Merrick Garland brags about Trump raid

Attorney General Merrick Garland yesterday bragged about the Trump raid, now saying he personally authorized it. But in the process he made his Department look unable to get its story straight. Not only that, but the Mainstream Media clearly revealed themselves to be Spin Hospital Central in covering his announcement.

What Merrick Garland said

Merrick Garland delivered his latest remarks at a press conference yesterday afternoon. For whatever motive, he published those remarks on the Justice Department site.

He began by announcing that he had filed a motion with Magistrate judge Bruce E. Reinhart to unseal the warrant. Then he made this strange remark:

Copies of both the warrant and the FBI property receipt were provided on the day of the search to the former President’s counsel, who was on site during the search.

That flatly contradicts Lawyer Christina Bobb’s statement that the lead agent showed her the warrant from ten feet away. But we now hear that Bobb told CNBC that someone did leave a copy of the warrant at the residence. Perhaps they didn’t leave the copy until after the search.

After repeating several boilerplate comments (likely none of them sincere), Garland gave these stunners:

First, I personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter.

Second, the Department does not take such a decision lightly. Where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search, and to narrowly scope any search that is undertaken.

Third, let me address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors. I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked.

Trump responds

Trump has his own platform (Truth Social), of course. On it, he immediately posted this comment about Barack Obama taking documents with him when he left the White House:

I continue to ask, what happened to the 33 Million pages of documents taken to Chicago by President Obama? The Fake News Media refuses to talk about that. They want it CANCELED!

Later in the evening he forcefully indicated his support for the motion to unseal:

Not only will I not oppose the release of documents related to the unAmerican, unwarranted, and unnecessary raid and break-in of my home in Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago, I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents, even though they have been drawn up by radical left Democrats and possible future political opponents, who have a strong and powerful vested interest in attacking me, much as they have done for the last 6 years.

My poll numbers are the strongest they have ever been, fundraising by the Republican Party is breaking all records, and midterm elections are fast approaching. This unprecedented political weaponization of law enforcement is inappropriate and highly unethical.

The world is watching as our Country is being brought to a new low, not only on our border, crime, economy, energy, national security, and so much more, but also with respect to our sacred elections!

Release the documents now!

Judge Reinhart already has two Motions to Unseal before him, from Judicial Watch and the Albany Times-Union (Albany, N.Y.).

Spin Hospital Central

The spin doctoring began within hours. Politico.com, in its headline, praised Merrick Garland for “call[ing] Trump’s bluff.” They also suggested that Trump’s lawyers had the absolute right to release the warrant once they had it in hand. Not true, of course, because under seal means under seal. That is now a moot point.

The White House, after its usual Mission: Impossible “Secretarial” fashion, disavowed any advance knowledge of that press conference.

Occupy Democrats actually suggested that Trump loses with the release of the warrant and supporting documents!

And Rep. Erick “Nuke ‘em” Swalwell (D-Calif.) seemed to say the same thing Politico.com said.

Donald won’t #ShowItOrShutIt so DOJ just filed this motion to unseal the search warrant.

Swalwell was then good enough to provide this link to Garland’s Motion to Unseal.

The initial statements of that motion provide more spin.

At the time the warrant was initially executed, the Department provided notice directly to former President Trump’s counsel.

Oh, really? Oh, yes – the agent showed Christina Bobb the warrant from ten feet away. Still, the rest of the motion assures the Court that the government will happily oblige the public, if Trump agrees. Which, of course, he does.

What game is Merrick Garland playing?

First, Merrick Garland seems to have laid on his decision rather suddenly. The day before yesterday, Newsweek carried a report saying Merrick Garland did not authorize that raid. That report also confirmed that the FBI got their information from a spy in Trump’s household staff. Newsweek, as CNAV has earlier reported, got their information from two “Senior Government Officials.” Those anonymous sources laid the blame on FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Now maybe the late J. Edgar Hoover, if he ever would have had a motive, say, to raid the retirement home of President Lyndon B. Johnson after he left the White House, might have taken matters into his own hands to such an extent. But Christopher Wray? Those SGOs have got to be kidding.

Since then, Merrick Garland personally avowed having authorized that raid. This leaves Newsweek with egg on their face. But maybe the Attorney General also wants to send a message to those two SGOs: STFU!

But when he goes on to

address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors,

he must be kidding. At midday yesterday, a report came that an armed man tried to break into the Visitor Screening Center of the FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio. At 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, an alarm sounded, and FBI agents responded and chased him away down Interstate 71. That story has a distinctly foul odor of “false-flag pseudo-operation.”

Trump’s version

Trump himself had further reaction, detailing the events leading up to the raid:

My attorneys and representatives were cooperating fully, and very good relationships had been established. The government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it. They asked us to put an additional lock on a certain area – DONE! Everything was fine, better than that of most previous Presidents. And then, out of nowhere and with no warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided, at 6:30 in the morning, by VERY large numbers of agents, and even “safecrackers.” They got way ahead of themselves. Crazy!

The details, according to The Blaze, are worse than that. The earlier visit took place on June 3. Then the FBI asked Trump to install a second padlock on a safe room containing the documents in question. Trump did – but in the August 8 raid, agents broke that lock to get into the room. Here again are Trump’s words on the subject:

In early June, the DOJ and FBI asked my legal representatives to put an extra lock on the door leading to the place where boxes were stored in Mar-a-Lago – We agreed. They were shown the secured area, and the boxes themselves. Then on Monday, without notification or warning, an army of agents broke into Mar-a-Lago, went to the same storage area, and ripped open the lock that they had asked to be installed. A surprise attack, POLITICS, and all the while our Country is going to HELL!

Glenn Beck and the Exclusionary Rule

Glenn Beck said flatly “this is not looking good for the FBI.” He expressed high skepticism that the FBI agents stayed within the terms of the warrant.

That warrant had better damn well say that they can break into that safe because the law is, you can’t go into somebody’s house and … just tear it all apart. You have to have a pretty good idea of where things might be located, and you ask for permission for those areas. And you have to know exactly what you’re looking for, and if it’s in a safe, you need to specifically say, “it’s in a safe and we’re having a safe cracker come in.” If they didn’t say in the warrant that they could crack his safe, it’s the fruit of the poisoned tree. By the way, there was nothing in the safe.

That last part refers to the Weeks Doctrine, or the Exclusionary Rule. If you exceed the terms of a search warrant, any evidence you find while so exceeding becomes inadmissible. (Weeks v. United States, 1914.)

Other reaction came in from a Senator and two Representatives:

Merrick Garland wants you to fear him

CNAV knows why Merrick Garland “felt it necessary to take such extreme and intrusive measures.” Some might watch him deliver that statement and merely think he’s taking one for his boss. After all, the White House continues to disavow any prior knowledge of any action he takes or has taken.

But when CNAV looks at Merrick Garland, we do not see Peter Graves as Jim Phelps in Mission: Impossible. Instead we see Peter Cushing as Governor or “Grand Moff” Tarkin in the original Star Wars (1977).

I promise you that fear will keep these systems in line – fear of the Imperial Fleet, and of this station.

No “dedicated, patriotic public servant” orders people to raid a former President’s house as if he’s Al Capone. Nor does he boast about it afterward. But one wanting people to fear him, does.

For another cinematic example, consider Actor Stephen Boyd as Marcus Valerius Messala in Ben-Hur (1959):

I asked for your help; now you’ve given it to me. By condemning without hesitation an old friend, I discourage treason. By making this example of you, I shall be feared.

Staging that Keystone Kops theatrical in Cincinnati served to keep the sympathies of the American political left. Otherwise, some old-liners are going to remember COINTELPRO, and maybe make a connection Merrick Garland doesn’t want them to make. As former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) seems to have done already. It’s time for the rest of us to make that connection ourselves, and plan accordingly.

One more thing

At the time of writing, The Washington Post evidently came out with a fresh attempt to justify the Trump raid. According to Breitbart, the Post cited an indefinite number of “people familiar with the investigation” as saying the FBI were after “classified documents about nuclear weapons.” Also according to Breitbart, the Post gave no further details.

In reply, Trump has already said,

Nuclear weapons issue is a Hoax, just like Russia, Russia, Russia was a Hoax, two Impeachments were a Hoax, the Mueller investigation was a Hoax, and much more.

CNAV reminds its readers that Eric Swalwell has a reputation for threatening nuclear attacks on rebellious Americans. Furthermore, if anyone submitted a movie script framing these events as a political thriller, most studios would tell him,

Don’t call us. We’ll call you.

Or they would, fifty years ago. God knows what they would say today. But that goes double for a script about whatever Merrick Garland wants to convince the American people Trump is planning. This suggests another movie script from the Clinton era: Wag the Dog (1997).