# 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:** 294
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5861 "2023-06-14T06:11:23Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > A trial court doesn’t have the authority to determine whether a document is classified, or if they are “secret enough” to warrant being classified. Well, kind of. The court appoints a CSO (Court Security Officer) who already has the appropriate clearance to facilitate all the classified stuff. Once appointed, the CSO is considered an officer of the court. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5862 "2023-06-14T06:21:24Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Once appointed, the CSO is considered an officer of the court. Fair enough, but the jury isn’t going to be determining if a document warrants classification. There isn’t even a question about that part. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5863 "2023-06-14T06:24:56Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > there is an ambulance in this clump of vehicles. Robert Mugabe regularly travelled with a similar size entourage, including an ambulance. Of course Zimbabwe does not have 7 lane highways. I will posit the conspiracy theory that Jack Smith actually wants Mr. Trump to feel like a dictator, in order that he gets all puffed up and then spouts more self-incriminating bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5864 "2023-06-14T06:41:36Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > He made a nice visual for his MAGAts with that preposterously large motorcade. Well he _is_ the rPOTUS after all. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5865 "2023-06-14T06:57:18Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Hain’t got-time to read some lyin’ doc-_cue_-ment. Which would be true to form. My initial expectation was that the documents themselves would be somewhat nothing-burger in themselves (not that that is an excuse) but then I read that the indictment says they contain actual internationally sensitive security information and I was surprised. Much as it would suit my biases to believe he was planning on selling them to the Russkies, I suspect he barely knows what’s in them. I strongly suspect he kept them because (a) it suited his ego to believe he didn’t have to give them back because he is still rPOTUS and/or (b) he wanted to have something to show off to Kid Rock. If that’s right then it will just add another chapter to the book someone’s going to write called “The Downfall of the USA - how a once great nation’s entire system of government was destroyed to save the ego of a rich man’s deadbeat son” ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5866 "2023-06-14T07:24:51Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > > [@kambuckta](#): > > > > Oh he was in Full Trump Mode… > > Cool. You sticking with “brilliant”? > (Fooling stupid people can be described many ways. Perhaps we, you and me, just use different terms.) Yeah, I’m sticking with brilliant. He was clever and Trumpy enough to get the rubes frothing, he spouted all the right algorithmic words (Biden, computer, Hillary, end of democracy as we know it etc) that nobody could bear to shut the telly off before he’d finished! Alas, my Aus telly station shut him down halfway for more important local news, but still, I loathe the man but his speech was nothing short of brilliant (for excepting values of brilliant yada yada). ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5867 "2023-06-14T07:38:00Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > P.P.P.S. I don’t wish prison on anyone. Really. The innocent family often suffers as much or more than does the convict. Given Trump’s family, I don’t see a down side to this. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5868 "2023-06-14T07:41:22Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > P.P.P.S. I don’t wish prison on anyone. Really. The innocent family often suffers as much or more than does the convict. Oh no. Poor Ivanka. Poor Don Jr. Poor Eric. Oh no. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5869 "2023-06-14T09:10:50Z")
I think Melania and Bannon would be ok, though. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5870 "2023-06-14T09:20:19Z")
Fox News with its normal unbiased and accurate reporting. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fox-news-chyron-during-trump-speech-calls-joe-biden-wannabe-dictator/ar-AA1cvNgW](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fox-news-chyron-during-trump-speech-calls-joe-biden-wannabe-dictator/ar-AA1cvNgW) > As the they both gave their speeches, Fox ran a graphic that said, “WANNABE DICTATOR SPEAKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE AFER HAVING HIS POLITICAL RIVAL ARRESTED.” ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5871 "2023-06-14T09:43:55Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I think Melania and Bannon would be ok, though. Helluva Freudian slip there. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5872 "2023-06-14T09:45:39Z")
Trump campaigned on just that un-Constitutional/un-American activity (locking up his rival, largely for the crime of belonging to the other party). It’s part of his halo of reasons for being unfit for office. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5873 "2023-06-14T10:31:40Z")
Well, him too. Though even Melania doesn’t deserve to spend hours with the Hobo Monthly centerfold. I wonder if we’ll ever get a book from Barron about all of this. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5874 "2023-06-14T11:08:15Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I wonder if we’ll ever get a book from Barron about all of this. I’ve said for years, that’s the one book I actually want to read out of all this mess. Did he see the utter mess that his family made of the country, or has he fallen under the Trump spell like most of his siblings? If he has kept his wits about him, he has a unique perspective on all this crap. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5875 "2023-06-14T11:22:36Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Do I then think Trump was treated equally? No idea. But before saying he was treated unequally by leaving the courthouse a free man, I would want to see a statistical sample, not a cherry pick. Good points. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5876 "2023-06-14T11:26:23Z")
nevermind ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5877 "2023-06-14T11:28:29Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I wonder if we’ll ever get a book from Barron about all of this. If this were a movie, or a shitty soap opera, I’d give him about a 50/50 chance of hurting himself before adulthood. What a family! ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5878 "2023-06-14T11:41:19Z")
Clarification: My post was about Republicans not bothering to read the **indictment**. > **[Republicans are too busy to read Trump indictment](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/13/2175116/-It-s-indictment-day-and-Republicans-are-still-making-excuses-for-Trump?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=)** > > House and Senate Republicans have been tying themselves in knots trying to defend Trump after his newest indictments revealed his extraordinary efforts to hide highly classified nuclear and national security documents inside his Mar-a-Lago club even... ---
**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:** [June 14, 2023, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5879 "2023-06-14T11:49:41Z")
Those like McCarthy who dismiss security concerns at MaraLardo need to be forcibly reminded that bathroom doors only have a lock on the inside! Speaking of assholes, I’m I the only one creeped out by hardcore trumper Clay Higgins? ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/5880 "2023-06-14T11:50:01Z")
Re: whether the jury will need to see the documents. Absolutely. The prosecution needs to prove the documents were “national defense information”. This is now a term of art that Courts have defined to mean closely held national security information, classified or not. Closely held is further defined, meaning not in the public domain or known publicly. So, Trump could have a top secret document, but if the public is aware of the information, then it’s not national defense information and there is no crime. For example, if I had the document Reality Winner sent to the intercept, I’m not committing espionage. It’s public info. How the jury sees the documents is through a process called CIPA (discussed upthread). The Govt would prefer a “trust us” approach, the defense would like and probably deserve to know what’s on the document to defend themselves. The jury will see a redacted version of it that the Judge determines how much or little they see. If the information is too sensitive and the Judge would allow the jury to see more than the Govt is comfortable with, the prosecution would generally drop the charge. [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=293) [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=295)