Affidavit Unsealed for MAL Warrant

[Didba 5,256]

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000182-daec-dfd1-adef-dafe79d30000

Reading through it now, will post thoughts and excerpts when finished.

Conclusion: Because so many portions of the affidavit have been redacted that it really only establishes the timeline of how the investigation began and refutes Trump's timeline/request claims. Otherwise nothing that we didn't already mostly know or suspect is contained in the affidavit.

Edits:  (FYI any spelling errors below are from when I copy/pasted from the PDF and the text didn't convert properly when pasted here. The errors are not in the affidavit)

• "The investigation began as a result of a referral the United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) sent to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on Febmary 9, 2022, hereinafter, "NARA Referral.""
  • So not begun at Biden's behest, the FBI's or the DoJ.
• "On or about May 6, 2021, NARA made a request for the missing PRA records and continued to make requests until approximately late December 2021 when NARA was informed twelve boxes were found and ready for retrieval at the PREMISES."
  • This refutes statements by Trump/Others that they would have returned if asked and/or that NARA should have asked before the FBI issued a warrant.
• "From May 16-18, 2022, FBI agents conducted a prelimina1y review of the FIFTEEN BOXES provided to NARA and identified documents with classification markings in fourteen of the FIFTEEN BOXES. A preliminary triage of the documents with classification markings revealed the following approximate numbers: 184 unique documents bearing classification markings, including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET. Further, the FBI agents observed markings reflecting the following compa11ments/dissemination controls: HCS, FISA, ORCON, NOFORN, and SI. Based on my training and experience, I know that documents classified at these levels typically contain NDI. Several of the documents also contained what appears to be FPOTUS 's handwritten notes."
  • Just timeline stuff.
• "On June 8, 2022, DOJ COUNSEL sent FPOTUS COUNSEL 1 a letter, which reiterated that the PREMISES are not autho1ized to store classified info1mation and requested the preservation of the STORAGE ROOM and boxes that had been moved from the White House to
  the PREMISES. Specifically, the letter stated in relevant part:
  • As I previously indicated to you, Mar-a-Lago does not include a secure location authorized for the storage of classified inf01mation. As such, it appears that since the time classified documents were removed from the secure facilities at the White House and moved to Mar-a-Lago on or around January 20, 2021, they have not been handled in an approp1iate manner or stored in an appropriate location. Accordingly, we ask that the room at Mar-a-Lago where the documents had been stored be secured and that all of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago (along with any other items in that room) be preserved in that room in their current condition until further notice."
• "Based upon this investigation, I believe that the STORAGE ROOM, FPOTUS's residential suite, Pine Hall, the "45 Office," and other spaces within the PREMISES are not currently authorized locations for the storage of classified information or NDI. Similarly, based upon this investigation, I do not believe that any spaces within the PRE1,1ISES have been authorized for the storage of classified information at least since the end of FPOTUS 's Presidential Administration on January 20, 2021. As described above, evidence of the SUBJECT OFFENSES has been stored in multiple locations at the PREMISES. Accordingly, this affidavit seeks authorization to search the "45 Office" and all storage rooms and any other rooms or locations where boxes or records may be stored within the PREMISES, as further described in Attachment A."
• Based on the foregoing facts and circumstances, I submit that probable cause exists to believe that evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation 18 U.S.C. §§ 793(e), 2071, or 1519 will be found at the PREMISES. Further, I submit that this affidavit supports probable cause for a warrant to search the PREMISES described in Attachment A and seize the items described in Attachment B."

ATTACHMENT B
Property to be seized
All physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or
other items illegally possessed in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 793, 2071, or 1519, including the
following:
a. Any physical documents with classification markings, along with any
containers/boxes (including any other contents) in which such documents are located, as
well as any other containers/boxes that are collectively stored or found together with the
aforementioned documents and containers/boxes;
b. Information, including communications in any form, regarding the
retrieval, storage, or transmission of national defense information or classified material;
c. Any government and/or Presidential Records created between January
20, 2017, and January 20, 2021; or
d. Any evidence of the knowing alteration, destruction, or concealment of
any government and/or Presidential Records, or of any documents with classification
markings.

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by Didba

[homersapien 11,440]

Meanwhile,

Trump rakes in millions off FBI search at Mar-a-Lago

The former president’s political fundraising surged to over $1 million a day last week after sagging earlier this year.

Former president Donald Trump bombarded his supporters with more than 100 emails asking for money based on the FBI’s search of the Mar-a-Lago Club for classified materials last week. They paid off.

Contributions to Trump’s political action committee topped $1 million on at least two days after the Aug. 8 search of his Palm Beach, Fla., estate, according to two people familiar with the figures. The daily hauls jumped from a level of $200,000 to $300,000 that had been typical in recent months, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information.

The donations stayed unusually high for several more days and are still above average, both of these people said, though they have leveled off in recent days. There are more contributors than usual, these people said, and the average donation has climbed.....

......Since leaving office, Trump has raised more than $100 million for his PAC — often with misleading pitches — but has kept most of the money, only spending big on a handful of races and paying for some staff, legal fees and travel, according to a review of disclosure filings. He has told advisers he wants to keep the money and that it shows political strength.........

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/17/trump-fundraising-fbi-raid/

Edited August 26, 2022 by homersapien

[AURex 2,031]

All his fund raising is really irrelevant.

In a court of law, proving the connection is a slam dunk. In this case, the passports (his identity) in his personal desk drawer (his personally controlled property), with top secret documents (the property of the U.S. Government), is seminal evidence. He cannot claim he was unaware of the documents, cannot blame aides or underlings or lawyers. This kind of connection is what courts and juries want to see to connect the dots in evidence.

Trump can try to delay the proceedings. He can fund raise. But no matter how many millions of dollars he sucks in from his suckers, he can't escape all the legal evidence.