# 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:** 83
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1641 "2022-08-25T21:42:58Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > The motive or reasoning or explanation is not important … I’m not sure I’d say that. If the FBI or DOJ actually has evidence that he intended (or actually committed) heinous acts with these documents, it would not only help send him away for life (or a gurney) but also destroy his support from the GOP and rightwing media. But I don’t actually expect them to have such evidence, and merely possessing the documents, as you say, is likely a felony. ---
**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 25, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1642 "2022-08-25T22:39:33Z")
> **[Inside Truth Social: Hands on with Trump's social media platform](https://mashable.com/article/inside-truth-social-trump-social-network-tour)** > > It looks a lot like Twitter but without much going on. > One thing that did pop out to me though was that the character count limit is 500 characters, a full 220 more characters than is allowed per tweet on Twitter. Finally, something different! That way they can say it’s better than Twitter. ---
**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 25, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1643 "2022-08-25T22:59:25Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > One thing that did pop out to me though was that the character count limit is 500 characters, a full 220 more characters than is allowed per tweet on Twitter. Finally, something different! > > That way they can say it’s better than Twitter. Even better than Twitter is my own social media platform, Wolfhowl™. The fact that nobody cares and in fact it doesn’t even exist is irrelevant – just like TruthSocial, it’s better than Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1644 "2022-08-25T23:43:30Z")
[https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/25/politics/trump-maralago-documents-private-concerns-legal-tom-fitton/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/25/politics/trump-maralago-documents-private-concerns-legal-tom-fitton/index.html) I hasn’t seen this reported anywhere before. > Trump began fielding calls from Tom Fitton, a prominent conservative activist. > > Fitton, the longtime head of the legal activist group Judicial Watch, had a simple message for Trump — it was a mistake to give the records to the Archives, and his team should never have let the Archives “strong-arm” him into returning them, according to three sources familiar with the matter. > > Those records belonged to Trump, Fitton argued, citing a 2012 court case involving his organization that he said gave the former President authority to do what he wanted with records from his own term in office. So someone was telling him exactly what he wanted to hear --that the Presidential records belonged to him, not the American people. ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1645 "2022-08-26T00:05:37Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > [https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/25/politics/trump-maralago-documents-private-concerns-legal-tom-fitton/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/25/politics/trump-maralago-documents-private-concerns-legal-tom-fitton/index.html) > > I hasn’t seen this reported anywhere before. > > > Trump began fielding calls from Tom Fitton, a prominent conservative activist. > > > > Fitton, the longtime head of the legal activist group Judicial Watch, had a simple message for Trump — it was a mistake to give the records to the Archives, and his team should never have let the Archives “strong-arm” him into returning them, according to three sources familiar with the matter. > > > > Those records belonged to Trump, Fitton argued, citing a 2012 court case involving his organization that he said gave the former President authority to do what he wanted with records from his own term in office. > > **So someone was telling him exactly what he wanted to hear** --that the Presidential records belonged to him, not the American people. There seem to be many such parasites in Trump’s orbit…ultimately resulting in his, and our country’s, regret. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1646 "2022-08-26T00:31:46Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > So someone was telling him exactly what he wanted to hear --that the Presidential records belonged to him, not the American people. And, assuming Trump is ever charged with anything, they should charge this guy with “conspiracy to…”. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1647 "2022-08-26T01:10:56Z")
> [@Mr.E](#): > > It’s entirely plausible that they were all leftover documents from when Mar-a-lago was the “Southern White House” and that Trump Laziness was in fact the true reason for all this. Except that M-a-L had a SCIF built during his time in office. Anything classified should have been stored there, and it would have been pretty easy to make sure nothing was left behind when they decommissioned the SCIF. So if these _were_ documents he had just laying around, he was already being pretty cavalier with classified documents even before he lost the election. > **[Mar-a-Lago | Trump presidency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar-a-Lago#Trump_presidency)** > > President Trump referred to Mar-a-Lago as his "Winter White House", and on occasion his "Southern White House". > During Trump's presidency a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) was operational at Mar-a-Lago; it was removed after he left office. The SCIF was used for communications with the White House Situation Room and Pentagon. The Mar-a-Lago Crowd, an informal group organized by President Trump which oversaw many of the activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs during t... ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1648 "2022-08-26T01:32:00Z")
About that Mar-a-Lago SCIF… every story I read about it says something like, “Sean Spicer mentioned in a press briefing that a SCIF had been installed at Mar-a-Lago.” Are we taking Sean Spicer’s word on this one? That seems like a bad idea. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2022, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1649 "2022-08-26T01:33:15Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Are we taking Sean Spicer’s word on this one? That seems like a bad idea. Considering that a SCIF is an essential part of the president doing his job, well, yeah, okay, I could see them just lying about Trump having one there. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 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-15-2024/969329/1650 "2022-08-26T03:39:13Z")
I just read this article, and it worries me. Gift link from WaPo: [The “Myth” of Presidential Security Clearance](https://wapo.st/3wwDZz7). > Prosecutors scrutinizing Donald Trump for possible mishandling of classified information will have to do so without a key legal and factual element that has long been a staple of such cases, according to intelligence experts. That’s because, unlike the vast majority of federal workers who access secret information, presidents are not made to sign paperwork on classified documents as part of their joining or leaving the government. The gist of the article is that most rank-and-file government employees sign nondisclosure agreements stating that they are not supposed to reveal classified information and are supposed to return any classified documents when they leave employment, whereas presidents do not usually sign anything or get debriefed when they leave office. So, blah, blah, blah, trump might only be in trouble for refusing the grand jury subpoena for the return of documents (in May). He could also still be in trouble for concealment of documents and destruction of documents. > “Because the president himself is the ultimate classifying authority, it makes sense that agencies do not formally read presidents in to classified programs,” Deeks said. “In terms of former presidents, **Congress itself has recognized in statute that former presidents would still have access to at least some of their records, though Congress also has made clear that former presidents do not own those records personally**.” (Bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1651 "2022-08-26T04:02:43Z")
If I ran the circus, presidential candidates and legislators who wanted/needed access to sensitive documents would have to undergo a standard FBI security clearance background check, and while the result of the check wouldn’t restrict their clearance the report from the check would be made available to the public so that they can decide whether they trust this person to lead them. > [@Akaj](#): > > (or a gurney) There is absolutely zero chance of that. There hasn’t been a federal execution since McVey in 2001, and Biden is generally anti-death penalty. If the feds tried to get Trump on death row, even I would protest that as an abuse of executive power. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1652 "2022-08-26T04:48:19Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > New info from WaPo: > > [https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1562847275080192000?t=PDyC4couUNjEYY1N6\_ezcQ&s=19](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1562847275080192000?t=PDyC4couUNjEYY1N6_ezcQ&s=19) > [@](#): > > The FBI found documents in Trump’s _bedroom_, office, and the first-floor storage room at Mar-a-Lago during the Aug. 8 search. [https://wapo.st/3KiEiTH](https://t.co/zQNOmNyGC9) I wonder how significant it is that documents were (according to this tweet, at least) found in Trump’s bedroom. I’ve seen reports that someone at Mar-a-Lago put a padlock on the room where the documents were stored, but I doubt that was done with Trump’s bedroom. The search was done while Trump was in New Jersey, so anything left out of the padlocked closet was probably there since Trump’s last visit. I also wonder if the FBI deliberately timed the search for a time when some of the classified documents were not under lock and key. ---
**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 26, 2022, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1653 "2022-08-26T04:55:38Z")
If correct, that may broaden potential informants to include housekeeping staff. ---
**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 26, 2022, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1654 "2022-08-26T05:34:45Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > but also destroy his support from the GOP This will never happen. There could be video of Trump xeroxing the US nuclear defense plan and handing the copies to Putin with one hand while rubbing Putin off with the other hand and the GOP would say Trump has the legal right to do it and also why aren’t you asking about Hunter’s laptop. ---
**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 26, 2022, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1655 "2022-08-26T05:54:52Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > The gist of the article is that most rank-and-file government employees sign nondisclosure agreements stating that they are not supposed to reveal classified information and are supposed to return any classified documents when they leave employment, whereas presidents do not usually sign anything or get debriefed when they leave office. That seems relevant only until he is formally informed by the National Archives that he’s legally obligated to return the documents. It seems clear that he was, and failed to follow the directives. If the story was that he took a bunch of documents when he left, was told to return them, and promptly did, then it seems that it would be important to establish if he was given a briefing before he took the documents if you’re deciding whether he was guilty of a crime. But in this time stream, he took them, was told to return them, dragged his feet, gave back some of them, claimed he had none left (in writing) but lied, continued to keep them, and it took a warrant to retrieve them. I don’t see anyone claiming that taking the documents was the problem. It was keeping them, not securing them, and refusing to return them, even lying about having them and apparently destroying some of them. You might as well argue that the gun you used to murder someone was properly registered and therefore you committed no crime. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1656 "2022-08-26T11:35:19Z")
I thought taking AND keeping were both problems, but like you said, especially the keeping. Especially after NARA started asking him to return them. But I guess he’ll try to say nobody told him and he genuinely believes they’re his, so no harm no foul. Which is BS, but the article claims that other former government employees such as General Petraeus, were prosecuted on the basis of having been “read” in and out. ---
**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 26, 2022, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1657 "2022-08-26T12:11:23Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > There hasn’t been a federal execution since McVey in 2001, [This is not correct](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_executed_by_the_United_States_federal_government). There have been 15 executions since McVeigh, 13 of them under Trump, with 3 of them in Trump’s final week in office. ---
**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 26, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1658 "2022-08-26T12:48:55Z")
Execution is fantasyland. If the mere lawful search was met with an incoherent uproar, imagine killing the fucker. The most he’d ever get would be house arrest at Mara Lardo. It _would_ be sweet though, if he was prohibited from golfing. Water water everywhere… ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 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-15-2024/969329/1659 "2022-08-26T13:14:21Z")
With the judge allowing the release of a redacted affidavit, if I was conspiratorially minded, I might believe they were trying to find an excuse to allow the filing of charges to slip away while convincing everyone who has an open mind that Trump is fully guilty and is only slipping conviction on a technicality. A lawyer trick gives the big fish a chance to slip out of the net once again. If they have everything back now-- he cannot cause any new trouble with the documents, and who wants to have their name associated with the very first criminal charges against a former president? I have swung back to believing this will be a big pile of nothing in the end. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/1660 "2022-08-26T13:23:59Z")
> [@Temporary\_Name](#): > > who wants to have their name associated with the very first criminal charges against a former president? Who wouldn’t? [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=82) [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=84)