This week, it is more clear than ever that MAGA Republicans will stand by the side of former President Trump no matter what, even as a barrage of criminal and civil investigations surrounding the former president ramped up this week. Republicans immediately called into question the legality of the FBI warrant at Mar-a-Lago in vitriolic terms, with some even calling for civil war and violence.
Yesterday, a man who was at the attack on the Capitol on January 6th was killed by police after attacking an FBI office in Ohio. He posted on Trump’s Truth Social that he wanted “war” after the raid at Mar-a-Lago. His violent actions and death are the result of Trump and Republicans spreading lies and conspiracy theories about the legality of elections and their own culpability in illegal and criminal actions. The same violent criminal conspiracy that fueled the attack to stop our election is now powering violent attacks to stop our law enforcement. All leaders must speak out against this kind of rhetoric and stand on the side of the law, no matter where it leads.
Here’s what you need to know for the weekend:
Main Points for the Weekend:
1. FBI agents searched for documents relating to nuclear weapons that Trump took from the White House. The former president must be held accountable for his actions.
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- Top point to make: Trump must be held accountable for his blatant disregard for the rule of law.
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- If you read one thing: Washington Post, 8/12/22: FBI searched Trump’s home to look for nuclear documents and other items, sources say. “Material about nuclear weapons is especially sensitive and usually restricted to a small number of government officials, experts said. Publicizing details about U.S. weapons could provide an intelligence road map to adversaries seeking to build ways of countering those systems. And other countries might view exposing their nuclear secrets as a threat, experts said. One former Justice Department official, who in the past oversaw investigations of leaks of classified information, said the type of top-secret information described by the people familiar with the probe would probably cause authorities to try to move as quickly as possible to recover sensitive documents that could cause grave harm to U.S. security.”
2. An armed man who was present at the January 6th attack was killed by law enforcement after firing his weapon at an FBI office in Ohio. MAGA Republicans are calling for civil war to defend the ex-president’s illegal actions. We saw the tragic results of this violent rhetoric on January 6th, and we’re seeing the results today.
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- Top point to make: The same violent criminal conspiracy that fueled the attack to stop our election is now powering violent attacks to stop our law enforcement. Any Republican that fails to condemn this violence is complicit.
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- If you read one thing: Daily Beast, 8/11/22: Armed Man Who Stormed FBI Office Said He Wanted ‘War’ After Mar-a-Lago Raid. “Two days before Shiffer embarked on the failed breach, an account under the same name on Truth Social foreshadowed an attack, calling for followers to ‘kill the F.B.I. on sight’ in the wake of the raid at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. In his bio on TruthSocial, Shiffer identified himself as an electrician based in Columbus, Ohio, who had multiple social media firms lock his account. ‘People, this is it,’ the account posted. ‘I hope a call to arms comes from someone better qualified, but if not, this is your call to arms from me. Leave work tomorrow as soon as the gun shop/Army-Navy store/pawn shop opens, get whatever you need to be ready for combat. We must not tolerate this one.’”
3. The GOP can’t move on from the past – they are still pushing to try and decertify the 2020 election. MAGA candidates across the country still cling to the false notion that Donald Trump won the 2020 election – and even scarier, they’re winning their primaries. If elected to state and federal offices this fall, MAGA candidates could try to pass legislation that changes the way voting processes go in the states.
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- Top point to make: MAGA Republicans pose an unbelievable threat to our country. They cannot be allowed to win in November.
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- If you read one thing: New York Times, 8/8/22: In Wisconsin, G.O.P. Voters Demand the Impossible: Decertifying 2020. “Dozens of Republican voters and activists interviewed across the state in the last week said they wanted to see lawmakers decertify the state’s election results and claw back its 10 electoral votes, something that cannot legally be done… But even as Ms. Kleefisch campaigns on an agenda of restricting voting access and eliminating the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, two Republican rivals promise to do that and more…”
Expert voices
Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University: “[Viktor] Orban’s presence at the convention throws cold water on those hoping for some deep-seated change in the GOP after the Trump presidency. The movement called Trumpism is much deeper than Trump. Regardless of whether he is the Republican nominee in 2024, the party likely will continue bearing his stamp.” CNN Op-Ed: Why conservatives gave a big welcome to leader who suppressed Hungary’s democracy
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history and Italian studies at New York University: “Tellingly, he [Viktor Orban] did not mention Trump in his speech, although he had privately visited the former president at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on his way to Texas. As Orban knows, Trump is currently under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. So the Hungarian leader is clearly leaving his options open, signaling that he will deal with whomever may emerge as Republican kingpin. In the meantime, he is all too happy to assist the GOP in wrecking American democracy.” MSNBC Op-Ed: CPAC 2022 features Viktor Orban, Donald Trump — a celebration of autocracy
Neil Eggleston, White House counsel in the Obama administration, re: DOJ subpoenas of Trump WH counsel: “‘I think that’s [Trump v. Thompson] probably the way the courts are going to think about this as well,’ he said. ‘Because if you just apply a standard balancing test under U.S. v. Nixon, I think it is overwhelming that the Department of Justice will have shown compelling need for this testimony and President Trump’s interest in confidentiality at this stage, particularly after the January 6 hearings, is virtually zero.’” The Hill
Joyce Vance, former US attorney: “[O]n the 48th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation from the presidency, the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s residence, Mar-a-Lago. Not a raid. No crashing in of doors or destruction of property. This is a judicially authorized proceeding, in which a federal judge independently reviews an FBI agent’s sworn affidavit and must conclude they agree that there is probable cause for the search. Probable cause is more than just suspicion, it means a reasonable person reviewing the evidence would conclude a crime has been committed and there is good reason to believe evidence or fruits of it will be recovered from the place to be searched. Trump says the FBI searched his private safe. That, in and of itself, tells us a lot about who the likely target of this investigation is.” Civil Discourse
Harry Litman, former US attorney: “A more straightforward, prosaic answer to why the warrant was served is that the Department of Justice has assembled evidence of probable cause that evidence of a crime would be found at Trump’s Florida home…a charge of mishandling or destroying official documents is no petty offense, not under the federal code (which provides for a prison sentence of up to three years) and not in the culture of the Justice Department, which takes it very seriously.” LA Times Column
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, re: 18 U.S. Code § 2071 – concealment, removal, or mutilation generally: “The media is missing the really, really big reason why the raid today is a potential blockbuster in American politics.👇…Yes, I recognize the legal challenge that application of this law to a president would garner (since qualifications are set in Constitution). But the idea that a candidate would have to litigate this is during a campaign is in my view a ‘blockbuster in American politics.’” Tweet | Tweet
Dennis Aftergut, former federal prosecutor: “Indeed, despite some naysayers, all signs still point to a Trump run. We ignore them at our peril — doing so means losing precious time both reminding Americans of the ‘clear and present danger’ to our Constitution that he poses and preparing for how best to defeat him.” NBC Op-Ed
Seth Masket, professor of political science and director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver, and Christopher Celaya, postdoctoral researcher at the center: “Although Trump is still the dominant candidate, he is vulnerable in the sense that some of his supporters do not think he can win…Of course, this is only an experiment. The real world is far more complex. But it suggests that even Republicans who are strong supporters of Trump are open to arguments about his ability to win elections, and those supporters seem to see DeSantis as a real option, at least right now.” LA Times: Op-Ed: Here’s one factor that might peel Trump’s diehard supporters away
Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, re: recent reporting on Trump administration generals: “Why did none of these men use Article 25 when they knew America was in such dire straits? This is what it is for. The military must take orders from its commander in chief. Why did they wait to write a book on it?” Tweet
Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations: “CFR President Richard Haass writes in a preface to his forthcoming book, ‘The Bill of Obligations,’ out Jan. 24, that he’s often asked: ‘Richard, what keeps you up at night?’ Questioners usually suggest possible answers: Is it China? Russia? North Korea? Iran? Terrorism? Climate change? Cyberattacks? Another pandemic? Haass’ answer often takes them aback: ‘The most urgent and significant threat to American security and stability stems not from abroad but from within.’ The threat, he writes, is ‘from political divisions that for only the second time in U.S. history have raised questions about the future of American democracy and even the United States itself.’” Axios
Holley Hansen, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University who researches political violence and conflict mediation: “The problem, Hansen said, is that the 2020 election denial was a catalyst in the militant movement’s long game to undermine democratic institutions and seize power by force. ‘If you can’t trust the institutions that are designed to peacefully resolve disputes and you begin to see the other side as an enemy,’ Hansen said, ‘the desire to act — and the need to act — really becomes more easily justified.’” Washington Post
Norman Eisen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, E. Danya Perry, formerly served as a federal prosecutor and chief of investigations for New York State’s Moreland Commission on Public Corruption, and Dennis Aftergut, a former federal prosecutor: “If some thought [Attorney General Merrick Garland] was moving slower than they would have liked, he’s now clearly moving faster than we all expected. If you believe that no one is above the law, and that the powerful and the powerless should be treated the same in the face of probable cause of crime, the new pace of Garland’s investigation is profoundly reassuring.” CNN Op-Ed: A seismic shift in Trump’s legal woes
Barbara McQuade, former US attorney, re: Republican Senator Marco Rubio falsely asserting the legal FBI warrant of Mar-a-Lago was an excuse and ruse: “This kind of reckless and baseless rhetoric is destroying public confidence in law enforcement and our courts. How can anyone who cares about the rule of law participate in this distortion of facts?” Tweet
Joyce Vance, former US attorney, re: FBI agents reportedly confiscating GOP Rep. Scott Perry’s phone under a search warrant: “This is very interesting. Perry reportedly connected Trump with wannabe AG Jeffrey Clark, the environmental lawyer & pusher of Trump’s big lie.” Tweet
Harry Litman, former US attorney: “No surprise: after maneuvering and dodging, Trump takes fifth in New York AG inquiry with phony and improper statement about how it’s a witchhunt. Important point: it can be used against him because it’s a civil action.” Tweet
Eric Holder, former U.S. attorney general, and Lanny Breuer, former head of the criminal division at DOJ: “Ms. Smith then asked Mr. Holder if he would charge Donald Trump and his allies for their role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. To answer that question, Mr. Holder turned to Lanny Breuer, the former head of the criminal division at the DOJ, who was sitting in the crowd. ‘So Lanny, would we bring this case?’ Mr. Holder asked[.] ‘We would bring it in a minute,’ Mr. Breuer responded…’You end up with indict, divide [the country], don’t indict, divide [the country], so just do the damn right thing. Enforce the rule of law,’ Mr. Holder said. ‘You broke the law, you tried to subvert our democracy, you got caught, we’ve got proof, so let’s charge it.’” Vineyard Gazette
Kathleen Belew, associate professor of history at Northwestern University: “To everyone tweeting +/- ‘It’s almost like they’ve been waiting for a reason to declare civil war and turn to violence’–YES, they HAVE BEEN waiting for a moment like this. White power groups and the militant right are opportunistic. They don’t waste chances like this one.” Tweet
Joyce Vance, former US attorney: “’Play that out a little bit: What do these people want?’ said Vance, an Obama appointee. ‘Do they want Merrick Garland to come out and say, ‘Here’s all our evidence against Donald Trump’? Do they really think that DOJ should try its cases in the press? That’s not what we want in a functioning, rule-of-law country from our Justice Department.’ Vance said the Justice Department’s handling of the matter shows the emphasis by Garland, the attorney general, on doing things by the book. ‘‘Merrick Garland’s goal is to restore the department to a place where that’s the way normal business is conducted: in a court, with the rules,’ Vance said. ‘I think Merrick Garland understands that DOJ bets its future on every case, and his role was to restore DOJ’s integrity so that in the tough cases like this one, where he can’t talk about the substance of a search warrant, the public knows that they can have confidence that the leadership at DOJ is following the rules and doing things the right way,’ Vance said.” NBC News
Asha Rangappa, senior lecturer at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and FBI counterintelligence agent, Norman L. Eisen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Bradley P. Moss, national security attorney and partner at the law office of Mark S. Zaid, PC: “[T]he Mar-a-Lago search indicates that DOJ does believe that a crime has been committed or was being committed and that evidence of that crime was present on the premises. That much is clear, although we are still at the earliest stages of understanding this development and do not have the search warrant and attachments, much less the supporting affidavit. While DOJ and judicial approval of the search warrant doesn’t necessarily mean that Trump himself is suspected of a crime, it is highly likely that he is the focus of the investigation.” Just Security’s Expert Explainer: Criminal Statutes that Could Apply to Trump’s Retention of Government Documents
Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI assistant director: “I’ll say it again; he was a threat in office, and he’s a threat out of office: FBI searched Trump’s home to look for nuclear documents and other items, sources say” Tweet
Asha Rangappa, former FBI special agent: “THREAD. Unpacking the Espionage Act, 18 U.S.C., Chapter 36. We are concerned here with Section 793 — Gathering, Transmitting, or Losing Defense Information… Given the seriousness of all this, keep in mind that NARA and DOJ tried a) to obtain voluntary compliance and b) a subpoena. And yet, he hung on to these. Why??? A former POTUS would surely understand the disastrous potential of having these secrets unsecured…the point here is it is NO WONDER that the FBI executed a warrant. The focus now should be not on the search, but why the 🤬 Trump hung on to these documents, and why his supporters think that is very legal and very cool” Twitter Thread
Steve Vladeck, Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law: “Key point in AG Garland’s statement: DOJ was willing to do this quietly, *without* making a public spectacle of the search. It was *President Trump’s* decision to make it public that turned this all into a spectacle (and is leading DOJ to move to unseal part of the application). (1) This underscores the professionalism on the government’s side; (2) it’s a rather powerful counterweight to the claim from Trump and his supporters that this is about scoring political points (how do you do that silently?); and (3) it puts the ball in Trump’s court … again.” Tweet | Tweet
Eli Merritt, political historian at Vanderbilt University: “Demagogues are as ancient as democracy itself, and, historically, watchful gatekeepers prevent them from seizing the bully pulpit and winning the public trust. Gatekeepers need to have eagle eyes for spotting this corrupting subset of political actors. Then they must work to sideline them by all means permissible, public and private…Today, the Republican Party is duty bound to defend our democracy and Constitution against further assault by Trump. If the party of Lincoln does not stand up for candidates committed to free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, it stands for nothing at all. Its failure to reject Trump resulted in institutional breakdown — and violence. And that is what will continue to happen if the party does not act decisively.” LA Times Op-Ed: Democracy’s survival depends on fighting demagogues. The GOP is embracing them.
