. It’s the law that states that certain things belong to the government and that certain things must be archived. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/2380 "2022-09-04T16:35:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What if that artifact is created right in front of him in his office? Interesting. Perhaps Trump’s ability to focus on important things would have been helped if his briefings were lead by a magician. [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=118) [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=120)