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The Government Pension Reckoning Cometh
As stock prices fall, public pensions may need taxpayer help.
By The Editorial Board Aug. 9, 2022 6:41 pm ET
The pandemic bull market in equities boosted insolvent state and local governments, but the good times are coming to an end. A new report on Tuesday showed that government pension funds suffered their biggest losses since 2009 this year, which will likely mean higher taxes for the citizens of Illinois, New Jersey and California.
Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service reported Tuesday that public pension plans lost a median 7.9% in the 12 months that ended June 30. Most losses occurred this spring as the Federal Reserve began tightening monetary policy and markets gyrated amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty. The Fed’s easy money had lifted government pension funds by inflating asset prices, but the good times had to end as inflation soared.
* * *
Collective-bargaining agreements limit how much workers must contribute to their pensions, so taxpayers are required to make up for investment losses. Employer retirement contributions—that is, taxpayers—make up 20% of government worker compensation. That amount has soared over the past decade as pension funds tried to make up for losses during the 2008-2009 financial panic...
The full op-ed piece is here:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-government-pension-reckoning-cometh-equable-institute-report-11660084312?mod=hp_opin_pos_4#cxrecs_s
The Issue: The FBI’s execution of a search warrant at former President’s Trump’s Florida home.
Letters to the Editor — Aug. 10, 2022
By Post readers August 9, 2022 5:18pm Updated
The boneheaded move just made by the FBI in its raid on Mar-a-Lago has all but guaranteed former President Donald Trump a landslide victory in 2024 (“Feds raid Mar-a-Lago,” Aug. 9).
The consequences of this action will be more devastating to what’s left of the Democratic Party than Hillary Clinton’s famous “deplorable” remark in the 2016 election.
Americans who really care about this country are fed up. It’s time for those who engage in and support the corruption rampant in the current administration to be dealt with.
The Department of Justice is broken and the FBI is a disgrace. Those currently responsible for turning us into a Third World nation should be voted out.
Thomas Mueller
New Rochelle
The FBI raid on Trump’s home is a classic “wag the dog” tactic by President Biden and the Democrats to distract the American people from real issues affecting our everyday lives — like inflation, crime, open borders and our country’s diminished standing as a world leader.
Fortunately, this desperate attempt to change the outcome of the November elections won’t work. A red wave is coming — and with it, a return to prioritizing America first.
Lou Aiani
Staten Island
It certainly seems that the FBI has gone vastly overboard with the raid on Trump’s residence. Never before has such action been taken against a former president.
Unless its shown that a real national security threat was involved — and not just Trump holding on to some government documents — this action was abhorrent to our system.
I guess once Biden leaves office, it now would be fair game for a similar type of raid to take place at his residences to obtain documents relating to Hunter Biden and conflicts of interest involving receipt of money from foreign sources and so forth.
Harold Fishman
Manhattan
The corrupt, partisan FBI has guaranteed the United States will not be united in the foreseeable future.
Unless term limits for the House and Senate are imposed, I’m afraid the downhill trend of our great country will continue.
We need to vote the fools that are destroying this country out of office now. We should also have the ability to recall Biden and his cackling sidekick before it’s too late.
Don Whitman
Cross River
Our politicized FBI has just awakened a sleeping giant — Trump supporters. We need to clean house before they destroy our country.
They are so afraid of Trump in 2024 that they will do anything to get rid of him. The media is celebrating this as a historic moment in America. How twisted is that?
I am saddened by all this nonsense going on in our country. They want to deflect from the real issues hurting the American people, and we all know it’s not getting better.
Changes have to be made; we need a government that puts the American people first. We can’t help others if we can’t help ourselves.
Joseph Meyers
Neptune City, NJ
The raid on Mar-a-Lago is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves.
Now the government is getting another 87,000 IRS agents to wield against its adversaries.
President Barack Obama started this and it seems the Biden regime is on the road to perfect it. The FBI has become the enforcement arm of the Democratic Party.
Kevin O’Kane
Mahopac
You need look no further than the FBI as an example of the most egregious politicization of a federal agency.
A gang of hoodlums from the FBI violated the home of the former president of the United States in order to diminish his chances of running again for the White House.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is trying to divert your eyes from the disgraceful burying of Hunter Biden’s laptop and the lack of response to the lawless harassment of members of the Supreme Court as well as attacks against pro-life clinics.
The outrage over this will be felt in the November elections as well as in 2024.
Anthony Bruno
Smithtown
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/letters-to-the-editor-aug-10-2022/
A cartoon's worth a thousand words. <g>
Biden won’t answer questions about FBI’s Trump raid as spox declines comment 18 times
By Steven Nelson August 9, 2022 4:04pm Updated
Quote: Trump’s former White House budget director, Russ Vought, called for the abolition of the FBI following the raid.
“If the cry of 2016 was ‘lock her up,’ the cry of 2024 must be ‘break them up.’ We are done with a deep state that is weaponized against the American people,” Vought wrote.
President Biden stayed silent Tuesday about the FBI’s unprecedented Monday raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate — as White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment 18 times at her regular briefing.
Biden took no questions at either of his public events as his aides insist he had no advance knowledge of the bureau’s activities — while referring other questions to the Justice Department.
“President Biden, what did Attorney General [Merrick] Garland tell you about the Trump raid?” a reporter for The Post shouted at the conclusion of Biden’s second event of the day, where he signed documents in the White House East Room approving the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO.
The Post then followed up: “Do you approve of the FBI’s Trump raid, President Biden?”
Biden didn’t give a verbal response, though he smiled broadly during a photo with the ambassadors from Finland and Sweden after hearing the first inquiry.
Jean-Pierre also declined to address the raid in any detail at her Tuesday briefing as journalists attempted different approaches to their questions.
“This is not something I’m going to comment on today from here at all,” she said. “This goes to the Department of Justice and that’s where I refer you to.”
But Jean-Pierre also claimed the White House “learned just like the American public did” of the raid — without a tip-off from the Justice Department, echoing what a White House official told reporters Monday night.
The press secretary appeared to indicate that Biden was not briefed by Garland or other DOJ officials either before or after the raid in Palm Beach, Fla., and asserted that the president believes in the department’s independence.
But heads turned at the briefing when Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked Jean Pierre: “Is this administration weaponizing the Justice Department and the FBI against political opponents?”
Rather than giving a simple “no,” Jean-Pierre offered a lengthier response, saying, “The president believes in the rule of law. The president believes in the independence of the Department of Justice.”
Another reporter, Sebastian Smith of AFP, asked Jean-Pierre about Republican accusations of political bias at the FBI.
“Is [Biden] confident that he has a plan to address the way that a lot of Americans — maybe even a very large number of Americans — are being told and may now believe that Donald Trump is being persecuted, that the deep state is coming after you, that the IRS and the FBI and corrupt?” Smith asked.
“This is really believed, apparently. by really a lot of people. He’s the leader of the whole country, as he often says, does he have a handle on this?”
Jean Pierre replied, “Your question is still asking me to comment on what’s happening… I’m going to stick to what I’ve been saying… This is a criminal investigation that’s independent to the DOJ and we leave any inquiry, any questions about what is happening to the Department of Justice.”
The Justice Department is the parent agency of the FBI and is led by Garland, a former judge who former President Barack Obama nominated to the Supreme Court. When Trump won the 2016 election in a shocking upset, he killed Garland’s nomination,
Federal authorities have said very little on the record about the FBI raid, which is believed to be linked to more than a dozen boxes of documents that Trump brought to his Palm Beach home after leaving office.
It’s unclear whether the FBI is investigating Trump for potentially committing a crime and authorities reportedly were in contact with Trump’s legal team regarding potential classified information in his papers ahead of the raid.
Trump and his Republican allies — and even some Democrats, such as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang — expressed concern about the raid on Trump, who is the GOP presidential frontrunner ahead of 2024.
Trump said that the raid is the continuation of the FBI’s “witch hunt” into whether he colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign.
Trump’s former White House budget director, Russ Vought, called for the abolition of the FBI following the raid.
“If the cry of 2016 was ‘lock her up,’ the cry of 2024 must be ‘break them up.’ We are done with a deep state that is weaponized against the American people,” Vought wrote.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vowed that House Republicans would investigate the FBI’s conduct if they retake power as polls suggest is likely next year.
Presidents have the unilateral ability to decide whether to declassify information, but critics say that Trump’s retention of records may run afoul of the Presidential Records Act. That law says violators can never again hold public office, though the provision may be unconstitutional due to Supreme Court rulings that only the Constitution and not statute can enumerate requirements for federal elected office.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/biden-declines-to-answer-questions-about-fbi-raid-on-trumps-mar-a-lago/
I'm starting to see that.
The Dems may have just overplayed their hand.
Enjoy your evening, too.
We can't give up, there's too much at stake. Have a good evening.
Defund the FBI. Hope this ensures a red tidal wave in November.
That'll be a start in cleaning up this mess... if the Republicans don't cave.
Nice find, cap. Thanks.
They definitely did. Great find, Flo-zee.
I'm dancing alongside the train.
We Have No Reason To Trust The FBI
The day before Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election of 2016, The New York Times’ Paul Krugman claimed that the FBI—along with “Russian intelligence”—had “rigged the election.” Election denialism is perfectly acceptable behavior on the left. Krugman blamed the “rigged election” on “people within the F.B.I.” who, he asserted, “clearly felt that under Mr. Comey they had a free hand to indulge their political preferences,” by which he meant the investigation into Clinton’s email server. One can imagine the tenor of Krugman’s rhetoric if the investigation had been launched by the administration of Mitt Romney or George W. Bush or signed off on by AG Robert Bork.
Is it still the case that investigating a candidate for wrongdoing is “rigging” an election? Yesterday, Merrick Garland’s DOJ raided the home of a former president, and likely future presidential candidate, in a case regarding “potential mishandling of classified documents,” according to The Washington Post. Is that really it? We have long been told that “mishandling of classified documents” isn’t a serious crime.
When Clinton set up a secret private server to circumvent transparency, likely to hide favor-trading related to her now-obsolete corrupt foundation, it was a potential felony. In that illegal server, the FBI would find 100 emails containing classified information, 65 marked “Secret,” 22 marked “Top Secret,” and over 2,000 emails that would be retroactively marked classified. Many felonies. Unlike Trump, who had the power to declassify any document he wished, Hillary could not. And as numerous experts pointed out, the chances that those documents were intercepted by foreign powers were quite high. No one’s home was raided by the FBI.
Indeed, Hillary’s staff then attempted to destroy all evidence related to that secret illegal server, wiping it and literally using hammers to break phones and laptops—as Comey noted at the time, they “cleaned their devices in such a way as to preclude complete forensic recovery.” Another bunch of potential felonies. Not only were there no FBI raids, but Comey showered Clinton’s staff with immunity.
Comey would make the exceptionally unconvincing case that though everything that Hillary had done was illegal, the most qualified person to ever run for the presidency had merely acted “extremely careless.” More likely, Comey didn’t want to charge a presidential candidate with a bunch of felonies in the run-up to an election. It’s also true that the mishandling of documents had not been treated seriously in past examples. When former Clinton national security adviser Sandy Berger stole highly classified documents from the National Archives—memos regarding the Clinton administration’s failed anti-terrorism efforts—he was given community service. No one raided his home to look for more documents.
While these double standards may not induce you to distrust the FBI, what happened next should. Hillary would kick off the entire bogus Trump-Russia investigation, signing off on the leak of a fictitious oppo-research document, which was bolstered, most likely, by Russian disinformation. Yet, according to the Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, initial FISA applications used by the FBI to spy on Trump’s orbit “relied entirely” on information from the dossier author Christopher Steele. Not only were the applications riddled with 17 “significant errors,” and not only would the FBI withhold contradictory evidence in the case, but a lawyer for the agency doctored an email and used it as the basis for a sworn statement to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Then again, why wouldn’t an Obama administration that spied on journalists, millions of Americans, and even senators—and then lied about it–also spy on the political opposition? Those same people, some ensconced in the agency, behind this abuse were feeding the media one half-baked Trump conspiracy theory after the next. Investigation after investigation would be launched on that information, and despite lofty promises of Democrats, not a single person in Trump’s orbit would be indicted of anything having to do with colluding with Putin to undermine the election of 2016. It was all a partisan attempt to criminalize policy positions they dislike.
Now we’ve moved on to Jan. 6 committee hearings. The same double standards, of course, are again in play. When Republicans hold committee hearings, Democrats get to name their members. When Democrats hold committee hearings, they get to name all the members. When Obama Attorney General Eric Holder is held in contempt of Congress over his role in sending guns to drug lords, he can laugh it off. When former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro is held in contempt, he is shackled by the FBI. When Democrats support underlying causes that end in riots, they are absolved of responsibility. When Republicans do, they are insurrectionists.
All of this is an effort to cobble together disparate events and statements to create the perception that Republicans led a concerted “coup” against the government. It seems to me, and perhaps I’ll be proven wrong, this raid is part of that partisan effort. We’ll soon find out. But you don’t have to be a fan of Trump — and I’m not; he acted recklessly and unpresidential on Jan. 6, to say the least — to see how these precedents are dangerous or how they corrode trust in institutions. Either you uphold the law for all politicians, as you would the rest of us, or you don’t.
Of course, if Republicans were doing any of this, Democrats would be calling it authoritarian. And they’d be right.
David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of five books—the most recent, Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent. His work has appeared in National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reason, New York Post, and numerous other publications. Follow him on Twitter, @davidharsanyi.
https://thefederalist.com/2022/08/09/we-have-no-reason-to-trust-the-fbi/
That's a good one Flo!
The Dems F'd up, start dancing
Mar-a-Lago raid will boost Trump’s expected 2024 run: experts, supporters
By Callie Patteson, Steven Nelson, Kyle Schnitzer, Kevin Sheehan and Emily Crane August 9, 2022 3:19pm Updated
(I may have to start riding the Trump train again.)
Quote: “After what they did last night, you’re either an American or a Democrat, you can’t be both today.”
The FBI raid of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida will “absolutely” rally support for the former president’s long-expected 2024 bid, political pundits and Trump’s avid supporters alike insisted Tuesday.
Both Republicans and Democrats said that Monday’s search had the potential to make Trump a “martyr” — and let the 45th president portray himself as a victim of the “corrupt government establishment.”
“The White House is claiming to have not had advance notice the FBI were going to raid the home of the preceding President of the United States?! Please. This is so sure to boost Trump and his chances, you wonder if it’s intentional,” Gregg Keller, a Missouri-based GOP strategist, told The Post.
Chuck Flint, a former chief of staff to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) predicted the raid — reportedly part of a probe into whether Trump illegally took classified records from the White House — would unite the Republican Party behind Trump because it “solidifies a pattern of government agencies being used by the Left to target political opponents.”
“Whether it’s the IRS auditing conservative organizations or DOJ relying on a Democrat research dossier as a pretext to launch an investigation of Trump in 2016, these actions stoke GOP resentment,” Flint told The Post.
“The raid at Mar-a-Lago will energize Republican voters who haven’t forgotten Hillary Clinton deleting 33,000 emails and walking away with a slap on the wrist,” he added.
“This is a bell that can’t be un-rung,” said GOP pollster Adam Geller.
“The raid and the way in which it was orchestrated and reported gives Republican and swing voters a jolt that will essentially carry through the midterm elections and perhaps beyond,” he added. “There is no question that Republicans and President Trump can leverage this to their political benefit.”
Fellow pollster John Zogby argued that Trump would be able to seize on the raid because — in spite of his wealth — he had appealed as a candidate to those who resented being “abused by ‘elites.'”
“He has been able to hone that message because, despite the bravado, bragging and over-the-top lifestyle, he is a man who personally feels deep resentment for not being treated seriously by those same elites,” Zogby said.
“He is at his most effective when he portrays himself as the victim. And he makes a direct appeal to those who are scared of losing economic or social status, feel as if they have been bullied, or are simply afraid of the future.”
Zogby continued, “He had the good fortune to run against the epitome of the elite [Hillary Clinton] in 2016 and now the scenes of his home in Mar-a-Lago — despite its gaudiness and arrogance — are directly from central casting in a move that would portray Mr. Trump as victim.”
Other prominent political watchers predicted on Twitter that Trump’s support will only surge after the 45th president complained about his estate being raided, “occupied” and “under siege” by the feds.
Former “The View” co-host Meghan McCain, an outspoken critic of Trump, tweeted in response to the news: “This better be legit – or you’re making him a martyr and just handing him 2024 on a silver platter…”
Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) also weighed in, writing that the raid would “rally people behind President Trump when he runs for re-election against Biden.”
Meanwhile, former NYC mayoral and Democratic presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, tweeted that while he wasn’t a Trump fan, part of the real estate mogul’s appeal is his perceived stand against a “corrupt government establishment.”
“This raid strengthens that case for millions of Americans who will see this as unjust persecution,” Yang wrote.
Some of those die-hard Trump fans gathered outside Trump Tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Ave. early Tuesday — hoping that he would announce a 2024 bid soon.
“I hope Trump comes down the escalator today and just says, ‘You know what, forget it — I’m announcing today.’ He’s gonna come back and save America, save America from the Democrats,” Dion Cini, a Brooklyn resident and veteran, told The Post.
“It’s all gone to s–t in the last 18 months. We need him back more now than ever.”
When asked if the raid would energize his fellow Trump supporters, Cini said: “Absolutely, 100%.”
His wife Fiona insisted that the FBI’s action would “bring some people out of the woodwork”, and added that she hoped it “wakes some people to realize what’s going on.”
John Riches, a New Jersey resident and Afghanistan war vet, insisted that “this will absolutely bring tons of people off the fence.”
“Especially the younger voters who haven’t been brainwashed. They all saw the total nonsense last night. The whole world saw it,” he continued.
“After what they did last night, you’re either an American or a Democrat, you can’t be both today.”
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/trump-fbi-raid-will-boost-expected-2024-run-experts-say/
Mike Pence calls on Merrick Garland for ‘full accounting’ of Mar-a-Lago raid
By Mark Moore August 9, 2022 2:44pm Updated
?Former Vice President Mike Pence said the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort “undermines” Americans’ faith in the justice system and called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to give a full explanation on why the search of the ex-president’s home was necessary.
“I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump. No former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history,” Pence tweeted Tuesday.
“Yesterday’s action undermines public confidence in our system of justice and Attorney General Garland must give a full accounting to the American people as to why this action was taken and he must do so immediately,” he said,? adding his voice to the chorus of Republicans seeking answers from the Justice Department about Monday’s raid.
The former veep said because of events during the Trump administration when FBI agents were found to be acting out of political motivations, “the appearance of continued partisanship by the Justice Department must be addressed.?”?
Trump confirmed the FBI’s raid on his South Florida property on Monday when he released a statement saying that his home had been “raided, and occupied.”
He blamed the search on “Radical Left Democrats” who are trying to stop him from running for re-election in 2024.
“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 #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so much more,” he said in the statement released on Truth Social.
“It just never ends. It is political targeting at the highest level,” Trump said.
The FBI’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians during the 2016 presidential election was decried by supporters of the former president as a politically motivated hit job that was largely based on an unsubstantiated dossier compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele and allegations against former campaign aide Carter Page.
Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general, examined the FBI’s probe into the Trump campaign, dubbed Crossfire Hurricane, and found that the agency had committed multiple errors but did uncover any political bias.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/mike-pence-calls-on-merrick-garland-for-full-accounting-of-mar-a-lago-trump-raid/
Jim Jordan, other Republicans call for answers ‘now’ from FBI, DOJ in Trump raid
By Mark Moore August 9, 2022 10:18am Updated
(They're talking a good line. Let's see if they follow through.)
Rep. Jim Jordan and other leading House Republicans on Tuesday demanded answers “now” from the Justice Department and FBI over the raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
“Answer our questions about this action today, which has never happened in American history,” Jordan, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, implored Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
“What was on the warrant? What were you really doing? What were you looking for? Why not talk to President Trump and have him give the information you’re after? This is unbelievable,” he continued.
“We deserve answers now, and this Friday would be a good time,” the Ohio congressman later added, referring to when the House reconvenes to vote on the $740 billion spending bill dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act.
“[Committee chairman] Jerry Nadler, call up Christopher Wray, call up Merrick Garland, bring them in front of the House Judiciary Committee, so we can ask them the questions that the American people deserve answers to.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also warned Garland to ?”clear your calendar” as Republicans vowed to investigate the Justice Department and the FBI over the Trump raid if the party wins back the chamber in November.
“I’ve seen enough. The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization,” the California Republican tweeted late Monday, shortly after news broke of the search of the 45th president’s West Palm Beach property.
“When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned?,” McCarthy added. “Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”
(I can hear the shredders going into overdrive already.)
Some far-right Republican House members went a step further.
“The GOP must set up a Select Committee to investigate the FBI’s politically-motivated raid on Mar-a-Lago and on ALL the fraudulent persecution of President Trump from our government,” insisted Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). “This cannot wait. We are turning into a banana republic at record speed.”
“The FBI raid on Trump’s home tells us one thing. Failure is not an option,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said in a statement. “We must destroy the FBI. We must save America. I stand with Donald J. Trump.”
On the Senate side, Tom Cotton of Arkansas tweeted that Garland had “weaponized the Department [of Justice] against his political opponents and vowed: “There will be consequences for this.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), called the raid “unprecedented,” “corrupt” and “an abuse of power.”
“What Nixon tried to do, Biden has now implemented: The Biden Admin has fully weaponized DOJ & FBI to target their political enemies,” Cruz added. “And with 87K new IRS agents, they’re coming for YOU too.”
“[President] Biden is playing with fire by using a document dispute to get the
@TheJusticeDept to persecute a likely future election opponent,” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). “Because one day what goes around is going to come around. And then we become Nicaragua under Ortega.”
“Executing a warrant against ex-POTUS is dangerous,” tweeted former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a onetime Kansas congressman. “The apparent political weaponization of DOJ/FBI is shameful. AG must explain why 250 yrs of practice was upended w/ this raid. I served on Benghazi Com where we proved Hilliary [sic] possessed classified info. We didn’t raid her home.”
The former president confirmed the raid on Mar-a-Lago in a statement Monday evening on his Truth Social media site, saying his exclusive resort was “under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.”
Trump added the raid was “not necessary” and accused “Radical Left Democrats” who don’t want him to run for reelection in 2024 of weaponizing the Justice Department.?
FBI agents were reportedly searching for boxes of classified documents that Trump allegedly brought to the South Florida resort when he left the White House in January 2021, which could be a violation of federal record-keeping laws.
?In February, the National Archives and Records Administration said it found classified documents in 15 boxes stashed away at Mar-a-Lago and alerted the FBI.
The search warrant on Monday gave agents authority to search for more presidential records Trump may have kept at his palatial estate.
The removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations is banned under federal law, although Trump had wide powers when he was president to declassify documents.
The raid on Mar-a-Lago comes amid the House select committee’s continuing investigation into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol as Congress met to certify the 2020 presidential election results.
A federal grand jury is also investigating the riot and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/rep-kevin-mccarthy-vows-probe-into-ag-garland-over-trump-raid/
Quote: "On Entitlements: All Americans should have an equal opportunity to earn the good things of life. But except for those who are unable to do so, they are not entitled to receive those good things from the earnings of others."
-- Richard Nixon
Typed from the back jacket of Beyond Peace.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1375612.Beyond_Peace
Hiya, b2b. You come from the last of a dying breed. The early immigrants came here for the opportunity to build a better life for themselves.
The current mongrel horde of illegal aliens invading our country are here for the handouts. Only citizens should be allowed to apply for benefits -- with no guarantee of getting them and for a limited time if they are granted. Cut off the freebies and watch the tidal wave turn to a trickle.
When I look at the pictures of these people, they're in nice, clean clothes and appear to be well-fed.
Political asylum my a-z-z.
Sadly we won't see a stop to this mess while the current corrupt regime reigns supreme.
Hang tough, Sir. It isn't over yet.
At least, I hope it isn't.
Judge who approved FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago once linked to Jeffrey Epstein
By Miranda Devine, Mark Moore and Samuel Chamberlain August 9, 2022 9:34am Updated
The Florida federal magistrate judge who signed off on a search warrant authorizing the FBI raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort left the local US Attorney’s office more than a decade ago to rep employees of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein who had received immunity in the long-running sex-trafficking investigation of the financier.
Sources tell The Post that Judge Bruce Reinhart approved the warrant that enabled federal agents to converge on the palatial South Florida estate on Monday in what Trump called an “unannounced raid on my home.”
Reinhart was elevated to magistrate judge in March 2018 after 10 years in private practice. That November, the Miami Herald reported that he had represented several of Epstein’s employees — including, by Reinhart’s own admission to the outlet, Epstein’s pilots; his scheduler, Sarah Kellen; and Nadia Marcinkova, who Epstein once reportedly described as his “Yugoslavian sex slave.”
Kellen and Marcinkova were among Epstein’s lieutenants who were granted immunity as part of a controversial 2007 deal with federal prosecutors that allowed the pervert to plead guilty to state charges rather than federal crimes. Epstein wound up serving just 13 months in county jail and was granted work release.
According to the outlet, Reinhart resigned from the South Florida US Attorney’s Office effective on New Year’s Day 2008 and went to work for Epstein’s cohorts the following day. Epstein, who was found dead in August 2019 of an apparent suicide in the Manhattan Correctional Center while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, had hired a stable of high-powered lawyers, including former independent counsel Kenneth Starr.
Reinhart was later named in a civil lawsuit that accused him of violating Justice Department policies by switching sides in the middle of the Epstein investigation, suggesting he had used inside information about the probe to build favor with the notorious defendant, the Herald reported in 2018.
In a 2011 affidavit, Reinhart denied he had done anything improper and insisted that since he was not involved in the federal investigation of Epstein, he was not privy to inside information about the case.
However, in a 2013 court filing, Reinhart’s former colleagues contradicted him, saying that he had “learned confidential, non-public information about the Epstein matter.” Reinhart noted to the Herald in response that a complaint filed against him by a lawyer for Epstein’s victims had been dismissed by the Justice Department.
In his 12 years as a federal prosecutor, according to his official biography, Reinhart “managed a docket that covered the full spectrum of federal crimes, including narcotics, violent crimes, public corruption, financial frauds, child pornography and immigration.”
Reinhart is one of three federal magistrate judges in the West Palm Beach offices of the US District Court for the Southern District Court of Florida, along with William Matthewman and Ryon McCabe.
Two recent warrant applications were assigned to Reinhart and entered into the court system on Monday, the Miami Herald reported, but those warrants and information about who they targeted remain sealed. Records show another warrant was issued by Reinhart on Friday, but its contents were also sealed.
McCarthy vows probe over Trump raid, tells AG Garland ‘clear your calendar’
Trump confirmed media reports of a raid at his Florida resort on Monday evening, saying Mar-a-Lago was “under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.”
The agents were reportedly searching the seaside property for boxes of classified documents Trump allegedly brought to the ritzy resort after he left the White House in January 2021, which would be a violation of federal record-keeping laws.
The National Archives and Records Administration said in February that it found classified documents in 15 boxes at Mar-a-Lago and alerted the FBI.
The removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations is banned under federal law, although Trump had wide powers when he was president to declassify documents.
The raid on Mar-a-Lago comes amid the House select committee’s continuing investigation into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol as Congress met to certify the 2020 presidential election results.
A federal grand jury is also investigating the riot and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/judge-who-approved-fbi-raid-on-mar-a-lago-once-linked-to-jeffrey-epstein/
Trump releases campaign-style video after raid as Lara says Dems ‘terrified’ of ‘24 run
By Lee Brown August 9, 2022 7:16am Updated
(Video is at the link and available on Truth Social.)
Hours after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago estate, former President Donald Trump posted an apocalyptic-sounding campaign-style video saying the US has become a “failing nation” — as his daughter-in-law said Democrats were “terrified” the 45th president would announce another White House bid “any day.”
During an appearance on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Lara Trump claimed that Monday’s hours-long FBI action was “about weaponizing the justice system, as it has been so many times in the past, against somebody who you politically do not like.”
“They detest Donald Trump, not just on the Democrat side, but the general establishment because he’s not one of them, because he doesn’t play their game,” the wife of former first son Eric Trump told host Will Cain. “They are terrified he’s going to announce any day that he’s running for president in 2024, and this is a very convenient way to just throw a little more mud on Donald Trump — as though they haven’t already done enough.”
“We are a nation in decline,” Trump narrated at the beginning of the nearly 4-minute video posted just after midnight Tuesday to his Truth Social account, which consisted largely of black and white footage and the ominous sound of rain and thunder.
“We are a failing nation … We are a nation that in many ways has become a joke. But soon we will have greatness again,” he says.
Trump — who has long teased a 2024 presidential run — posted the high-end production hours after he complained about his Florida estate being “raided, and occupied” and “under siege” by the feds Monday.
In the video, the former president complains that the US has become “a nation that has weaponized its law enforcement against the opposing political party like never before — we’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
Trump’s speech in the video echoed his 2017 inaugural address in which he promised to reverse “American carnage.”
“We are a nation that has the highest inflation in over 40 years, where the stock market just finished the worst first half of a year in more than five decades,” he says amid a long list of failings by his successor, Joe Biden.
“We are a nation that has the highest energy cost in its history. We are no longer energy independent or energy dominant, which we were just two short years ago,” he says, referring to his time in the White House.
“We are a nation that is begging Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for oil. We are a nation that surrendered in Afghanistan, leaving behind dead soldiers, American citizens and $85 billion worth of the finest military equipment in the world,” Trump notes.
The 45th president also accuses the US of having “allowed Russia to devastate a country, Ukraine, killing hundreds of thousands of people,” predicting that “it will only get worse.”
“We are a nation that is allowing Iran to build a massive nuclear weapon and China to use the trillions and trillions of dollars it’s taken from the United States to build the military to rival our own.
“We are a nation that over the past two years is no longer respected all around the world.”
At home, we no longer allow free speech — and a country “whose educational system is ranked at the bottom of every list,” he claims.
“We are a nation that in many ways has become a joke. But soon we will have greatness again,” Trump promises — as stirring strings and color images kick in.
“It’s hard-working patriots like you who built our country — and it’s hard-working patriots like you who are going to save our country,” he tells his followers.
“There is no mountain we cannot climb; there is no summit we cannot reach; there is no challenge we cannot beat; there is no victory we cannot have,” he promises.
“We will not bend, we will not break, we will not yield ever, ever, ever. We will never give in, we will never give up, and we will never, ever back down.
“We will never let you down. As long as we are confident and united, the tyrants we are fighting do not stand even a little chance.,’ he says.
“Because we are Americans and Americans kneel to God alone — and it is time to start talking about greatness in our country again.”
The video then cuts to the message “… the best is yet to come.”
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/trump-releases-campaign-style-video-after-fbi-raid/
Could the FBI investigation into Trump stop a 2024 run for president?
By Lee Brown August 9, 2022 9:34am Updated
Quote: Law professor Seth Barrett Tillman — one of those who wrote about the applicable laws in 2015 — noted Monday that the only restrictions on presidential eligibility were citizenship, residence and age.
“Although the former president may be at legal risk, depending on the facts, a criminal conviction would not bar him from another run for elected federal office, including the presidency,” Tillman tweeted.
“As a legal matter, Trump would be free to run for the presidency — even while in jail,” he insisted.
The shocking FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago quickly sparked a heated legal debate as to whether a conviction would disqualify former President Trump from running again for the White House.
As political and legal experts united in calling Monday’s raid unprecedented, there was little consensus on whether it could ruin Trump’s chances of a 2024 run — or even hand him a surefire victory.
Soon after Trump confirmed the raid — saying his Florida estate was “under siege” and “occupied” by the feds — many legal experts pointed to a law they said Trump could be hit with if he was convicted of taking classified presidential records, widely thought to be the potential federal violation the raid was investigating.
Marc Elias, a lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, highlighted it as a “really, really big reason why the raid today is a potential blockbuster in American politics.”
He linked to a screenshot of 18 U.S.C. § 2071, which makes it a crime if those with custody of government documents “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies or destroys” them.
Anyone convicted faces up to three years in prison — and “shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.”
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss agreed — while noting that the unprecedented raid came exactly 48 years after the night then-President Richard Nixon resigned, the scandal that led to the laws Trump is now allegedly being investigated over.
“That’s a real law, and if Donald Trump violated that law … that has real penalties, including the fact that he may never be able to serve in federal office ever again,” Beschloss told MSNBC.
However, a flurry of other legal experts insisted that the legal block had long been ruled not to apply.
“If Trump is convicted of violating this statute, can he be disqualified from the presidency? No,” insisted Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston.
He noted that the laws were exhaustively examined in 2015 when Clinton was accused of storing classified materials on her private email server — and that a potential block had been ruled out.
He was one of many who cited Supreme Court rulings — later backed by other courts — that argued that Congress cannot alter the eligibility criteria set in the Constitution.
Law professor Seth Barrett Tillman — one of those who wrote about the applicable laws in 2015 — noted Monday that the only restrictions on presidential eligibility were citizenship, residence and age.
“Although the former president may be at legal risk, depending on the facts, a criminal conviction would not bar him from another run for elected federal office, including the presidency,” Tillman tweeted.
“As a legal matter, Trump would be free to run for the presidency — even while in jail,” he insisted.
Elias, the former Clinton lawyer who suggested Trump could be barred from taking office, said the law was so unclear there would “undoubtedly be a constitutional challenge” in the courts.
“But the idea that a candidate would have to litigate this is during a campaign is in my view a ‘blockbuster in American politics,'” he said, referring to his initial claim.
“One can speculate how it would turn out, but it is unprecedented.”
All of this would only apply if Trump were ever convicted of a crime. He has strenuously denied wrongdoing, previously saying that presidential records were turned over “in an ordinary and routine process.”
Others also suggested that the raid will only further strengthen the support of Trump’s followers, many of whom rushed to support him outside Mar-a-Lago, sharing his belief that he is being unfairly targeted.
“If they raided his home just to find classified documents he took from The White House,” one legal expert told Politico, “he will be re-elected president in 2024, hands down.
“It will prove to be the greatest law enforcement mistake in history,” the expert said.
While divided on the law, there was clear agreement that Monday’s raid was one for the record books.
“This raid is surely one of the most significant the FBI has ever undertaken,” Jonathan Shaub, a former attorney adviser at the Justice Department, told the Miami Herald.
Beschloss, the historian, tweeted that “we have never seen a scene like this in Presidential history.”
“Let’s pause for a second to look at how weird and horrible this is: the FBI is going in to search the house of an ex-president because there’s serious suspicion that a federal crime was committed here,” he told MSNBC.
“They don’t do this just for fun.”
The 45th commander-in-chief has teased an impending announcement of a 2024 run, and released a campaign-style video early Tuesday, hours after the raid.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/could-the-trump-probe-disqualify-him-from-running-again/
Trump raid not about classified documents — it’s about Jan. 6
By Andrew C. McCarthy August 9, 2022 9:14am Updated
The court-authorized search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is another unmistakable signal that the Justice Department is trying to build a criminal case against him arising out of the Capitol riot.
Ostensibly, the search relates to a long simmering dispute between the former president and the government over Trump’s potentially illegal retention and mishandling of classified information. But don’t be deceived.
National Archives officials alerted the Justice Department months ago regarding missing records and possible classified information violations. That owes to the chaotic atmosphere in which the Trump family decamped to Florida from the White House following the Capitol riot – with impeachment proceedings and even talk of removing Trump from office under the 25th Amendment then underway.
Reportedly, about 15 boxes of records were removed from the White House and shipped to Mar-a-Lago. The National Archives subsequently explained that much of the material should have been kept in the government’s possession, pursuant to the Presidential Records Act. After extensive negotiations, Trump agreed to return some of the materials in January 2022. Upon receipt, National Archives officials advised the Justice Department that the returned materials included classified information.
If true, that raises several issues. If Trump had not declassified these materials while he was president, then his continuing possession of them in a non-secure location was probably illegal. While presidents have unilateral authority to declassify intelligence, they only maintain that authority while in office – it may not be exercised in the post-presidency. The returned documents were thus potentially evidence of crimes. In addition, since it is believed Trump did not return everything that was shipped out of the White House in those hectic days of January 2021, there was significant reason to suspect he continued to retain classified information at Mar-a-Lago.
One of the potential law violations, under Section 2071 of the federal penal code, includes in its penalty provisions that, upon conviction, a defendant “shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.” The ongoing proceedings implicating Trump – in particular, the Justice Department’s investigation and the House January 6 committee probe – seem geared toward undermining his capacity to seek the presidency again in 2024. Obviously, then, there is speculation that DOJ may be mobilizing now in order to trigger the Section 2071 disqualification.
I doubt that. The Justice Department well knows that the qualifications for a presidential candidate are set out in the Constitution. They may not be altered by statute, precisely because the Framers did not want the executive branch to be dominated by the legislature, as would happen if Congress could disqualify incumbent or potential presidents simply by passing a law. The Constitution’s qualifications for the presidency are minimal – one must be over 35 and a natural-born citizen. Being a felon is not a disqualification, so even crimes potentially far more serious than mishandling classified information are not a bar to seeking the presidency.
Moreover, the Constitution also prescribes the basis for disqualifying a person from seeking the presidency or other federal office: conviction by the Senate on an impeachment article voted by the House. Again, what is prescribed by the Constitution may not be altered by a mere statute. To trigger disqualification, Congress would have to impeach and convict Trump; it cannot be done by criminal prosecution.
The Justice Department obviously used the potential classified information as a pretext to obtain a warrant so it could search for what it is really looking for: evidence that would tie Trump to a Capitol riot offense – either a violent crime, such as seditious conspiracy to forcibly attack a government installation (which is highly unlikely), or a non-violent crime, such as conspiracy to obstruct the January 6 joint session of Congress to count electoral votes, or conspiracy to defraud the government.
As previously explained, I believe it would foolhardy for the Biden Justice Department to indict a former president on such debatable non-violent crime charges. That is especially so when it comes to a former president who could be the 2024 Republican nominee, since such charges would fuel the perception that Democrats are using the Justice Department as a political weapon.
That said, let’s assume Attorney General Merrick Garland contemplates bringing such conspiracy charges against Trump. If so, DOJ would need to prove that Trump clearly knew that the 2020 election was not stolen by fraud, yet willfully persisted in deceptive schemes to prevent Congress from counting the state-certified votes that would establish Biden’s victory.
This is why, in recent weeks, the Justice Department has aggressively sought evidence from advisers close to Trump. In June, it executed search warrants on both former Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark, who sought to help Trump convince contested states of the false premise that DOJ believed Biden’s victory might be fraudulent; and constitutional law scholar John Eastman, architect of the legal strategy by which Trump unsuccessfully sought to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence to discount electoral votes from key states won by Biden.
About a week ago, DOJ issued grand jury subpoenas to Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and Cipollone’s deputy Patrick Philbin, who were aware of and reportedly pushed back against Trump’s schemes to undo the election result.
The Biden Justice Department is under enormous pressure from the Democratic base to indict Trump, and it is straining to deliver. But what it is trying to deliver is a Capitol riot case, not a case of mishandling classified documents.
Andrew C. McCarthy is a former federal prosecutor.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/trump-raid-not-about-classified-documents-its-about-jan-6/
Joe Kent WINS Washington Primary Against Trump-Hater Jaime Herrera Beutler
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/08/breaking-big-joe-kent-wins-washington-primary-trump-hater-jaime-herrera-beutler-washington-primary/
Republican challenger Joe Kent defeated Trump-hating Rep. Jaime Herrera Butler in the Washington primary.
Hopefully. The people will rise before it's too late, but I'm beginning to think, they're just going to roll over.
Sad.
"lf-sufficient pioneer spirit that built this great nation?"
I'm lucky enough to have lived with some of those latter day pioneers.
MIn 1910, my Dad's family travelled 300 mi, in a agon, to farm in SW Oklahoma.
In 1904 my Moms family . caught the train out of Tupelo, MS and rode it o the end ofvthe tracks, in Checotah, Oklahoma.
They walked out into the trees and lived for three years, in a tent, until they did enough odd jobs to save enough money to buy a small farm.
12 children and 17 grandchildren came out of thosec two families. None of them ever spent a night in jail.
The Greatest Generation started before the Depression and WW II
B2B
I think we're just getting beat down. It's like an tsunami of evil relentlessly coming in. This administration is corrupt to the core.
It's 100 percent blatant. The FBI is owned by the Dems.
No argument here. Plus which, Nixon did not have a large, vocal following.
He backed down quickly and disappeared quietly.
Social media to fan the flames did not exist.
People were still raised with religion (the Judeo-Christian kind).
Behavior was far more civilized.
Now we have an every man/woman/thang for him/her/its...self mentality.
I do fear we ain't seen nothing yet, while praying it doesn't come to that.
Morning, possh. The heat's as brutal as the political climate.
Here's to cooler days.
This makes the left's feeling about Nixon looking like a cub scout meeting!
Our migrant crisis isn’t Gov. Greg Abbott’s fault, Mayor Eric Adams
By Post Editorial Board August 8, 2022 6:06pm Updated
“This is horrific,” said Mayor Eric Adams of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s busing of illegal migrants from the southern border to the Big Apple. “It is unimaginable what the governor of Texas has done.”
What about everyone else sending these “asylum seekers” to New York? Are Team Biden’s midnight migrant flights just as “horrific”? What of all the (federally funded, sometimes to the tens of millions) nonprofits dumping these folks in New York and all over the nation?
Heck, what about those inundating Abbott’s state with vastly more migrants?
Texas is facing a grave humanitarian crisis thanks directly to President Joe Biden’s systematic opening of the border, complete with millions for those “charities” to beckon migrants in with offers of cash, food, shelter and transportation.
Biden’s waved more than 2 million migrants into the border states. No wonder Abbott’s resorted to publicity stunts like busing a few of them to the nation’s media capital.
And, for all the noise about the “cruelty” of border control, Biden’s welcome mat has prompted more than 116,000 unaccompanied minors to cross. The known border death toll (which excludes those killed along the way to the border) is a hideous 609 so far this year, worse than the awful 566 for all of 2021.
In other words, Biden’s policies and the pseudo-humanitarian, taxpayer-funded activism of ideological nonprofits bear a heck of lot more blame than Abbott’s stunts.
The mayor doesn’t want to talk about the true authors of the “horror,” but that makes all his thunderous moralizing just so much hot air.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/08/our-migrant-crisis-isnt-gov-greg-abbotts-fault-mayor-eric-adams/
The Issue: Mayor Adams’ criticism of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sending migrants to New York City.
Letters to the Editor — Aug. 9, 2022
By Post readers August 8, 2022 6:27pm Updated
How bad is it that even illegal migrants are afraid to come to New York City (“?‘Dodge’ city,” Aug. 8)?
Mayor Adams, I’m astonished that you complain about poor communication with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office on bus schedules, but never once did you condemn the secretive, after-dark migrant flights arriving in New York. The “special processing area” was hidden from the public as well.
This isn’t a political stunt on the part of Abbott. It’s a reality check for you, to see for yourself what is happening at the border.
You are failing the people of New York, from crime run amok to overflowing homeless shelters to lack of treatment for the mentally ill — and more illegal migrants than New York City can accommodate.
Put public pressure on Gov. Hochul to put the people of New York first. This is a dying city under Democratic control. Time for change.
Dori Harasek
Staten Island
Can you blame Abbott for sending illegal people crossing into his state to DC and New York? Now that this is happening, our hypocrite politicians are crying for federal help. These are “sanctuary” cities, so it’s come one, come all.
The modern world has eradicated many diseases, but now we have people from all over the world coming into this country, vaccinated or not, bringing in all strains of illness. Where did monkeypox come from suddenly? What’s next?
Citizens of New York, be careful whom you vote for: You can’t complain after you put these professional politicians in. It’s time for a change.
S. Kane
Brooklyn
Abbott’s policy of busing illegals to New York is nothing short of brilliant.
The outrage from Adams and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser puts a spotlight on the hypocrisy of the liberal progressives.
These mayors, and many more like them in Democratic cities, favor an unrestricted influx of migrants — but not to their cities.
Robert Mangi
Westbury
Though they remained silent when Biden had illegal migrants flown from the Mexican border into New York and other locations in the middle of the night to avoid detection, progressive Mayors Adams and Bowser are now loudly complaining about similar actions taken by border-state governors like Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey.
They refer to this voluntarily transporting of migrants to their cities as “cruel gamesmanship” and “disgusting.” They fear that facilities in New York and DC will be overloaded.
In fact, it is the border towns like Uvalde that are overwhelmed. Adams and Bowser should go to Texas and Arizona to see firsthand the chaos that Biden has created at the border before condemning governors who are trying to protect their cities.
As advocates of sanctuary-city policies, if they talk the talk, they should walk the walk.
Mel Young
Lawrence
The outrage by Adams and Bowser concerning migrants being bused to their respective cities from Texas is hilarious. Do they realize how disingenuous they sound?
They’ve declared their cities are sanctuary havens, yet are now asking for federal help to take care of migrants while condemning small-border-town leaders as racists who should easily, without complaining, handle the needs of many, many thousands of them.
Kevin Devlin
Milton, Mass.
One more at the link:
https://nypost.com/2022/08/08/letters-to-the-editor-aug-9-2022/
You have a good one too. Owls are cool.
GM, cap. Agreed. You know it's bad when the two ladies at the Acme deli counter exploded with their condemnation of Brandon and what's going on. They pronounced a d*e*a*t*h sentence for pelousi. I threw in sch*u*mer for good measure. The country's in a giant fustercluck. I fear, we're on the verge of violence that'll make the antifa crap look tame.
On a happier note... I have an owl!
He's been hanging in the back yard for a few days.
Just heard noise on the deck that cannot be reached from the ground.
Looked out.
He was sitting on the railing.
By the time I grabbed the camera, he was gone.
DANG! A challenge.
Stay cool and enjoy the day... before the revolution begins.
This crap is becoming unreal, and not going to end well.
Eric Trump alerted his dad to FBI raid, said agents ‘ransacked’ the ex-president’s office
By Allie Griffin August 9, 2022 2:25am Updated
Eric Trump said FBI agents “ransacked” his father’s office and broke into a safe during a raid of the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
In a Monday night interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, the younger Trump said he was the one who alerted Donald Trump about the FBI’s unannounced search of the Florida property earlier in the day.
“I was the guy that got the call this morning. And I called my father and let him know that it happened,” Eric Trump said of the raid.
The former first son confirmed to Hannity that FBI agents conducted the raid to search for any potential confidential documents Donald Trump may have in his possession at Mar-a-Lago.
He blasted the search as politically motivated and insinuated his father is a victim in the investigation.
“To have 30 FBI agents — actually more than that — descend on Mar-a-Lago, give absolutely, you know, no notice, go through the gates, start ransacking an office, ransacking a closet,” Eric Trump griped. “You know, they broke into a safe. He didn’t even have anything in the safe.”
He said Democrats have placed a target on his father’s back over fears that he will run again in 2024.
“They do it for one reason, because they don’t want Donald Trump to run and win again in 2024 and, Sean, that’s what this is about today,” he said.
The Justice Department is investigating Donald Trump’s management of classified documents and the FBI raid Monday is a part of that probe.
The federal agency was tipped off earlier this year when the National Archives and Records Administration said it found classified materials in 15 boxes at Mar-a-Lago.
The agents were searching for additional documents at the Florida property Monday.
Eric Trump said his father had been cooperating with the National Archives as well as the investigation. He felt there was no need for an unannounced raid.
“You want to search for anything, if you think anything — like, you know, come right ahead,” he said on Hannity. “I mean, it was — it was an open-door policy and all of a sudden, 30 agents descend upon Mar-a-Lago?”
Donald Trump may have violated a federal law which prohibits the removal and relocation of classified documents to unauthorized locations.
However, Eric Trump said the raid was merely “more political persecution of Donald J. Trump”
“They want to attack a guy who they view as his greatest threat, is Biden’s greatest threat,” he continued. “And that’s exactly what Donald J. Trump is. Because you know what? He had an incredibly strong country.”
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/eric-trump-alerted-his-dad-to-the-mar-a-lago-raid/
Rudy Giuliani ‘concerned’ for Trump as he calls FBI raid a ‘sad night for America’
By Nika Shakhnazarova August 9, 2022 5:32am Updated
Quote: “We don’t have justice in America anymore, they’ve trashed it. This is the Biden police state. A sad night for America,”
The FBI’s raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida is a “sad night for America,” according to Trump’s longtime friend and former attorney Rudy Giuliani.
On Monday, the FBI broke into a safe in Trump’s palatial home and reportedly searched for classified documents he allegedly brought with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency ended — which, if true, could be a violation of federal law.
Appearing on WABC Radio’s “The Rita Cosby Show” Monday night, the former New York City Mayor slammed the raid as “phony” and said it “goes way beyond politics.”
“It’s a very, very sad night for America, and for me personally, who has spent many years of my life in the justice department at the lowest and the highest levels and worked very closely with the FBI to put some of the worst criminals of the 20th century in jail,” Giuliani told host Rita Cosby.
“I am ashamed of the leadership of the FBI and the Department of Justice, ashamed of two great institutions. They will go down in history as probably the two worst attorney general and FBI directors.”
Giuliani said the raid of Trump’s Florida home is “an absolute disgrace” and an “embarrassment as an American.”
The National Archives and Records Administration said it had found classified material in 15 boxes at the residence earlier this year and alerted the FBI. The agents executed a search warrant Monday to look for additional presidential records Trump may have relocated to his Florida estate.
“We don’t have justice in America anymore, they’ve trashed it. This is the Biden police state. A sad night for America,” Trump’s pal added.
Giuliani slammed the move as “completely political,” saying, “This is brought by an administration that is headed by a criminal, Joe Biden, who has gotten $31 million from China and the FBI doesn’t think that affects our national security.
“Or his son, whose crimes on the hard drive are so evident, you have to be a fool to miss them. And the FBI doesn’t care about that, nor does our corrupt attorney general.”
The Republican said he’s concerned the former president could get charged with a crime, adding that “everybody should be concerned.”
When asked if he thinks President Joe Biden knew of the raid ahead of time, Giuliani said, “I don’t know if he would remember if he did. I think that President Biden has dementia. If you don’t realize that, you don’t know what dementia is.
“The man is clearly functioning with much less than a full brain. He was always dumb, but now he has dementia. I’ve known him for 35 years, and he’s probably one of the dumbest people I’ve ever known.”
The raid comes as the Justice Department is examining the actions of Trump in its criminal investigation of efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. That probe is separate from the department’s investigation into his handling of classified materials.
Federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations, though it is possible that Trump could try to argue that, as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/09/rudy-giuliani-concerned-for-trump-as-he-calls-fbi-raid-a-sad-night-for-america/
"Star Wars" lives. Let WWIII begin.
Could we possibly have worse "leadership" in the White House and Washington, DC?
Morning, Larry. Sure hope I find something else to do other than sit in front of this thing all day.
Looks like a lot of bad news out there.
Though there are rays of hope. I liked this piece of news.
Quote: Russia has reportedly begun stripping some of its planes to get spare parts that it can no longer obtain from abroad due to sanctions.
That'll slow them down (I hope).
Defund the FBI: Trump confirms FBI ‘raided and occupied’ his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago
By Allie Griffin and Emily Smith August 8, 2022 7:10pm Updated
The FBI raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and broke into a safe in his palatial home, the former president confirmed Monday.
Trump said in a message on his social media forum Truth Social that his home had been “raided, and occupied” and was “currently under siege.”
FBI agents were reportedly searching for classified documents that Trump allegedly brought with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency ended — which, if true, could be a violation of federal law.
The National Archives and Records Administration said it had found classified material in 15 boxes at the residence earlier this year and alerted the FBI. The agents executed a search warrant Monday to look for additional presidential records Trump may have relocated to his Florida estate.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate.”
The raid comes as the Justice Department is examining the actions of Trump in its criminal investigation of efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. That probe is separate from the department’s investigation into his handling of classified materials.
Federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations, though it is possible that Trump could try to argue that, as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.
There are multiple statutes governing classified information — including a law punishable by up to five years in prison — that makes it a crime to remove such records and retain them at an unauthorized location.
Another statute makes it a crime to mishandle classified records either intentionally or in a grossly negligent manner.
Trump has also been accused of attempting to destroy presidential records.
The National Archives has said that some of the records it received back from the former president had been torn up, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Photos published by Axios report** to show torn White House documents in the bottom of a toilet though a spokesperson for Trump denied claims that he tried to flush the papers.
** {Purport not "report" would be more accurate.
Trump called the raid a politically motivated move by Democrats who don’t want him to run again in 2024.
“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,” he wrote.
Trump compared the FBI search to “an assault [that] could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries” and also to the Watergate scandal.
The former Republican president said the “large group” of FBI agents even broke into his safe.
“The lawlessness, political persecution and Witch Hunt must be exposed and stopped.”
A source who was at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the FBI raid told The Post that it was “like the scene of a ‘Die Hard’ movie” as armored cars came screeching up to the Palm Beach resort Monday morning and “at least 100” FBI agents charged into Trump’s home.
“It was totally unexpected,” the source said. “The place was mostly closed today, so the only people there were close personal friends of Trump.
“The staff were absolutely terrified.”
The former president was at Trump Tower in New York at the time of the raid, Post sources said.
Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including about whether Attorney General Merrick Garland had personally authorized the search.
Despite Trump’s potential law-breaking, several GOP lawmakers have lined up behind him to denounce the Justice Department and FBI’s unannounced search.
“I’ve seen enough,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement. “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization.”
He threatened to conduct “immediate oversight” of the department and “leave no stone unturned” if Republicans take back the House.
“Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”
Right-wing Rep. Lauren Boebert also attacked the FBI, saying the GOP must set up a Select Committee to investigate the “politically-motivated” raid.
“The #DepartmentOfInjustice has been weaponized against the American people,” she tweeted. “We’ve known this for awhile but they no longer are trying to hide it.”
Trump’s son Eric Trump slammed the abrupt search in an appearance on “Hannity.”
“To have 30 FBI agents, actually more than that, descend on Mar-a-Lago, give absolutely no notice, go through the gate, start ransacking an office, ransacking a closet — you know, they broke into a safe, he didn’t even have anything in the safe — I mean, give me a break,” Eric Trump said.
He said the raid was “more political persecution of Donald J. Trump.”
https://nypost.com/2022/08/08/trump-confirms-fbi-raided-and-occupied-his-florida-home-and-mar-a-lago/
Russia launches *Iranian* satellite into space >
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/09/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html
GM, possh. Yep. There's a big target painted on The Donald's back.
He's overcome a lot in his life.
I'm not so sure he's going to win this time.
Oh, me of little faith.
The FBI broke open the safe at fmr Pres. Trump's Mar-a-largo home.
But Hillary, nope
Hunter Biden, nope
Christopher Wray, nope
James boy scout Comey, nope
Joe "the big guy" Biden, nope
The Dems just don't give a crap. They want to keep the power and will do ANYTHING to keep things the same.
Jan. 6. Just a total load of manure.
Hmmm. I thought he was in Bedminster.
Can't imagine what's in those "documents."
The phrases "Kangaroo Court" and "charging at windmills" come to my mind.
What a gigantic fustercluck.
Things are just going to get worse.
Trump fans should skip this post.
God help this country if we lose the midterms.
Trump shares blame for Democrats’ disastrous ‘successes’
By Post Editorial Board August 8, 2022 6:30pm Updated
For the wasteful spending and insulting name of the $750 billion “Inflation Reduction Act” we can blame President Joe Biden.
We can blame Joe Manchin, the West Virginia senator who claimed he’d vote against the bill . . . until he didn’t.
But Republicans also need to cast an eye to Bedminster, summer home of the party’s sabotager-in-chief.
Blame for this travesty also lies at Donald Trump’s feet.
After Election Day 2020, the Senate had 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats. Both seats from Georgia were undecided, headed for runoffs. Trump should have been rallying voters. Instead, he was obsessed with his own loss, claiming baselessly that the election had been stolen.
When Trump wasn’t demoralizing conservative voters, he was undermining members of his own party. In December 2020, Congress was moving to send $600 COVID stimulus checks to Americans. Democrats wanted to up the amount to $2,000. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rightly said that was too much, that it would drive up inflation.
Trump sided with the Democrats: “Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP,” he tweeted.
On Dec. 27, 2020, this paper begged Trump to stop trying to overturn the election and instead cast an eye to his impressive legacy.
“If Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler win, they will prevent Biden from rolling back what you have accomplished,” we wrote. “A Republican Senate can pressure Biden against returning to the old, failed Iran deal, can stop him from throwing open our southern border . . .
“Now imagine a government controlled by your nemeses — Nancy Pelosi in the House, Chuck Schumer in the Senate, Biden in the White House. How high will taxes go? How many of your initiatives will be strangled?”
Trump didn’t listen. He did a last-minute, half-hearted rally in Georgia in which he encouraged national Republicans to illegally overturn the election. Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won the Senate seats.
It’s all been downhill from there. Trump’s bitter crusade culminated in the Jan. 6 riot. Democrats took power and immediately spent $1.9 billion in “stimulus,” driving up inflation, just as McConnell warned.
Now Democrats are about to expand the IRS, dole out billions to donors who make solar panels and roll back part of Trump’s tax cuts. Why? Because Trump handed them a Senate majority.
Troublingly, he’s doing it again. While the public has turned against Democrats, the GOP still may not retake the Senate because of Trump-backed candidates, who are trailing their Democratic rivals. Trump, meanwhile, shows every indication he plans to run again, even though polls show his revenge campaign would fall short. Even to Biden.
Aside from this reckless legislation, the country continues to reel from 9% inflation, a dangerously open southern border and soaring crime.
Trump will try to pass the buck, but had he put his party above his own grievances, Republicans would’ve been able to stand in the way of all of this.
We are living the consequences.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/08/trump-shares-blame-for-democrats-disastrous-successes/
Trump is in NYC
Sounds like they are after the documents Trump took from the White House when he left.
The story is currently at the top of the NY Post online front page.
Why do I think things are about to go completely nuts?
Mar-A-Lago ‘under siege, raided, occupied’ by FBI agents, Trump says
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/aug/8/mar-lago-raided-fbi-agents-donald-trump-says/
Former President Donald Trump said Monday evening that FBI agents have “occupied” his Mar-A-Lago estate.
In a statement sent shortly before 7 p.m. EDT, Mr. Trump said his home “is currently under siege, raided and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.”
He didn’t elaborate on why, but said the raid is the kind of thing that “could only take place in broken, Third-World countries.”
Numerous reports from the Jan. 6 special committee have made clear that some sort of probe is closing in on Mr. Trump‘s inner circle and Mr. Trump himself.
No former U.S. president has ever been indicted. Even Richard Nixon, who resigned as the Watergate probe closed in on him, did not face any criminal charges, but was pardoned by Gerald Ford, his successor as president.
More Americans want fewer immigrants in US for first time since 2014, poll reveals
By Callie Patteson August 8, 2022 5:08pm Updated
(Graphs at the link.)
A plurality of Americans believe the level of immigration into the US should be decreased, according to a new Gallup poll — the first time the survey has shown that in eight years.
The poll found that 38% of Americans want less immigration, while 27% said they want more. Another 31% said they want immigration to remain at its current level.
The last time more Americans wanted immigration reduced was in 2014, when 41% held that opinion, 33% said they wanted present levels maintained, and just 22% said they wanted immigration levels increased.
This year’s numbers are almost a mirror image of 2020, when 28% of Americans said they wanted to see immigration levels decreased — matching the low-water mark for that point of view. In the same poll, 36% said they wanted immigration to stay at current levels and 34% said they wanted increased immigration.
The change in attitudes comes as nationwide encounters of migrants have more than quadrupled in the US over the last two years. On the southern border alone, Customs and Border Protection has already reported the highest number of migrant encounters in a fiscal year since 1960 after recording 207,416 stops in June.
President Biden and his administration have been heavily criticized for the historic spike as some Republican leaders – namely Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey – have begun to transport migrants to east coast cities like New York and Washington DC in order to ease the strain on border towns.
The Gallup survey did not refer to “legal” or “illegal” immigration, leaving interpretation up to respondents.
The venerable polling company has been asking Americans their views on immigration since 1965. Support for more restrictions peaked between 1993 and 1995, when 65% of Americans said they wanted the number of new arrivals reduced amid efforts by then-President Bill Clinton to strengthen border control.
Support for decreased immigration fell to 38% in 2000 before spiking to 58% in October 2001, a month after the 9/11 terror attacks.
Gallup also found that 69% of Republicans want less immigration to the US, up 12 percentage points from last year. Meanwhile, just 33% and 17% of Independents and Democrats want less immigration – a four-point increase from 2021 among both groups.
Despite the growing desire for fewer immigrants, the vast majority of Americans still believe immigration is a positive for the US.
Gallup found that 70% of respondents call immigration a “good thing,” while just 24% of Americans say it is a “bad thing.”
Broken down by party, Democrats (86%) and Independents (75%) overwhelmingly view immigration as a positive while Republicans are split, with 46% saying immigration is good and 45% saying it is bad.
Gallup’s survey was conducted between July 5 – 26 among 1,013 random adults. The poll carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/08/more-americans-want-fewer-immigrants-for-first-time-since-14-poll/
He barely knows how to hold his ice cream cone right side up!
Pelosi and her hubby didn't invest early enough here. So, it's a LT idea.
Checking it out in their electric cars!
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