FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024
Oh, I don’t think the DoJ will fight very hard if Trump says “No” to unsealing it, honestly. The reason these are sealed are generally to protect the target of the search.
In fact, the request to unseal says “the government hereby requests that the Court unseal the Notice of Filing and its attachment (Docket Entry 17), absent objection by former President Trump”.
This is basically a “Shut up, Trump” gambit. If he doesn’t want the warrant unsealed he should stop talking about it. And if he does want it unsealed, well, go for it.
AG Garland calls Trump’s bluff:
The order to unseal was signed by Jay Bratt who is in charge of this division of the DOJ:
Get one of these guys knocking on your door and your day is likely fucked.
Hmm, well then I’m not sure how well this gambit will work, as trump is perfectly capable of saying “no” and crying about why DOJ won’t release the warrant at the same time. And his base will just agree with him.
Ya know, with such a steady demeanor, he’d make a great Supreme Court justice.
Ow! ow! Stop hitting me! Sorry if I opened up old wounds!
LOL, you know me well!!
Yup. That is probably what will happen (Trump challenges, Judge agrees).
It is in Trump’s best interest to just shut up for now. The one thing that could convince a judge to release the warrant is if Trump and/or his lawyers basically publicize the entire contents on their own. At that point there is no reason to keep it sealed (and that is basically what they argued in the motion to unseal).
Whether he can actually keep quiet long enough is the question…
I still kind of think there is a decent chance this was just an effort to get some critical documents back. That’s why Bratt is involved - he’s in charged of compliance with Classified procedures.
Now that the documents are returned (assuming they all were) there is a chance this particular branch of the Trump criminal investigation ends here.
So far the only response from Trump to Garland’s statement is:
But Obama!!!
ETA: In case folks are confused by this latest bullshit, the back story is here: Updated Information About Obama Presidential Library | National Archives
But the easy thing to remember is if Donald Trump (or Jr.) is talking it’s probably a lie. If the subject is Bacak Obama, it is definitely a lie.
I like this tactic. In general, as Trump continues to be investigated for a variety of criminal activities, he can either keep quiet about it and pretend to be a wholesome, capable individual. Or, at each stage, he can complain that they’re being unfair, they use his complaints as a basis for publicizing exactly why it is fair (or, he needs to argue in public about why he needs to keep his activities secret from everyone), and he sinks his own campaign boat for the 2024 Presidency.
One thing you can count on for the general public is that they love a scandal and will always vote to have information released. Privacy is not a winning argument when it comes in the way of delicious sounding gossip, regardless of your political affiliation.
Well, we won’t have to wait long.
The judge overseeing the sealed warrant has given Trump and his team until 3:00 p.m. tomorrow to respond.
Sounds like we’re getting the whole enchilada even sooner than 2 weeks. And the affidavit may also be released.
trump’s team has until 3pm tomorrow to object to the release.
Going from 7 days to 24 hours makes me think that this isn’t the first that Team Trump is hearing from this particular judge…and that they’ve pissed him off, somehow.
I don’t think the judge is acting from anger.
Experts who know better than me just opined that there is a presumption that warrants and their supporting documents are generally unsealed in deference to the public’s need to know. Motions to unseal are generally granted and are rarely opposed.
I will say that the judge has been recently threatened by Trump’s rabid supporters. But I don’t think that really factors in to his decision.
(My bolding)
So does this mean Trump already knows who ratted him out?
I’m still concerned trump will give a very quiet “no” that no FOX or OAN viewers will hear about but a very loud and long “whhhyyyy haven’t they released it?” wail that everyone will hear.
Is there any chance the judge would release it even if trump says no?
No, no one sees the affidavit until it’s unsealed (and they’re not talking about unsealing that at this time)
The affidavit wouldn’t be provided to Trump. It’s for the judge only, not the target.
Where did you see this? That would be extraordinary to release the affidavit publicly while the investigation is ongoing.
The affidavit is only in support of the basis for executing the warrant. Now that the warrant has been executed, there is no longer a reason to keep it hidden.
Andrew Weissman just stated it on MSNBC, unless I misunderstood. That’s always possible.
I would be curious about both of these claims - neither aligns with what I’ve been reading or seeing today.
ETA: I see you cited the claim about the affidavit. I find that very surprising, I’ll see if I can dig up the clip.