White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked point blank during a press conference Monday whether President Biden had been informed of the FBI raid on former president Trump's residence beforehand. She flatly stated that he had not been informed.
That statement defies belief. There is no way that the FBI is going to raid the home of a former president without the attorney general advising the sitting president in advance. The political sensitivity of such a move is simply too great. In fact, the DOJ has a special group of HQs people dedicated to dealing with "sensitive investigations".
If in fact, it was true that President Biden was not informed of what the FBI was about to do at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, it means that Biden is so removed from the day-to-day decision-making due to his cognitive decline that he is, in effect, no longer president. It would raise the question of who is actually running the country.
I am trying to keep an open mind as to the justification for the FBI's action as well as the DOJ under Merrick Garland. Yet, it also seems a stretch that the FBI/DOJ would take such an unprecedented step against a former president in order to enforce the demand of the National Archives for presidential documents. We have all seen the flashing red and blue lights at Mar-a-Lago. Are we to believe that this action was at the bequest of the National Archives?
That would lend credence to the theory that this was really a fishing expedition to find something that would incriminate Trump in the January 6 investigation.
The FBI is entitled to withhold sensitive, investigative information in any ongoing investigation. I do not fault them for refusing to allow Trump's attorneys to witness the search. But given the enormity of this action and the obvious public interest, I think it is now incumbent upon the attorney general and the FBI director, Christopher Wray (wherever he is) to hold some sort of press conference and tell the American people exactly why they carried out this unprecedented action. That doesn't mean they have to disclose every sensitive detail. But the public is entitled to know the reason why this action was taken. The nation is being even further divided over the events of Monday, and millions of people are fearing that we are drifting into a police state. If those fears are unfounded, the FBI and DOJ need to explain why their action was justified.
Why do I have the feeling that if the answer was that Biden knew about this, the talking point would switch to, "See? That proves that this is all politically motivated and Biden is just afraid that Trump is going to beat him in the next election!"
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought:
Maybe the guy who's been sued (successfully) for fraud, who's refused to release his income tax forms, and who has multiple pending lawsuits against him is actually guilty of something?
Again, both the FBI director and the judge who signed off on the "raid" were appointed BY Trump. And Trump could release the warrant so we could all know what it was they were looking for.
Maybe they were looking for Hillary's emails and Hunter Biden's laptop?
I'm glad you prefaced all this with "Maybe.." A lot of supposition on your part. Today, it is being reported that Trump is asking for the warrant info to be released.
ReplyDeleteAnd now it's being reported that he's being investigated for having violated the Espionage Act.
ReplyDeleteIs Fox News going to have a Hunter Biden laptop story on tonight, or do you think that they're going to go with the migrant caravan? We haven't heard about Benghazi in a while. That's a classic.
On the other hand, do you think CNN will talk about Hunter Biden? Or MSNBC? That cuts both ways.
ReplyDeleteThey already have. Several times. Do a quick Google search and you'll find the articles and video links.
ReplyDeleteLike this? https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/gop-leaders-express-interest-hunter-biden-governing-rcna36852
ReplyDeleteWith CNN you have more of an argument. Brian Stelter (of all people) has come out and stated that the laptop was not a case of disinformation.
I also found news articles, not just opinion articles. (As I imagine you did too but then ignored.)
ReplyDeleteI do love how right wing media is scrambling to defend him though. The FBI planted those files! The files were declassified! What about Hillary's emails?
And now we've got Rand Paul calling for an end to the espionage act. McCain was right when he said that Paul was on Putin's payroll.
Maybe you should read my posting today on the FBI. I think I am taking a responsible position.
ReplyDelete