# 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:** 305
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 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-15-2024/969329/6081 "2023-06-17T11:08:05Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I guarantee you that there is absolutely no possibility in Loser Donald’s mind that he will be found guilty. Unless you’re yanking on my lower limbs, you’re buying into his BS. He is terrified, literally shitting in his pants (though that may be from other causes as well), that he will be sent to prison. He professes to have great confidence in the adoration of millions of his followers but he understands perfectly well that many more “Trump-haters” as he calls us are out there hoping he will spend years in prison and more years after that roasting in Hell. Inside his tiny brain, he knows there’s a very good chance that he’ll be found guilty and can only hope for a lenient sentence. ---
**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 17, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6082 "2023-06-17T12:56:58Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Inside his tiny brain, he knows there’s a very good chance that he’ll be found guilty and can only hope for a lenient sentence. I disagree 100%. This is a man who has NEVER apologized in his life. “Hope for a lenient sentence”?? Yikes. You have made a sensible, intelligent statement there. Antithetical to everything in Donald’s brain, lexicon, universe. Have you not been following along for the last almost-a-decade? Looking at DJT’s past behavior for… oh… _his entire life_, this is the most likely scenario: > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > In otherwords she will soon become a “nasty incompetant hateful biased so called ‘judge’ who has no business being on the bench” (ignoring the fact that it was Trump who put her there). ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6083 "2023-06-17T13:03:48Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I disagree 100%. This is a man who has NEVER apologized in his life. Apologies are public. I’m talking about inside his mind where he’s been laser-focussed on avoiding being found guilty of the many crimes he has committed. To do that, he had to have conceived of the down side of being found guilty. ---
**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 17, 2023, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6084 "2023-06-17T13:32:45Z")
Inside his mind? This mind? [![](https://i.imgur.com/V25QZZh.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/V25QZZh.jpg) The only thing trump is capable of being laser-focussed [sic] on is possibly a golf ball right before he tees off. He cannot conceive of being found guilty. Unless by mistake. I don’t understand on what basis you credit him with the ability to think rationally. ---
**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 17, 2023, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6085 "2023-06-17T13:35:22Z")
Question: what happens if he really isn’t able to find a lawyer willing to work for him who can read the secret documents? Obviously your average public defender can’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6086 "2023-06-17T13:40:11Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Obviously your average public defender can’t do it. What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of the class at law school? A lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6087 "2023-06-17T13:41:38Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > If any Trump lawyer did NOT take notes, it could only be because he was secretly taping the conversation on two different recorders, the second one as an emergency backup. Or because he was an idiot. Never forget about that possibility, too. Especially with people associated with Trump. ---
**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 17, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6088 "2023-06-17T13:42:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of the class at law school? > A lawyer. I would also accept “Trump’s future Attorney General.” ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6089 "2023-06-17T13:42:09Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I don’t understand on what basis you credit him with the ability to think rationally. In 77 years and 3 days, he hasn’t spent a minute behind bars yet. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6090 "2023-06-17T13:43:22Z")
That has more to do with his family, money and connections, not in thinking rationally. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6091 "2023-06-17T13:44:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That has more to do with his family, money and connections Every little bit helps. It isn’t easy to stay out of jail considering the lifetime of illegal grift he has benefited from. ---
**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 17, 2023, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6092 "2023-06-17T14:15:10Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > In 77 years and 3 days, he hasn’t spent a minute behind bars yet. I see your point, but I would not attribute his escape from consequences to “rational thinking.” If anything, it’s an irrational denial of reality, a singleminded (“laser-focused,” if you will) drive toward survival of his ego (since he’s not in physical danger). It’s **denial,** and it’s not in any way **rational**. > ## The Narcissist’s Denials of Convenience > > Unless they are experiencing a [psychotic](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/psychosis) break from reality, as can happen with schizophrenia, people with [narcissistic](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/narcissism) [personality disorder](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/personality-disorders) (NPD) know the difference between fact and fiction, truth and lies. But because their personality structure is built around inflated self-importance (designed to scaffold unstable self-esteem), they hold reality at a distance and filter information to [conform](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/conformity) to their wishes. Add to the mix their exaggerated entitlement unmoderated by [empathy](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/empathy) for others and you have a [personality type](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/personality) predisposed to manipulative and self-serving denials of convenience. > > ## Forms of Denial > > The narcissist’s denial becomes a kind of [self-deception](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/deception) in which accurate perception is ignored and replaced with preferred distortions. Such distortions can range from subtle misrepresentations to unrecognizable alterations of reality. … > > **Dismissal:** Dismissing pushes away a fact as unworthy of [attention](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/attention). … > > **Justification:** Justifying rationalizes a fact to make it sound reasonable. … > > **Minimization:** Minimizing acknowledges a fact but reduces its importance or effect. … > > **Negation:** Negating is an outright disavowal of the truth. … > > **Reversal:** Reversing asserts a wishful, [fantasy](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fantasies)-based opposite version of the truth. … > … > [Source](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-narcissist-in-your-life/202106/denial-in-the-narcissistic-mind-pathological-distortion) This is not rational behavior. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6093 "2023-06-17T14:48:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > If any Trump lawyer did NOT take notes, it could only be because he was secretly taping the conversation on two different recorders, the second one as an emergency backup. > > Or because he was an idiot. Never forget about that possibility, too. Especially with people associated with Trump. Or you know, they were planning on complying with Trumps whims. No reason to provide the prosecutors with detailed notes of your criminal conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6094 "2023-06-17T15:02:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of the class at law school? > A lawyer. I’m sorry, but the answer is “Your Honor” As for him finding a lawyer, they’ll work it out. A federal judge in Seattle appointed me to a case when I wasn’t a public defender because there were 23 co-defendants and practically every lawyer in town had a conflict. He “asked” me to do it, but you don’t say no to a federal judge who you are going to see frequently in your practice. The trouble in this case isn’t really the secret documents, (although it is an issue). You need someone who can drop most of the rest of their caseload for x number of months. While this case isn’t that complicated\*, the defendant will expect full time devotion by his attorneys. In addition, the stain of working for Trump will discourage many. I have defended murderers, rapists, child molesters, and all the rest. I would not, however, defend this mother fucker. While I still agree everyone deserves a competent defense, it sure as hell doesn’t have to be me providing it. \*Other than some interesting legal questions (attorney client privilege being the most obvious), this case could be handled by a couple of criminal lawyers with a full caseload. There are a small number of witnesses, a relatively small number of documents, and an uncomplicated fact patterns. The hardest part, by far, will be to concoct a defense that you can present with a straight face. (typo fixed) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6095 "2023-06-17T15:03:48Z")
He may be able to keep his trap shut while inside the courtroom, though, arms crossed tightly against himself (and how revealing is THAT frequent position of his?) and scowling face but no verbal outbursts, so might escape her opprobrium. But no doubt he won’t be able to stop himself from hurling insults outside court, and then will she take note of that? To herself, if not on the record? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6096 "2023-06-17T15:05:51Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The hardest part, by far, will be to concoct a defense that you can present with a srtaight face. - “Mr Procrustus, it appears you’re about to hurl”. “I am, Your Honor. Permission to keep a bucket under the table?” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6097 "2023-06-17T15:08:39Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > “I am, Your Honor. Permission to keep a bucket under the table?” Early in my career there were spittoons in some of the courtrooms I practiced in. Merely decorative relics of days gone by I’m sure. But they would serve perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6098 "2023-06-17T15:09:24Z")
So when the defense team of course can’t take depositions, that will set up a new line of grievance: “The Deep State Trump-hating persecutors won’t let us ferret out the truth! Send money to help us defend our poor innocent Real president!”" ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6099 "2023-06-17T15:13:14Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > arms crossed tightly against himself (and how revealing is THAT frequent position of his?) and scowling face It may help to suppose that is his customary position for moving his bowels, so when you see him like it, he is filling his diaper. His facial expression certainly does support this supposition. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/6100 "2023-06-17T15:29:27Z")
Moderating: > [@slicedalone](#): > > It may help to suppose that is his customary position for moving his bowels, so when you see him like it, he is filling his diaper. His facial expression certainly does support this supposition. Let’s keep this thread focused on actual happenings and procedural matters. For speculation on other issues such as Trump’s state of mind, let’s leave that for other threads. Please keep Pit-like posts in the Pit. Thanks. [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=304) [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=306)