Trump FBI raid documents about Mar-a-Lago search unsealed

FBI agents found four dozen empty document folders marked "CLASSIFIED" during their raid last month of former President Donald Trump's residence at his Mar-a-Lago club, a newly unsealed court file revealed Friday. Agents found 43 of those empty folders marked classified in Trump's office, according to the Department of Justice's inventory of the seized items, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The remaining five empty folders with that marking were found in containers in a storage room. The FBI also found another 42 empty folders marked "Return to Staff Secretary/Miliary [sic] Aide," during the Aug. 8 raid, which was authorized to search for government documents removed from the White House when Trump left office in Jan. 2021, the filing said.

Documents seized by FBI from Mar-a-Lago Source: Department of Justice

Twenty-eight of those empty folders were found in Trump's office, while another 14 were in a storage room elsewhere, the document shows. And FBI agents found more than 10,000 government documents and photographs without classification markings, the filing shows. Among those were hundreds of photos and news articles, along with gifts, clothing, and books. The bombshell revelations raise the prospect that the DOJ has not yet recovered the documents that would have been in the empty folders. The DOJ is investigating possible crimes related to the removal of those and other government documents from the White House when Trump left office in Jan. 2021. By law, such records must be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration.

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It was signed by Miami U.S. Attorney Juan Gonzalez, and Jay Bratt, the chief of the counterintelligence and export control section of the national security division of the Justice Department. "The seized materials will continue to be used to further the government's investigation, and the investigative team will continue to use and evaluate the seized materials as it takes further investigative steps, such as through additional interviews and grand jury practice," that notice says. "It is important to note, 'review' of the seized materials is not a single investigative step but an ongoing process in this active criminal investigation," the document says. Trump's spokesman in a series of tweets about the inventory of the seized items again criticized the raid. "The new 'detailed' inventory list only further proves that this unprecedented and unnecessary raid of President Trump's home was not some surgical, confined search and retrieval that the Biden administration claims, it was a SMASH AND GRAB," wrote the spokesman, Taylor Budowich. "These document disputes should be resolved under the Presidential Records Act, which requires cooperation and negotiation by NARA [National Archives and Records Administration], not an armed FBI raid," Budowich added.

Trump in a lawsuit filed in late August asked Cannon to appoint an independent watchdog, known as a special master, to review the items seized in the search before the DOJ is allowed to continue using the documents in the investigation. Trump's lawyers have said a special master could check to see if some documents would be prohibited from being used in the probe because they are protected by either attorney-client privilege or executive privilege. The DOJ has opposed the appointment of a special master, saying that it would delay the investigation, and that Trump does not own the documents. Cannon, during a court hearing in Florida on that dispute Thursday, said she will issue a ruling on the special master request in "due course."

Cannon, a Trump appointee, previously shared her "preliminary intent" to grant Trump's request for a special master. The judge suggested in Thursday's hearing that she is still considering that appointment, news outlets reported.

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Trump asks court for neutral oversight of FBI review of Mar-a-Lago files

Former US president's attorneys say materials taken from Trump's Florida residence were “presumptively” covered by executive privilege and the FBI review should be overseen by a "special master".

The Federal Bureau of Investigation building headquarters as seen in Washington, US, on August 13, 2022. (AP)

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have asked a federal judge to prevent the FBI from continuing a review of documents recovered from his Florida estate earlier this month until a neutral "special master" can be appointed. The attorneys asserted in a court filing on Monday, their first since the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago two weeks ago, that the sets of documents taken from the residence were “presumptively” covered by executive privilege. “This matter has captured the attention of the American public. Merely ‘adequate’ safeguards are not acceptable when the matter at hand involves not only the constitutional rights of President Trump, but also the presumption of executive privilege,” the attorneys wrote. Trump's court motion, filed in a federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, also demanded that the US Justice Department provide him with a more-detailed property receipt outlining the items the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago home during its August 8 search, and asked investigators to return any items that were not within the scope of the search warrant. Separately on Monday, a federal judge acknowledged that redactions to an FBI affidavit spelling out the basis for the search might be so extensive as to make the document “meaningless” if released to the public.  A written order from US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart largely restates what he said in court last week, when he directed the Justice Department to propose redactions about the information in the affidavit that it wants to remain secret. That submission is due Thursday at noon. Justice Department officials have sought to keep the entire document sealed, saying disclosing any portion of it risks compromising an ongoing criminal investigation, revealing information about witnesses and divulging investigative techniques. They have advised the judge that the necessary redactions to the affidavit would be so numerous that they would strip the document of any substantive information and make it effectively meaningless for the public. Reinhart acknowledged that possibility in his Monday order, adding, “I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the Government.” READ MORE: US judge to consider partially unsealing affidavit behind Trump home raid [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aSJccrT7dg[/embed] Call for releasing materials Several news organizations, including The Associated Press, have urged the judge to unseal additional records tied to this month's search of Mar-a-Lago, when FBI officials said they recovered 11 sets of classified documents, including top secret records, from the Florida estate. Of particular interest is the affidavit supporting the search, which presumably contains key details about the Justice Department's investigation examining whether Trump retained and mishandled classified and sensitive government records. Trump and some of his supporters have also called for the document to be released, hoping it will expose what they contend was government overreach. In his written ruling, Reinhart said the Justice Department had a compelling interest in preventing the affidavit from being released in its entirety. But he said he did not believe it should remain fully sealed, and said he was not persuaded by the department's arguments that the redaction process “imposes an undue burden on its resources." READ MORE: US Justice Department opposes disclosure of affidavit on Trump's house raid Source: AP

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Mar-a-Lago FBI search warrant hearing

Police direct traffic outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8. (Terry Renna/AP)

CNN, joined by The Washington Post, NBC News and Scripps, asked a court last week to unseal documents connected to the FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Florida residence  — including documents not covered by the Justice Department's own bid to unseal a selection of the warrant materials.

Specifically, CNN and the other outlets are asking for the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida to unseal the entire record filed with the court, including all probable cause affidavits filed in support of the search warrant. These lay out why investigators believe that there is probable cause that a crime was committed and the evidence of that crime existed in recent days at the site where the search was sought.

The request was filed after the Justice Department submitted its own request with the federal court to unseal certain warrant materials. In remarks announcing the request, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department is seeking the release of the "search warrant and property receipt" from the FBI's search.

In the unsealing filing by CNN and the other outlets with the court, they pointed to "the historic importance of these events."

"Before the events of this week, not since the Nixon Administration had the federal government wielded its power to seize records from a former President in such a public fashion," the outlets said in the filing.

The filing said that "tremendous public interest in these records in particular outweighs any purported interest in keeping them secret."

"The Media Intervenors certainly do not seek these records for any illegitimate purpose," the outlets said. "To the contrary, public access to these records will promote public understanding of this historically significant, unprecedented execution of a search warrant in the residence of a former President."

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Alex Murdaugh lawyer cites Trump FBI raid in demand for evidence in murders of wife, son: 'Manufactured drama'

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The lawyer defending the once powerful and now disbarred attorney, Alex Murdaugh, blasted South Carolina prosecutors on Wednesday for allegedly withholding evidence from the defense connecting the legal scion to the mysterious murders of his wife and son following a 13-month investigation. 

At a press conference he organized, Dick Harpootlian, a Democratic state senator, made a weak comparison to the unprecedented FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago, and calls since then to have the warrant unsealed to understand the grounds for the search. 

In a motion of his own Wednesday, the state’s lead prosecutor on the Murdaugh case, Creighton Waters, dismissed Harpootlian’s press event as "manufactured drama" delaying the case. 

Harpootlian accused South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office of failing to produce discovery before the 30-day maximum period allotted by law since Murdaugh’s murder indictment. 

ALEX MURDAUGH SCHEMES RESULT IN FIRST FEDERAL INDICTMENT TARGETING SOUTH CAROLINA BANK SCION RUSSELL LAFFITTE 

Alex Murdaugh is escorted out of the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife and son 13 months ago.  (Tracy Glantz/The State via AP)

"There was no reason, as I point out, that they couldn’t turn almost all of this over to us 32 days ago," Harpootlian told reporters Wednesday. "A number of search warrants have sealed affidavits – now sealed affidavits I shouldn’t have to explain to any of you because you turn on the news right now, they’re talking about sealed affidavits on a certain search warrant in Florida. The question is – after the indictment is brought, should they still be sealed? The answer is no."

Murdaugh, 54, was indicted on July 14 by a Colleton County grand jury on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime in connection to the double homicide of his college sweetheart wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and their 22-year-old son, Paul. 

The bare-bones indictment accuses Murdaugh of shooting his 52-year-old wife with a rifle and his younger son with a shotgun on June 7, 2021. He has pleaded not guilty.

"This is again ‘gotcha’ prosecution. Trial by ambush. Give us the stuff," Harpootlian said Wednesday.  "You went to a grand jury and said you have enough evidence to convict Alex Murdaugh and convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Where is it? I don’t have a shred of paper! I don’t have an email, I don’t have an exhibit, I don’t have any evidence." 

"Somebody wants to know about blood spatter. All I know about blood spatter is what I read in some blog. I’ve never seen any blood spatter evidence," he said, referencing local media citing unnamed sources. "They want to obscure this by saying, ‘well, you know, we need to get this sealed, this needs to be protected, we don’t want crime scene photos left out on tables.’ That is hooey!"

Murdaugh’s lawyer also seemed to defend his own reputation for working the case. 

"This case needs to be resolved. Not just for Alex Murdaugh, but for the judicial system, for the state of South Carolina. We need to put this behind us and move on," Harpootlian said. "People say to me – How could you represent this guy? John Adams, the second President of the United States, represented the British soldiers who massacred the colonial protesters on the Boston Common, 4 were acquitted, two were hung. It is my duty to do that. It’s what keeps this country free. Abraham Lincoln defended 22 murder cases… Don’t they teach civics in high school anymore?

ALEX MURDAUGH: TIMELINE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY'S FALL FROM GRACE 

Dick Harpootlian, Alex Murdaugh's defense lawyer, hosts a press conference criticizing prosecutors for delaying discovery in the murder case.  (Fox News)

In a 27-page motion provided to Fox News Digital, Waters defended his team’s handling of discovery. 

"Defendant Murdaugh’s motion is unfortunately a not unexpected but completely blatant attempt to create drama where formerly there was none. It is clearly aimed at generating content for the press conference defense counsel has called on this matter rather than actually doing anything meaningful to move forward litigation of the case," the motion outlining prosecutors’ stance says. 

"As with the rest of their motion, their claims of prosecutorial ‘coercion’ may make for exciting reading or content for a press conference, but they are detached from reality," Waters adds. 

The motion included emails between Waters to Judge Clifton Newton explaining that he agrees with the defense that an order must be issued unsealing the search warrants sealed by other judges early in the murder investigation. However, prosecutors – in disagreement with the defense – are proposing a protective order for some murder evidence, citing pre-trial publicity and the sensitive nature of the crime scene photos.  

"There is simply no last-minute effort to delay discovery," Waters wrote in one email. 

Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family.  (Fox News)

"This manufactured drama is just a well-known part of defense counsel’s playbook," the motion says. "The State has no desire to preclude the defense from any discovery and has every intent of moving this case to a public trial as soon as practicable. As soon as these two discovery issues are addressed and the Court green lights it, discovery will be sent."  

At the time of the bombshell murder charges, Murdaugh already was facing 81 financial and related criminal charges alleging he misappropriated $8.1 million from friends, former legal clients and the prominent personal injury law firm founded by his great-grandfather nearly a century ago. 

Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found shot to death next to dog kennels on the family’s sprawling hunting in South Carolina’s rural Low Country when authorities responded to a frantic 911 call from Murdaugh himself. 

The double homicide prompted a slew of investigations into Murdaugh and his financial dealings, and law enforcement has since reopened criminal probes into the mysterious deaths of Murdaugh’s former housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, as well as 19-year-old Stephen Smith, a former high school classmate of the Murdaugh’s surviving elder son, Buster Murdaugh. 

Murdaugh, also a former assistant prosecutor at the office his family previously controlled for generations, is also charged with orchestrating a botched suicide for hire plot for his distant cousin, former legal client and recently accused conspirator in an alleged opioid trafficking ring, Curtis "Eddie" Smith, to shoot on the side of a rural road so that Buster could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. 

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Recently, Russell Laffitte, the fired CEO of Palmetto State Bank, which was founded by his family in the early 20th century, was federally indicted for allegedly helping Murdaugh steal and launder money from legal clients. A lawyer and Murdaugh’s former college roommate, Cory Fleming, has also faced state charges in connection to Murdaugh’s long-spiraling fall from grace. 

Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace. 

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Justice Department opposes release of affidavit justifying FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home

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The Department of Justice filed a motion on Monday opposing the release of the affidavit that was used to justify the search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.

"If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps," the 13-page filing says.

"The fact that this investigation implicates highly classified materials further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and exacerbates the potential for harm if information is disclosed to the public prematurely or improperly."

Donald Trump leaves New York City after the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Felipe Ramales: Fox News Digital)

FBI SEIZES PRIVILEGED TRUMP RECORDS DURING RAID; DOJ OPPOSES REQUEST FOR INDEPENDENT REVIEW: SOURCES

A judge unsealed the search warrant and property receipt on Friday, which revealed that FBI agents seized approximately 20 boxes of items from Trump's home, including one set of documents marked as "Various classified/TS/SCI documents," which refers to top secret/sensitive compartmented information.

"The government determined that these materials could be released without significant harm to its investigation because the search had already been executed and publicly acknowledged by the former President, and because the materials had previously been provided to the former President through counsel," the Justice Department wrote in Monday's filing.

"Disclosure at this juncture of the affidavit supporting probable cause would, by contrast, cause significant and irreparable damage to this ongoing criminal investigation."

Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach is seen on Jan. 20, 2021. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

Trump has called the raid an "assault on a political opponent," saying that FBI agents took three of his passports during the raid.

"There has never been a time like this where law enforcement has been used to break into the house of a former president of the United States, and there is tremendous anger in the country — at a level that has never been seen before, other than during very perilous times," Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT THE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

The Justice Department said Monday that it does not oppose the release of other documents, such as cover sheets for the warrant and the government's motion to seal.

Other lawmakers have also called for the release of the affidavit and other documents supporting the search warrant from Trump's home.

Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines on Sunday, requesting the specific intelligence documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tweeted on Monday afternoon that it is "imperative the Justice Department release the affidavit justifying the raid."

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The issue now goes back to the magistrate judge, who may ask Trump's team whether they would support the release of the affidavit.

Fox News's Brooke Singman and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

Paul Best is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Paul.best@fox.com and on Twitter: @KincaidBest. 

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Sean Hannity: There were two main attempts by the FBI and the DOJ to destroy Donald Trump

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Sean Hannity discussed how the DOJ and The FBI have made two main efforts to bring down former President Trump on "Hannity."

SEAN HANNITY: WE'RE NOW FULLY IMMERSED IN YET ANOTHER ANTI-TRUMP WITCH HUNT

SEAN HANNITY: We begin with a text from August the eighth, 2016. Why do we stop here? Stay with us. At the time, top FBI lawyer Lisa Page – absolutely distraught. She was terrified at the prospect that Donald Trump would be elected president. She texted her colleague and lover. Top FBI investigator Peter Strzok quoting, quote, Trump's not ever going to become president. Right. 

Struck responded, no, he's not. We'll stop it. Then a week later, Struck texted, quote, I believe that the path that you throw out for consideration in Andy's office, we assume, Andy McCabe, that there is no way he gets elected. But I'm afraid we can't take that risk. So like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40, so they had an insurance policy and they wanted to stop Donald Trump from ever becoming president, and they had a plan to do so in the weeks and months that followed. 

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 2: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Donald Trump attends the announcement of the introduction of the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on August 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. The act aims to overhaul U.S. immigration by moving towards a "merit-based" system. (Photo by Zach Gibson - Pool/Getty Images)

While there were two main attempts by the FBI and the DOJ to destroy Donald Trump. The first was a totally debunked Russia Alpha Bank Trump Tower server story that went nowhere. And then the second one was more sinister. That was Hillary Clinton and her dirty Russian misinformation dossier that she paid for. 

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FBI seized 'top secret' files in raid on Trump home

US federal agents who searched ex-US president Donald Trump's Florida home this week removed 11 sets of classified documents including some marked as top secret, says Justice Department.

Receipt for property that was seized during the execution of a search warrant by the FBI at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. (AP)

FBI agents recovered records marked "top secret" during their search of former president Donald Trump's Florida estate, according to documents made public in an investigation that includes possible violations of the US Espionage Act.

The warrant and related materials, unsealed by a Florida judge on Friday, showed agents took away with them a significant amount of classified files after the raid, which ignited a political firestorm in an already bitterly divided country.

The extraordinary search was partly based on suspicions of violations of the US Espionage Act related to the illegal retention of sensitive defence documents, the warrant showed.

Some of the papers were marked "top secret" and were "meant to be only available in special government facilities," said the unsealed seven-page federal court filing.

The filing contained a list of items removed from Mar-a-Lago, including information about the "President of France," and the warrant to search the palatial estate in Palm Beach.

Trump: FBI may have 'planted' docs

The Wall Street Journal said within the 20 boxes of items carted away by FBI agents were binders of photos, a handwritten note and the grant of clemency made by Trump to Roger Stone, an ally of the former president.

The Washington Post on Thursday cited anonymous sources close to the investigation as saying classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the papers sought during the raid.

Trump himself appeared to deny the claim, posting that the "nuclear weapons issue is a hoax" and even suggesting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation might have been "planting information" at his home.

He claimed that the documents seized by agents were "all declassified," and argued that he would have turned over the documents to the Justice Department if asked.

While incumbent presidents have the power to declassify information, that authority lapses as soon as they leave office and it was not clear if the documents in question have ever been declassified. 

Trump also kept possession of the documents despite multiple requests from agencies, including the National Archives, to turn over presidential records in accordance with federal law.

Political storm

The highly unusual move to unseal the search warrant was announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland –– the country's top law enforcement officer –– who said he had "personally approved" the raid on Trump's home.

Leading Republicans have rallied around Trump and some members of his party have accused the Justice Department and FBI of partisanship in targeting the ex-president.

In addition to investigations into his business practices, Trump faces legal scrutiny for his efforts to overturn the results of the November 2020 election, and for the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.

Trump was impeached for a historic second time by the House after the Capitol riot –– he was charged with inciting an insurrection –– but was acquitted by the Senate.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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Trump and the FBI search warrant documents

The entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen on Monday evening, August 8. (Terry Renna/AP)

One of the newly unsealed documents is a search warrant “receipt” listing the items that the FBI collected from Mar-a-Lago. 

That document reveals that FBI agents removed more than 20 boxes from former President Donald Trump’s resort and residence in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as binders of photos, sets of classified government materials and at least one handwritten note. 

Federal agents seized just one set of “top secret/SCI” documents, according to the search warrant receipt. Agents took four sets of “top secret” documents, three sets of “secret” documents, and three sets of “confidential” documents. 

The warrant receipt didn’t detail what these classified documents were about.

Among the items is a document about pardoning Roger Stone, a staunch Trump ally who was convicted in 2019 of lying to Congress during its probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The Stone-related material taken from Mar-a-Lago was listed in the warrant receipt as "Executive Grant of Clemency re: Roger Jason Stone, Jr."

Trump pardoned Stone before leaving office, shielding Stone from a three-year prison term. It’s unclear how the Stone-related document seized during the search is tied to the broader criminal probe into Trump’s potential mishandling of classified materials. 

A spokesperson for Stone told CNN: "Mr. Stone has no knowledge as to the facts surrounding his clemency documents appearing on the inventory of items seized from former President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago."

During the search, FBI agents also recovered material about the “President of France,” according to the warrant receipt. 

CNN's Adam Levine contributed reporting to this post.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/trump-and-the-fbi-search-warrant-documents/?feed_id=10097&_unique_id=62f6b8205bd97

Gunman killed after trying to breach FBI office in Ohio

Police said officers attempted to negotiate with the suspect, but he raised a weapon towards the police and was fatally shot in the standoff.

The FBI said a person armed with a weapon had tried to "breach" the entry to the bureau's office in the Ohio city of Cincinnati. (Reuters)

An armed man who fled after attempting to breach an FBI office in the US state of Ohio was killed in a standoff with police, authorities say.

The incident on Thursday drew nationwide attention as it occurred only a few days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched former president Donald Trump's Florida home, infuriating right-wing circles, although there was no immediate indication the events were linked.

The FBI said on Thursday morning that a person armed with a weapon had tried to "breach" the entry to the bureau's office in the Ohio city of Cincinnati.

"Upon the activation of an alarm and a response by armed FBI special agents, the subject fled," the FBI said in a statement.

According to local media, the man fired a nail gun and brandished an AR-15-style rifle before fleeing by car.

A police spokesperson said the vehicle was pursued by law enforcement and that it stopped in a rural area.

"Once the vehicle came to a stop, gunfire was exchanged between officers on the scene and the suspect," the spokesperson said.

READ MORE: US confirms Trump home raid, asks court to make warrant public

Officers then attempted to negotiate with the suspect, but he did not surrender, the spokesperson told a press conference after the standoff ended.

After the suspect raised a weapon towards the police, officers shot him and "he succumbed to his injuries at the scene," the spokesperson said.

NBC reported that the suspect, according to three people aiding law enforcement, could be seen in photos of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters, but it was unclear whether he went inside.

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday denounced threats made against the FBI following the raid on Trump's residence, calling them "deplorable and dangerous."

"Violence against law enforcement is not the answer no matter who you're upset with," Wray said.

READ MORE: Explainer: Why is Trump facing a presidential records probe?

Source: AFP

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Venezuela demands Argentina to return detained plane

BOGOTA, Colombia 

An official delegation from Venezuela protested Thursday outside Argentina's embassy in Caracas against the impounding of a plane and its crew in Buenos Aires since June.

Venezuelan Minister of Transport Ramon Velasquez and lawmakers gathered outside the embassy, demanding Argentina to "return the plane and crew!"

The plane was detained in Argentina’s capital on June 8 by order of a judge, who opened an investigation against the crew, consisting of 14 Venezuelans and five Iranians, for "espionage and terrorism.”

The Boeing 747 entered Argentina on June 6 with a cargo of auto parts from Mexico. Unable to refuel in Argentina due to US sanctions, it departed for Montevideo, but Uruguayan authorities denied it access and it flew back to Buenos Aires, where it was ordered by a judge to be detained.

The US Department of Justice on Aug. 2 asked Argentina for permission to confiscate the Iranian plane sold to Venezuelan owners, arguing that it was linked to international terrorist groups, the agency said in a statement.

On July 19, a US court in the District of Columbia issued an order to seize the plane on the grounds that there was an "unauthorized transfer" of the plane from Mahan Air, an Iranian airline affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, which Washington says is a “designated terrorist organization,” to EMTRASUR, a Venezuelan cargo airline and subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned company Conviasa, which is also under sanctions from the US Treasury.

On Thursday, the Argentine judge admitted a request from the US to seize the plane. The aircraft, which remains at Ezeiza International Airport outside Buenos Aires, was inspected Thursday by agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to local news.

The intervention of the US resulted in Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordering a team of "experts" to go to Argentina to fight the "battle for Venezuela.” He said the US was attempting to "steal" the plane and has questioned Argentina's justice system for "kneeling before" the US.

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Greg Gutfeld: Who will the FBI come for next?

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Well, it's official. So with the help of the FBI, the Democratic Party just endorsed Donald Trump for president of the United States. Well done. But I wonder if the president will profoundly accept the nomination for president of the United States. 

DONALD TRUMP: I profoundly accept this nomination for president of the United States. 

It's happening. Yeah. That raid was a real smart move. You want to take a larger-than-life character and make him even larger? You raid his frickin’ house. Basically, they just gave Popeye a 55 ounce can of spinach. They just gave Hunter Biden a brand-new crack pipe and a high speed Internet access. They just gave me a book of 1001 poop jokes

GREG GUTFELD: CHINA'S REVENGE HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN

Because the raid not only angers Republicans, it energizes them and it energizes Trump. And unlike all the other shows, we actually have tape of the raid [Movie clip insert]. 

Now the raid is **** wrong, but you got to keep your sense of humor on this for a reason. Part of the strategy of the raid is to get you to react so that they can then cover your anger as danger. 

The press is already sounding the alarm over the rage on pro-Trump message boards. They're ready to go, they say, as if you're going to do commit acts of violence. So don't get mad. Instead, sympathize. 

The Dems want Trump back and for good reason. They can't survive without him. They are drowning and he is their oxygen. You know, they're just too boring and uninspiring. If Trump's filet mignon. Democrats are warm Tapioca. Maybe it's because their current leader’s brains are warm Tapioca. So they'll do anything to keep the spotlight off him. I mean, can you blame them? This guy gets into fights with his own clothes. 

Roll it Pedro: [Video of Biden struggling to put his coat on] 

Give him time. He'll remember where the arms go some day. Thankfully, it was a jacket and not his pants. But it's also kind of scary when it takes mere seconds for Joe to forget that he just shook someone's hand. 

[Video of Joe Biden appearing to forget he shook Chuck Schumer’s hand]

That's the craziest thing I've ever seen. Oh, my God. No wonder they hide him like a cold sore at a kissing booth. Oh, what gives, Joe? 

STAFFER IMITATING JOE BIDEN: Leave me alone. I like ice cream. Come on, man. I got chocolate chip. 

Of course, while much of the country will be pissed off over the raid, the left embraced the news like it was a box of Kleenex at a sperm bank. 

RACHAEL MADDOW: Tomorrow is the day when you're going to want to buy the physical copy of the newspaper. You're going to want to buy it and fold it carefully. 

NANCY PELOSI: No one is above the law, not even a presidential or former president of the United States. 

CNN SPEAKER: This is a night where you are going to remember where you were. 

CNN SPEAKER: He also has the lying advantage. The government's not going to lie, but Donald Trump will lie profusely. 

JOE SCARBOROUGH: And the fact that people, weak people are running around going, oh, what are we going to do? They're saying ugly things on Fox News. What do you expect? Like this guy is going to be brought to justice. He's broken the law. Everybody knows that. 

Well, hip, hip, hooray for tyranny. And this for people who do nothing but whine about how our democracy is under assault. What absolute jerk offs. 

So if the raid is about classified documents, then you didn't need a raid at all. But like Biden's son, they also know what makes for exciting video. And as Andy McCarthy points out in The New York Post, it's likely the White House is pressuring the Justice Department to link Trump criminally to January 6. 

Sadly, the FBI seems like another institution polluted by politics. Except unlike college lefties, they punish you with arrests, not by spelling your name wrong on your latte. 

They investigate some people, but not others. I could go through the list, but you've heard it. At least on this network you have. If they were any deeper in the swamp, they'd have alligators for baby mommas. That's disgusting. 

And especially after pushing the Russian collusion hoax. How can you give them a pass on this now? I mean, they show up at the house, they go through all of his stuff, including his safe, which is why I don't have a safe. Oh, I keep everything in between my mattress and box spring. Thank God that doll is easy to inflate. 

But it seems like all of our institutions are imploding like a Twix bar in Stacey Abrams back pocket. Maybe it's due to Wokeism or anti-Trumpism or plain old elitism. It's a far cry from the good old days when they knew to keep politics at bay. 

And if they don't come out with one major smoking gun from that raid and I mean major like a video Trump French kissing Putin or Don Jr. with Pelosi in a headlock as Eric rifles through her purse, then you're going to have a country that's more pissed off than R. Kelly after two quarts of Snapple. It's disgusting. 

This isn't a policy decision. This is a former president's house being raided. Can you imagine doing this to Obama or Biden in a few years? Or Hillary? Come to think of it, they should raid her place in Chappaqua just to find evidence if Bill's ever been there. We know he likes to leave DNA around. 

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The FBI, it seems, thinks they're the country and they're not, they're not even a third world country despite their banana republic antics. 

America right now is a beautiful car whose steering keeps pulling to the left, and the engine light has come on for the 10th time and they've run out of electrical tape to hide it. We know there's a problem under the hood. It's all of these supposedly neutral institutions having now chosen a team. It would cost us too much to get a whole new car, but we should at least replace the drive train in a couple of months. 

Last night's raid was just another example in a pattern of one way persecution where they pay you a visit and it's up to you to prove your innocence. It's the same mentality with the IRS agents. Hey, if you don’t cheat, you have nothing to nothing to hide.

So who will they go for next? Maybe you. Maybe me. All I know is, in preparation for the raid, I moved my collection of adult oriented Beanie Babies out of the house. Some people wouldn't understand. 

Greg Gutfeld currently serves as host of FOX News Channel's (FNC) "Gutfeld!" (weekdays 11PM/ET) and co-host of "The Five" (weekdays 5PM/ET). He joined the network in 2007 as a contributor. He is the author of several books. His latest is "The Plus: Self-Help for People Who Hate Self-Help." Click here for more information on Greg Gutfeld. 

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/greg-gutfeld-who-will-the-fbi-come-for-next/?feed_id=8914&_unique_id=62f33ccc4aede

Republicans dub FBI raid on Trump house 'weaponised politicisation'

Donald Trump and his allies seek to cast recent FBI search of his Florida residence as Democratic-driven effort to keep him from winning another term in 2024.

Trump supporters gather near his residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to condemn the FBI raid on his palatial residence. (AFP)

Top Republican leaders have thrown their support behind former US president Donald Trump after an extraordinary FBI raid on his palatial Florida residence sparked a political firestorm in an already bitterly divided country.

"Nothing like this has ever happened to a president of the United States before," Trump said on Tuesday of the FBI operation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach. "They even broke into my safe!"

Trump denounced the raid as a "weaponisation of the Justice System" by "Radical Left Democrats who desperately don't want me to run for President in 2024."

Several former advisors to the 76-year-old Trump urged him to immediately confirm that he would be a presidential candidate in 2024.

The unprecedented FBI search marked a significant escalation of the federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed records from the White House as he was leaving office in January 2021.

READ MORE: Explainer: Why is Trump facing a presidential records probe?

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwIdKH3ijaU[/embed]

'Banana republic tactics'

Trump's former vice president Mike Pence, a potential 2024 rival, expressed "deep concern" and said the raid smacked of "partisanship" by the Justice Department.

Kevin McCarthy, who is seeking to become speaker of the House of Representatives if Republicans win November's midterm elections, accused the Justice Department of "weaponised politicisation."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said "launching an investigation of a former president this close to an election is beyond problematic."

Republican Congressman Scott Perry –– a Trump ally –– said that FBI agents confiscated his cell phone, but did not specify why it was taken.

"This morning, while travelling with my family, three FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone," Perry told FOX News, condemning "these kinds of banana republic tactics."

Representative Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking House Republican, called it a "dark day in American history."

"If the FBI can raid a US president, imagine what they can do to you," Stefanik tweeted, to which Democratic Representative Ted Lieu replied: "Why can't the FBI investigate a US president? We're not Russia, where the law doesn't apply to the head of state and his cronies."

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "no person is above the law."

The FBI's raid on President Trump is a dark day in American history.

My full statement 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/XGJiV28GEi

— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) August 9, 2022

Trump's former communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin told CNN the raid could fire up his supporters, a small number of whom rallied outside Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.

"If it's seen as some sort of massive overreach and not something incredibly serious, this is a very good day for Donald Trump," Farah Griffin said.

For weeks, Washington has been riveted by hearings in Congress about the January 6 storming of the Capitol and Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/republicans-dub-fbi-raid-on-trump-house-weaponised-politicisation/?feed_id=8858&_unique_id=62f307980180c

FBI 'raids' former US president Trump's house

Fast News

FBI raid is "prosecutorial misconduct" and "attack by Radical Left Democrats" who don't want him to run for president in 2024, former President Trump said.

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., is seen Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. (AP)

Former President Donald Trump said in a statement on Monday that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

"These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents," Trump said in a statement.

The circumstances were not immediately clear. Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department did not return messages seeking comment Monday evening.

“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said.

The Justice Department has been investigating the discovery of boxes of records containing classified information that were taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump's presidency had concluded.

It was not clear whether the FBI search was connected to that probe.

"It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don't want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections," Trump said in the statement.

A separate investigation related to efforts by Trump allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol has also been intensifying in Washington.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/fbi-raids-former-us-president-trumps-house/?feed_id=8403&_unique_id=62f1a1c47fbec