# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/381 "2022-08-11T01:50:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > There would be the hope that this encourages the FBI to keep it at that, and not escalate to prosecutions. I’m not convinced that there is any factor at play here in the Trump team strategy other than “Given that Thing X has happened, here is what we should say about it in order to grift the marks out of more money.” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/382 "2022-08-11T02:35:36Z")
I’ll admit that that’s not impossible, so maybe. Though it only explains the Trump side of things. ---
**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 11, 2022, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/383 "2022-08-11T02:38:34Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Sure, but in terms of avoiding a Deep State Conspiracy undercurrent, you could only go worse by connecting the guy to George Soros. > > I’m sure that, in reality, he’s just any other person and a fairly reasonable judge. But I’d strongly prefer that he was a little less interesting. Good lawyers get the interesting cases. ---
**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 11, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/384 "2022-08-11T03:27:24Z")
I Googled Mar A Lago. I thought it was supposed to have a golf course. All I see is a bunch of big buildings with a pool and a putting green. ---
**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 11, 2022, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/385 "2022-08-11T03:39:59Z")
The Trump International golf club is just down the road. Mar-A-Lago itself is more of just a club (and tax break for business expenses - it was originally a private estate) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/386 "2022-08-11T04:18:28Z")
… and creepy graveyard… ---
**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 11, 2022, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/387 "2022-08-11T04:19:09Z")
Random thoughts before bed… 1. On January 15th, 2021, Mark Meadows’ wife was seen stuffing boxes of souvenirs into a van: > 1. 4 days later, Dotard assigns seven people as having authority over Presidential Records. One of those 7 was Meadows. Patsy Baloney was another, and is that the same Engle mentioned in the J6 hearings? [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52278331735_4d2661e26e_b.jpg "20220810\_225626") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/52278331735/) 1. But I haven’t seen any evidence that Meadows was near Maralago to place the documents with enough precision as to justify the warrant. So… who? I’ve seen suggestions of staff, (like ‘the maid’ kind of staff, not ‘Ivanka’), but that makes little sense. Everyone has their favorite insider (Jared! Bannon!) but that’s really more wish fulfillment… right? Who _has_ spoken out? Minor functionaries. “Assistant’s to the…” type people. Election volunteer workers kind of people. So I think it’s obvious who it was. The person has to be: 1. Bound more by duty than Trump 2. Able to recognize what they are seeing … and this is key … 1. Able to _credibly testify in Federal Court or to a Federal Officer_ just exactly what you saw, where, and when, in a manner so persuasive either in evidence or authority, as to convince multiple layers of Federal bureaucracy to take action against a former President. Video with sound? Meadows? I’m going with a Secret Service officer. There’s my stake in the ground. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/388 "2022-08-11T04:31:37Z")
This is possibly new thread territory but I’ll float it here - if Trump is deemed unqualified to run for President: 1. Do states have to comply and keep him off their ballots? 2. What if he is the winner in some states by write-in? 3. Could the Electoral College vote for him anyway? 4. Could congress weasel him in to the Presidency somehow? 5. Would Weird SCOTUS allow such chicanery? Or allow it by washing their hands of it? ---
**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:** [August 11, 2022, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/389 "2022-08-11T05:04:07Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Would Weird SCOTUS allow such chicanery? I expect the current SCOTUS majority would throw out the disqualification law entirely and point to the handful of clauses in the Constitution as the sole legal basis for who can hold the office. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/390 "2022-08-11T05:22:53Z")
It’s no different than if someone not a natural-born US citizen was put on the ballot. I suspect the votes wouldn’t be certified. Remember that was the process that the Jan 6 insurrectionists were trying to disrupt. It’s normally a formality, but I think in that case it wouldn’t be. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/391 "2022-08-11T05:47:41Z")
Well, this seems to be more than rumor and speculation. > **[Exclusive: An Informer Told the FBI What Docs Trump Was Hiding, and Where](https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-informer-told-fbi-what-docs-trump-was-hiding-where-1732283)** > > The FBI's raid on Mar-a-Lago was carried out while Donald Trump was absent in the hope it would be low-profile. The plan was a "spectacular" failure. The search **was** based on tips from an informant. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/392 "2022-08-11T11:00:06Z")
> The plan was a “spectacular” failure. Because Donnie blew it out of the water to further his personal mission of being seen as persecuted. Yeah, the media would have found out about the search and seizure, but the FBI/DOJ have shown they can keep mum on the subject. Trump turned it into a three-alarm extravaganza. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/393 "2022-08-11T11:23:11Z")
Question (or rather questions): I’ve seen some chatter about how Trump’s lawyers were “not allowed to be present for the search”. Are the subjects of a search or their lawyers typically allowed to be present during searches like this? _Were_ Trump’s lawyers explicitly barred from being present? In fact, apart from the whole “former president” angle and to the extent that we know what happened, was this just a typical FBI execution of a search warrant or was this carried out in an unusual way in any way? ---
**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:** [August 11, 2022, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/394 "2022-08-11T11:27:57Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Are the subjects of a search or their lawyers typically allowed to be present during searches like this? [This is what TMZ is saying about that](https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/09/fbi-waited-for-trump-to-leave-town-before-conducting-raid/): > The FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago and [**Donald Trump**](https://www.tmz.com/people/donald-trump/)’s visit to New York City were not coincidental … the feds timed the raid so there would not be a confrontation between agents and the former President … law enforcement sources tell TMZ. > Sources involved in numerous FBI searches tell TMZ … even if there were not a confrontation, protocol in raids like the one Monday would go like this … the FBI would swoop in and, if the target of the search warrant was in the house, agents would typically handcuff the target until the property was secured. The target would not be arrested, but rather detained. > Once the property was secured, agents would remove the handcuffs but the target could not reenter the premises until the raid was completed. > This would present an extremely awkward situation for the feds, and it would become a political hot potato. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/395 "2022-08-11T11:34:27Z")
So I’m guessing they wouldn’t let the lawyers mope around either. Makes sense - there would be an increased risk of tampering with or taking evidence by the subject or their representatives. ---
**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 11, 2022, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/396 "2022-08-11T11:36:08Z")
All those dorks yelling Civil War on Tuesday? Saved a few links, waited two days, then start reminding them that, you know, WE’RE WAITING!! [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52278381658_d701425f82_b.jpg "SmartSelect\_20220811-062017\_Chrome") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/52278381658/) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/397 "2022-08-11T11:51:51Z")
JFTR, the late Mrs. Trump I is buried at his _New Jersey_ golf course: > **[Why Ivana Trump Was Buried at Bedminster Golf Course: 3 Theories](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ivana-trump-buried-bedminster-3-theories.html)** > > With his ex-wife’s burial in a simple grave, Trump’s weird 15-year dream of turning his New Jersey property into a cemetery has come true. It’s possible that [**Carole Baskin’s**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_Baskin) late husband is buried at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago (**[West Palm Beach](https://www.maralagoclub.com/golf)**) course, but I’m certainly not claiming that’s true 😉 ---
**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:** [August 11, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/398 "2022-08-11T12:06:24Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > So I’m guessing they wouldn’t let the lawyers mope around either. Makes sense - there would be an increased risk of tampering with or taking evidence by the subject or their representatives. To be clear, I just posted something I read on TMZ. I have no knowledge as to how true it is and assuming it’s true, if they actually did it. That is, if anyone on the premises was actually handcuffed and detained for any length of time. I would assume they’d at least have cleared everyone one out. While that allows Trump to throw a hissy fit about not having any witnesses, I think it would be worse if his people were allowed to witness it. Trump would then almost certainly, IMO, have not only accused the FBI of planting evidence, but he would imply (or outright state) that the witnesses saw them planting evidence. That, of course, will put the witness in the hot seat. His most loyal minions may be willing to lie about what they saw. But a young lawyer with their whole career in front of them or a random employee that just happens to work there, might not be willing to end up in jail or get fined into bankruptcy over this. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/399 "2022-08-11T12:15:10Z")
And now I’m hungry for gristly nuggets. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/400 "2022-08-11T13:29:24Z")
Any Bojack fans here? Am I the only one who keeps reading that to the tune of Prickly Muffin? [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=19) [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=21)