Donald Trump digs himself an even deeper hole
The more Donald Trump talks, the worse he looks. His attempts to portray himself as a victim won’t fly. He’s a thief who stole papers that didn’t belong to him. There is really no way to color that any differently. He took those records, even after White House counsel, aides, and others told him what he was doing was unlawful. Now, he wants to cry about being victimized. Where is the Trump baby balloon when we need it? As USA Today points out, much of what he has said makes no sense, and in some cases, he contradicts himself. Trump is okay with that because he knows his followers will believe anything he says. The rest of us? Not so much.
First, let’s look at Trump’s claims that this investigation and the search were politically motivated. He claimed that he was cooperating with the appropriate authorities to return documents. Both are blatant lies. The DOJ applied for the search warrant because Trump failed and/or refused to return what did not belong to him. Indeed, one of his lawyers signed a sworn statement, claiming they had returned all classified documents, which was also a lie. The FBI confiscated classified documents that were marked “secret” or “top secret.” Second, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart has no clear political motivation. Magistrate judges are appointed to serve and are approved by district judges. Since most district benches have judges from both political parties, it is not feasible that anything a magistrate does is “political.” According to a site called heavy.com, Judge Reinhart donated to the campaigns of President Barack Obama and presidential hopeful Jeb Brush. Looking deeper into that by reviewing campaign finance records, Judge Reinhart also donated to the “Trump Make America Great Again Committee.” So much for the witch hunt theory.
Next, Trump claimed that the search was not “justifiable.” The only way Judge Reinhart would have executed this warrant is by a finding of probable cause, which, in laymen’s terms, means somebody did something they had no business doing, and there is evidence that they did it. The warrant cites the Espionage Act, the improper handling of defense documents, and obstruction of justice. You’d better believe that if any of us were served with a warrant mentioning these crimes, we’d be sitting in the back of a police cruiser while they searched. Instead of being grateful for being allowed to walk around freely while we all know he is a criminal, Trump continues his tirades.
Trump lied that he was “ambushed” by the search, but records show that he was subpoenaed two months ago and was notified before the search. Trump also claims on his social media nonsense site that this search will lead to Republican victories in the Midterms. Interestingly, USA Today’s poll shows that 54.5% of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump. While some of his chosen candidates may have made the grade, others have not. It remains to be seen what will happen in the Midterms and what that has to do with this search, but we need look no further to verify, once again, that Trump is a liar.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years