Trump home raided – are we next?

Last night the FBI crossed a historical line no one ever accused even J. Edgar Hoover of crossing. They raided the home of a former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. A coherent narrative explaining this raid has taken overnight to manifest itself. But we now have reason to suspect the FBI was looking for certain archivable documents Trump took to his home. Some of these documents might be classified. But even someone who once worked for the FBI calls this a de minimis violation that cannot justify this raid. This represents the political weaponization of law enforcement. The American people know it and will not tolerate it.

About the Trump raid

For reportage on the raid, CNAV has chosen conservative and some independent sources. Mainstream media sources have discredited themselves totally, and CNAV recommends that no one trust them on this story.

The Daily Wire has the most complete report on the Trump raid and the reasons for it. They cite The New York Times as saying the FBI were looking for

material that Trump had brought with him to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence, after he left the White House.

He stands accused of delaying the return of “more than a dozen boxes of material to the National Archives.” Some, not all, of these documents were “classified national security information.”

What they actually could have been, were the kind of evidence Trump will need upon his return to the White House (whenever that might be), to identify certain persons who have perverted the missions of federal law-enforcement and intelligence agencies. He would then classify them as “Schedule F” employees – staff in “positions of confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, and policy-advocating character.” Then he could fire the lot of them.

So the FBI would have one obvious motive to lay on such a raid. It now becomes a desperate attempt to forestall seeing a bunch of their agents, and those of other agencies, fired.

A second motive

But the FBI had a second motive. Marc Elias, one of Hillary Clinton’s lawyers, gave the game away. In a brazen and likely impulsive tweet, he said the FBI could nail Trump on Title 18 USC Section 2071.

Under it, anyone trying to conceal or destroy any sort of federal record, would face a fine and imprisonment. But this is they key penalty the Deep State wanted to impose:

[The offender] shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.

So now we have the more important motive: to disbar Trump legally from running for President again. It would also disqualify him from returning to the Presidency under any conceivable circumstances.

This falls in line with the statement by Dr. Steven Turley in an hour-long YouTube livestream on the Trump raid. He called the Trump raid a desperate measure and suggested it would not work as intended.

Chris Swecker, former Assistant Director of the FBI (and a 24-year careerist with that agency), told Fox and Friends he could think of no reasonable explanation for the raid. Any violation that did occur with respect to National Archives property would have been de minimis at worst. It would never justify a raid on a former President’s home, something the FBI has never done before.

Trump speaks about the raid

The Independent, a UK organ, carried the full text of a statement President Trump made about the raid:

These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents. Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before. After I working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate. It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections.

Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries. Sadly, America has now become one of those Countries, corrupt at a level not seen before. They even broke into my safe! What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States.

A history of political persecution and selective application of the law

The political persecution of President Donald J. Trump has been going on for years, with the now fully debunked Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, Impeachment Hoax 11, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so much more, it just never ends, it is political targeting at the highest level!

Hillary Clinton was allowed to delete and acid wash 33,000 E-mails AFTER they were subpoenaed by Congress. Absolutely nothing has happened to hold her accountable. She even took antique furniture, and other items from the White House.

I stood up to America’s bureaucratic corruption, I restored power to the people, and truly delivered for our Country, like we have never seen before. The establishment hated it. Now, as they watch my endorsed candidates win big victories, and see my dominance in all polls, they are trying to stop me, and the Republican Party, once more. The lawlessness, political persecution, and Witch Hunt must be exposed and stopped.

I will continue to fight for the Great American People!

Trump himself posted an image of this statement on his Truth Social platform. He followed this up with a three-minute video about the raid, that plays like a political advertisement. He uploaded this video to Rumble but, unfortunately, kept it private, thus making it unplayable elsewhere than on Truth Social.

The Western Journal also quoted the statement, if not in whole.

Swift and angry reaction

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) furiously called the raid

another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves.

To further his point, he cited the Inflation Reduction Act. That Act adds 87,000 agents to the ranks of the Internal Revenue Service.

Christine Dolan at Creative Destruction Media asserts (as Chris Swecker would agree) that Attorney General Merrick Garland and current FBI Director Christopher Wray would both have to have authorized it in writing. Swecker said that in his 24 years with the Bureau, no earlier Director would ever have authorized such a raid.

The Blaze reported that Trump was at his Trump Tower apartment in Manhattan at the time of the raid. They also had this tweet by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), taking issue with Trump calling the raid “prosecutorial misconduct.”

“Prosecutors don’t approve warrants,” he said. Evidently he forgot that only a de minimis violation was even alleged, or he believes that, as far as Donald Trump is concerned, no violation of the law is de minimis.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Minority Leader, released a statement that The Epoch Times repeated.

I’ve seen enough.

The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization.

When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned.

Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.

Can Trump and the rest of us trust all expressions of support?

Those are fighting words. They are indeed the strongest fighting words that Kevin McCarthy has ever authored. But CNAV cannot trust him to follow through, given his earlier record of middle-of-the-road-ism. They would be more credible coming from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Hours before the Trump Raid, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) urged Jordan to challenge McCarthy for the Speakership after Midterms.

Jordan serves as the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. Last night he called on its Chairman to hale General Garland and Director Wray before the green table.

What was on the warrant, what were you really doing, [and] what were you looking for? Why not talk to President Trump and have him give the information you’re after? We deserve answers now, and this Friday would be a good time.

[Rep.] Jerry Nadler [D-N.Y.]: call up Christopher Wray, call up Merrick Garland, bring them in front of the House Judiciary Committee, so we ask them the questions that the American people deserve the answers to.

Unfortunately, given who Jerrold Nadler is, and his Party affiliation, that is not going to happen. This is called “exhaustion of remedies” and “embarrassment of the nominal officer-in-charge.”

Suspicious behavior

The Democrats might have lost the last respect Erick-Woods Erickson might have been willing to accord them. Erick-Woods Erickson is a Never-Trumper who maintains to this day that nothing untoward happened with the Election of 2020. This morning he began by disclaiming any commentary that “the Republic is at an end.” But then he hinted darkly that the Democrats might have bypassed the usual way to get a search warrant.

Democrats have a long history of ignoring precedents they set.

Then he reminded everyone that Trump “used and expanded” Barack Obama’s precedents.

For eight years, I warned Democrats they were setting precedents their Republican successors would not just use but expand.

Consequently, Hunter Biden probably should just go on and burn down his house and all his belongings today.

Again, that echoes another aphorism by “Doctor Steve”: Mutual Assured Destruction. In other words, look out, Democrats! Next year, it’s your turn. Especially since

Merrick Garland has just energized the base of the Republican Party and probably inspired Trump 2024 to get off the ground with a fundraising spectacular.

Erickson wonders about something else. Why wasn’t Senator Charles M. Schumer (D-N.Y.) bally-hoo-ing about the Trump raid when Rachel Maddow interviewed him last night? Why did he hem, haw, and clearly Not Want to Talk About It?

Maybe, says Erickson, because Senator Schumer knows that what the FBI did was poor judgment, if not flat-out wrong.

Other reaction – and ground pounding

Dan Bongino reacted more explicitly, and in barnyard terms, too. And evidently he did it before the voice-delay censors could clip it out.

This morning, Todd Starnes suggested a state of war now exists between the Deep State and the American public.

This is the same Justice Department that authorized FBI agents to investigate law-abiding parents. The alleged crimes were complaining about school board policies regarding critical race and LGBT grooming.

The same Justice Department that is targeting law-abiding gun owners. The same government agency who refused to protect the homes of Supreme Court justices.

The Democrats have turned the FBI into a Soviet-style state police — a jack-booted goon squad targeting every freedom-loving, America First patriot.

Several Trump supporters living in and near Palm Beach streamed toward Mar-A-Lago to picket and heckle the FBI.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) reminded everyone starkly that, now that this has happened to Trump, it could happen to anyone.

Fact and fiction about the Trump raid

Under the Presidential Records Act, Presidents must turn over most records to the National Archives when they leave office. U.S. Archivist David Ferriero has been in touch with Trump all last year, seeking the return of 15 boxes of documents. According to The Epoch Times, the Archives got those boxes back in January. But Christina Bobb, an attorney for Trump, says the FBI “seized paper” last night. How much paper, she won’t say – and neither will anyone else.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has three magistrate judges in the Palm Beach area. One, Bruce Reinhart, approved several warrants on August 5. But the warrant applications, supporting affidavits, and so on, are under seal. It might or might not be significant that Judge Reinhart was once an attorney representing staff and pilots for the notorious Jeffrey Epstein. Nor is this to say that these were the warrants the FBI had.

Another magistrate judge, William Matthewman, granted one search warrant yesterday (August 8). That application and supporting documents are also under seal. The third magistrate judge, Ryon McCabe, had no search warrant applications on August 5 or 8.

CNAV does not conclude that any of these magistrate judges issued the warrant or warrants the FBI had. The evidence for Judge Reinhart or Judge Matthewman granting the warrant(s) is inconclusive. And even if they did, sealing the supporting affidavits is suspicious in and of itself.

Now you know why we need guns!

Recall also Justice Steven G. Breyer’s dissent in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. He practically demanded that the American people show just cause why State and local governments (especially city governments) should not confiscate firearms from all who choose to reside therein. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor joined in that dissent.

Well, former Justice Breyer, and Kagan and Sotomayor JJ, last night the FBI gave us that just cause! This goes to another point by “Doctor Steve” in his hour-long livestream. The one reason why the phrase banana republic does not – yet – apply to the United States, is the Second Amendment. That applies even after what happened at Mar-A-Lago.

It’s all very well for Nancy Pelosi, the (likely outgoing) Speaker of the House, to say this raid proves that “no one is above the law.” But that does not create a precedent for a raid on a former President’s house where none exists.

Now Trump will win

More to the point, far from diminishing Trump in the eyes of the American public, this raid has made him an almost literal martyr.

Strictly speaking, one need not die to be a martyr. A martyr is a witness – or one whose maltreatment, whether that includes putting-to-death or not, bears witness to the evil behind the maltreatment. This raid has indeed borne witness to the evil of this administration. The only ones cheering it, are Democrats – and the most prominent among them are remarkably subdued. Even Nancy Pelosi is not exactly cackling gleefully about it. Neither is Chuck Schumer. Mightn’t they have begun to worry that the Republicans will target them in a similar manner? Actually, Republicans wouldn’t necessarily raid the homes of Barack Obama or the Clintons. (They wouldn’t consider Jimmy Carter worth bothering about.) But they might lay on a few other raids, for which they have the thing likely missing here: probable cause.

Yesterday CNAV said that what Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s might be to the Democratic base, the Inflation Reducation Act would be to the Republican base. After last night, that is no longer correct. The FBI raid on the Trump mansion will displace the Inflation Reduction Act as the force galvanizing the Republican base. And it will be an order of magnitude more powerful.