Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

In my day, never was longer.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Everybody saw this coming.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Bark louder, little dog.

This fight is for everything.

Consistently wrong since 2002

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

The willow is too close to the house.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Angry Banana Republicans (Open Thread)

Angry Banana Republicans (Open Thread)

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Here’s Lil’ Marco’s dumb, hysterical reaction to the feds busting into Trump’s safe:

Ron DeSantis dishonestly invokes a subject he knows well, Banana Republicanism:

Keep in mind that Republicans are just as much in the dark as the rest of us about exactly what the FBI was looking for. The “lock her up” party’s emerging narrative is that this was a “records dispute” — practically an overdue library book! — so leave Trump aloooooooone.

I have a feeling that’s not going to work out for them. Open thread.

Reader Interactions

144Comments

  2. 2.

    Baud

    Because one day what goes around is going to come around

    And then we become Nicaragua under Ortega

    Not if we keep Dems in power.

  3. 3.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Palace of the Sun has never been raided by United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    — DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) August 9, 2022

  5. 5.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: There’s always an implicit threat in Republican complaining. Even the ones who pretend to be less feral, like Micro here.

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    The GOP in public: “Waaaah… Those mean old Demoncrats are trying to enforce the law!”

    The GOP* in private: “Hip hip HOORAY!”

    *looking at you DeSantis, Abbot.

  10. 10.

    JPL

    I’m news deprived because grand imp is visiting.   Being three, it’s best that we stick with PBS kids.   I woke early so I could try to watch clips from Rachel’s show, and he heard me.

  12. 12.

    oldgold

    If they were smart in getting judicial authorization for this search warrant, and I think they are, they got it in front of a Trump appointee, or, at a minimum, a Republican appointee.

    Then,  you have a search warrant authorized by Trump/ Republican appointed  Judge, executed by an FBI under the direction of Christopher Wray, a Republican handpicked by Trump. A man Trump said, “Was a fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity.”

    As such, except for the cult members, it would be hard to sell this as a partisan Democratic operation.

  13. 13.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    Betty Cracker @ Top:

    The “lock her up” party’s emerging narrative is that this was a “records dispute” …

    A “records dispute”? Trump stole 15 boxes of classified documents from the US Gov’t, presumably to give or sell to foreign leaders – like Putin, bin Salman, Orban, Erdogan, and so on – because what the fuck else is he gonna with them?

    Fuck Trump, and fuck the traitorous Republican hypocrites defending him.

  14. 14.

    JPL

    President Biden had at least two minutes of fame, before once again trump grabs the spotlight.

  15. 15.

    New Deal democrat

    I have to think that Biden was kept in the loop, at least to make sure he did not object to the seeking of the search warrant. Because this raid definitely is an escalation, I.e., you can be sure that the next GOP President will sic law enforcement on Biden and/or Obama.

    In that same vein, the FBI cannot simply sit mum behind its “ongoing investigation” mantra for months into the future. On an expedited basis, Wray and/or Garland need to tell the American public the gravity of the criminal activity for which there was probable cause to obtain a warrant (personally my guess is, Trump still had classified documents of high value, $$$$$ and otherwise, to places like Russia and Saudi Arabia).

  17. 17.

    Geminid

    There is an interesting piece on John Fetterman in Politico Magazine this morning, titled “Opinion: John Fetterman is running a test in Pennsylvania that Democrats need to watch.” The “test” is Fetterman’s effort to win more votes in Pennsylvania’s rural, red counties.

    Politico Magazine also put up a good, long article on Raphael Warnock last Friday.

  19. 19.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

     one day what goes around is going to come around And then we become Nicaragua under Ortega

    like extorting a foreign country (Ukraine) to cook up fake allegations against a political opponent

  27. 27.

    narya

    I’ve re-read Popehat’s thread from last night a few times, and listened to the talking heads on Maddow (some of whom were better than others). My takeaway is that this would have needed to be tied up tight, and, as several pointed out, the reason to do it this way is because of a well-founded and well-documented fear that the documents were not just not going to be returned, but that not getting them would threaten something (e.g., national security, an investigation, etc.). I also have to wonder if they might get some of those missing texts. THAT would be priceless.

  28. 28.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Lacuna Synecdoche: And he supposedly returned those docs earlier this year. Yet the National Archive apparently says some classified materials are still missing. We need to know if he has them, because if he doesn’t (I presume he does), where are they?

  29. 29.

    satby

    OMIGD, I have to go into the belly of the beast (aka red state farmers market) and try not to smirk and laugh at the sad MAGAts.

    Fuck it, I’ll laugh like a loon the first time any one of them whines.

  31. 31.

    Kropacetic

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: LOL. Burn! Room Rater posted yesterday with a pick of the Clintons’ house saying, “This is the home of a former president not being raided by the FBI.”

    The fact that investigations into Democrats don’t result in actionable evidence of crimes but investigations into Republicans do is clearly a conspiracy by Commie FBI agents and leftist establishment Republicans in Congress.

  32. 32.

    randy khan

    @MattF:

    My Mom’s birthday, too.  She used to say that Nixon’s resignation was her best birthday present ever.

  35. 35.

    Betty Cracker

    @New Deal democrat: Initially, I thought Biden must have been informed at least when the raid was imminent because potentially, this is an event that could stir domestic unrest and affect national security. But I watched some of the coverage last night, and people who had been in the DOJ, White House and FBI all agreed the DOJ would not have looped Biden in. They made a pretty convincing case.

  40. 40.

    New Deal democrat

    @oldgold: “No! You absolutely do not want Biden in the loop.”

    Hard disagree (and note I limited it to making sure Biden did not disapprove). The political precedent and ramifications for the Republic are greater than the police procedurals by orders of magnitude.

  43. 43.

    Anonymous At Work

    I’m very curious if any of them thought beyond the immediate shock and threats of revenge.  What are they really planning to do if they hold hearings?  Have FBI agents testify about what crimes they had evidence Trump broke?  Reveal classified information on Trump?

  44. 44.

    topclimber

    Perhaps DeSantis is not the smart-like, competent-sorta, mini Trump we all fear. What dumbass goes out on a limb slamming the FBI and Justice Department without knowing what they might find?

    Sure, he is base building but he is also setting himself up for a huge own-goal that won’t help him in his presumed 2024 Presidential run, post-primary phase.

    Compare with Lindsey Graham, who had the sense to put out a mealy-mouthed tweet about how justice must not be politicized, but without explicitly backing Trump or criticizing DOJ.

  45. 45.

    Ramalama

    @Baud: Twin powers activate. We were just talking about re-watching the (original) series on a few binges. It was so good.

  47. 47.

    New Deal democrat

    @Betty Cracker: “t I watched some of the coverage last night, and people who had been in the DOJ, White House and FBI all agreed the DOJ would not have looped Biden in. They made a pretty convincing case.”

    Hey, we caused a civil war, but at least we followed the normal police procedurals!  /s

  48. 48.

    MattF

    Thank you all. Later today my sister will call and sing ‘Happy Birthday’— then we will commiserate about this ‘one year per year’ thing.

  49. 49.

    Joey Maloney

    @New Deal democrat: No, this is absolutely the kind of thing you would keep impenetrably firewalled from the politicals. Executing a search warrant on a former President? Everyone’s conduct has to be, and has to be seen to be, completely (you should excuse the expression) unimpeachable.

  50. 50.

    Dangerman

    I haven’t been watching the TV news, only print, but interesting that McConnell has been silent. Perhaps him on camera with a shit eating grin and a celebratory glass of something would be bad optics. You know the PTB hate Trump.

  53. 53.

    SFAW

    @Baud: ​
     

    If the GOP wins the House, Biden will be impeached a minimum of three times.

    Yeah, of course, but are we talking about in the first year, month, week, or day?

  58. 58.

    Spanky

    @Baud: Good! There’s a process, and the FBI needs to follow it. Last time they didn’t, we got Comey’s sermon, and all that followed.

    (Kay’s a good teacher!)

  61. 61.

    oldgold

    I believe Merrick Garland is as wise as Omar Little. “You come at the king, you best not miss.”

    To avoid the miss you don’t come half-assed. You know the GQP is going to attack it as a partisan Democratic operation. So, to the very best of your ability,  you proceed in a manner that blunts that line of attack.

  63. 63.

    Betsy

    @New Deal democrat: Hard disagree. It’s not about “political ramifications” OR “police procedurals.”  This is a process of Constitutional protections and justice, of the highest order.

    That’s a thing that is not politicized.

    Not by the good guys.

  64. 64.

    Kropacetic

    @Betty Cracker: Huh — Graham being so circumspect is interesting.

    @Joey Maloney: Not really. He’s the most exquisitely sensitive windsock in Washington.

    It occurs to me that Graham’s life experience has taught him when a little discretion is warranted.

  65. 65.

    Betsy

    @New Deal democrat: Hard disagree. It’s not about “political ramifications” OR “police procedurals.”  This is a process of Constitutional protections and justice, of the highest order.

    That’s a thing that is not politicized,* ie, not interfered with by the nation’s elected executive.  He lets the process unroll according to its independent, Constitutional procedures.

    *Not by the good guys.

  68. 68.

    Kropacetic

    @Betsy: That’s a thing that is not politicized, ie, not interfered with by the nation’s elected executive.  He lets the process unroll according to its independent, Constitutional procedures.

    Not by the good guys.

    100 percent. Out law enforcement is meant to be independent. We shouldn’t even allow the opportunity for political influence.  If Biden were looped in, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he tried to stop it just because he would have recognized that he can’t be connected to this.

    That would look bad too. But he would have been left with no good choices.

  69. 69.

    Geminid

    @topclimber: I think trump’s hold on Republcans and Republican-voting Independents has been steadily eroding since he left office. McConnell knows this, and politicians like DeSantis and McCarthy are lagging indicators.

    Although, DeSantis needs the trump vote for reelection, and McCarthy may believe that Republicans need the trump vote to retake the House, so their defence of the guy could be tactically sound. But the Republican party really needs to see trump in the rear view mirror.

  70. 70.

    Layer8Problem

    @Joey Maloney:  And I say hard agree with you.  Even saying nothing more than “We’re moving, Mr. President” tees up the right-wing nutbar press and crowd screaming that it’s directed from the Oval Office or Hunter Biden’s laptop.  The former Justice Department people to a person speak to the independence of the place.  Any hint of communication would compromise that.

  71. 71.

    terraformer

    @oldgold:  these kinds of things matter to you and me

    but they have *zero* impact on Republicans and their supporters. Like how they seem to think the J6 Committee work is wholly corrupt, even though everyone who’s testified were T***p people.

    Nothing matters, they make it up as they go along – but whatever they say or however they do it – it’s about grievance and hysteria over being held to account, the kind of thing that’s not for *them* but for the *little people

  72. 72.

    Ksmiami

    @oldgold: it was a Trump judge that authorized the raid. Ahem… my thinking on this is there are records of Jan 6, documents of bribes etc and or treasonous records of Trump/Putin.

  75. 75.

    Betty Cracker

    Hubby and I don’t watch political coverage on TV much anymore, and he mostly ignores politics until it’s time to vote, so I had to explain the whole “Brandon” thing to him so he could comprehend the “Dark Brandon” memes mentioned on one of the programs.

    Made me realize anew just how stupid it all is.

  79. 79.

    Betsy

    @OzarkHillbilly: Sounds like it might be time to queue up “The Sound of Music.”  My tots watched it incessantly, and it did get slightly old but at least the songs were singable, the scenery beautiful, and the antifa messages uplifting.

  80. 80.

    Kropacetic

    @Betty Cracker: I had to explain the whole “Brandon” thing to him so he could comprehend the “Dark Brandon” memes mentioned on one of the programs.

    All this chanting “Let’s Go” and now he’s going strong. It’s all thanks to Republicans.

    Made me realize anew just how stupid it all is.

    As stupidity blooms anew every day, so too does recognition of the same.

  83. 83.

    Starfish

    @New Deal democrat: If they loop Biden in, there is a chance that they torpedo their entire case.

    “See, the Justice Department colluded with the President.”

    All credibility would be destroyed.

    Remember that time when Bill Clinton talked to the head of the Department of Justice about her family, and people lost their entire minds?

  85. 85.

    Betty Cracker

    Armando on Twitter noted that as the target, Trump could release the search warrant to the public. But he hasn’t. Hmmm.

  86. 86.

    Cameron

    From what I’ve read this morning, RWNJ reaction is that this is a political hit personally ordered by Joe Biden. No mention anywhere about a judge authorizing the search warrant.

  87. 87.

    JPL

    @OzarkHillbilly:    I let him watch “Turning Red”, which is probably a grandma fail because of his age.   I just assumed since it was on Disney it would be okay.   It’s PG

    We might have to stick with Frozen, which I loathe.

  91. 91.

    Kropacetic

    @JPL: MSM should demand that trump show them, if it is a witch hunt.

    The real question, does Trump weigh more than a duck?

  92. 92.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @SFAW:

    To Trump’s floor of about 68 million votes, that just means he fights hard to win.

  93. 93.

    jonas

    I don’t know how many times the dead, rotting corpses of Irony and Chutzpah can be dug up and shot again repeatedly by Republicans at this point, but this is what their caterwauling about “politicizing” the Justice Department is. FFS, the projection is visible outside the solar system.

  94. 94.

    jonas

    @Cameron: ​
     

    RWNJ reaction is that this is a political hit personally ordered by Joe Biden.

    Of course they’re saying that. It’s what Trump would have done.

  95. 95.

    artem1s

    Keep in mind that Republicans are just as much in the dark as the rest of us about exactly what the FBI was looking for.

    that’s exactly why there is so much GQP flop sweat in the air this morning. the timing suggests someone flipped or the DOJ got some very interesting stuff off that phone from Alex Jones. Twitter reactions show who’s more afraid of what TFG has on them and who is ready to rat out their pals to keep the FBI from raiding their house next. The smell of paper shredder ozone must be overwhelming in their neighborhoods.

  96. 96.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @Geminid:

    The ones who have been openly “all-in” on the bloated mediocrity are potentially left with their asses dangling in the breeze, so they’re hysterical (looking at the pundits, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Micro Rubio, Hawley, etc.)

  98. 98.

    jonas

    @Betty Cracker: ​
     

    Trump could release the search warrant to the public. But he hasn’t.

    Smart people on legal twitter tell me that the agents do their business and then leave the search warrant with the person/party who was served. It details what it is that the search was authorized for, but not all the evidence the DOJ presented to actually get the warrant (i.e. evidence it has that a probable crime was committed). So you know you’re possibly the subject of a criminal investigation, but you don’t know, other than what was in the search warrant, what, exactly, the feds have on you. Trump is perfectly free to release that warrant to show that Merrick Garland wrote it in crayon and it just says “Get meee stuff frum Mar-a-Lagow show Trump bad.” As others have surmised, he won’t do that because the warrant was probably signed by a judge he appointed, and shows that he is suspected of having stashed top secret documents at Mar-A-Lago even after the Nat. Archives was supposed to have re-taken custody of the stuff he absconded with.

  99. 99.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @Ksmiami:

    “But he fights to win against Demoncrat libruls with everything he’s got…..”

  100. 100.

    Layer8Problem

    @Starfish:  I remember Ari Fleischer’s giving a high school drama level “How dare you!” to an unappreciated question way back when.  I assume he’s well compensated for dependable flackery and cheerleading, or at least that the big boys and players let him be their friend.

    A quick Google search shows that was Hardball with Tweety back in 2009, after saying “Bush kept us safe” and Matthews saying “what about 9/11?”

  101. 101.

    sdhays

    @New Deal democrat: It’s inconceivable that Biden and Garland didn’t discuss this potential eventuality before Garland was nominated. I think that’s one of the top reasons Biden chose Garland and not one of the many other highly qualified Democratic lawyers. Biden chose a former Federal Appellate Court judge, a well respected nominee for the Supreme Court, the prosecutor of Timothy McVeigh so that he knew that he could safely delegate this authority that absolutely needed to be delegated.

    Garland got Biden’s approval then.

  102. 102.

    jonas

    @artem1s: ​  The reporting right now seems to be that this isn’t related to the 1/6 committee, but has to do with that cache of classified material Trump took with him to Florida when he moved out of the WH. The National Archives was supposed to have come and gotten the stuff, but my bet is that he hid some really sensitive material and someone either saw it lying around notified the feds, or counterintelligence has evidence that it was compromised (“Hey Fred, how did this Chinese agent know about Project Bunnyrabbit? That was only mentioned in top secret briefing memo that Trump looked at…. Oh shit. To Mar-a-Lago!)​

  103. 103.

    Layer8Problem

    @JPL:  No one mentions Frozen when we’re visiting the grandtots, no one.  We’re past the Elsa couture stage at least, but they genuinely loved it to pieces.

  107. 107.

    Jinchi

    @New Deal democrat: The political precedent and ramifications for the Republic are greater than the police procedurals by orders of magnitude.

    It’s not simple procedure or formality. A sitting president can’t be in a position to green light the prosecution or investigation of a political rival.  That’s the only way to keep legitimate separation between the concept that “no one is above the law” and the threat that any president would use the DoJ as his personal police force.

    It’s exactly what we were objecting to with Trump’s attempts to prosecute Comey, McCabe, Hunter Biden and his public tantrums demanding Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama be arrested and tried for treason.

    Marco’s “what goes around is going to come around” is laughable, because what he’s threatening us with already happened.

  109. 109.

    Frankensteinbeck

    The threat of retaliation is asinine.  Trump repeatedly sicced the DoJ on his opponents.  He ordered multiple investigations on Hunter.  He told them early on to lock up Hillary and Obama.  The former came up empty.  The latter didn’t even get that far when he was told there’s nothing to arrest them for.

    @sdhays:

    Wasn’t whether Garland would go wherever the evidence took him, IE even to Trump, a well discussed issue when he was appointed?  I seem to remember that.

  110. 110.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Frankensteinbeck: The White Noise coming from the Usual Suspects of the GOP is a desperate attempt to rally the base, which is telling me the internal polls must be abysmal.

  111. 111.

    Layer8Problem

    @Jinchi:  “How’s all that gumshoe work going for your team with BENGHAZI!#*¡, hah?  Any indictments yet?”

  112. 112.

    Burnspbesq

    @New Deal democrat:

    In that same vein, the FBI cannot simply sit mum behind its “ongoing investigation” mantra for months into the future. On an expedited basis, Wray and/or Garland need to tell the American public the gravity of the criminal activity for which there was probable cause to obtain a warrant (personally my guess is, Trump still had classified documents of high value, $$$$$ and otherwise, to places like Russia and Saudi Arabia).

    Totally wrong, on every level. Doing what you’re advocating for would be a Federal felony, for one thing. It’s also a career-ending move for any DOJ employee. See Rule 6(e), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

    We’ve talked about this again and again, yet some folks refuse to understand.

  113. 113.

    raven

    @The Thin Black Duke: The clowns running in the Wisconsin Gubernatorial are hilarious. “I hope he and his family are safe”! “If they can do it to him they can do it to anyone”!! Fuckin A douche.

  114. 114.

    Ken

    @topclimber: What dumbass goes out on a limb slamming the FBI and Justice Department without knowing what they might find?

    Yeah, they’ll be mightily embarrassed if it turns out anything like the treatment I’m pitching to Paramount:

    STINGER: “Good morning Mr. Phelps. The man you’re looking at is Ibrahim al-Rama, the head of Al Qanadar’s intelligence service. We have learned al-Rama has purchased copies of classified documents from a source inside the U.S. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to retrieve those documents and identify al-Rama’s source. Good luck.”

    ACTS 1, 2, 3: All sorts of elaborate and slightly-unlikely spy activity involving Rollin in a rubber mask, Cinnamon pretending to be a Persian princess, and Barney’s technical gadgets, culminating in the recovery of the papers.

    END SCENEAND TEASER FOR PART II: “Now we match the unique identifying number on the photocopied documents with the master list showing who has custody of it — my god. It’s copy number one.”

  115. 115.

    Burnspbesq

    @New Deal democrat:

    Hard disagree (and note I limited it to making sure Biden did not disapprove). The political precedent and ramifications for the Republic are greater than the police procedurals by orders of magnitude.

    Wrong again. Wanna go for the trifecta?

  116. 116.

    Layer8Problem

    @Burnspbesq:  I’m given to understand that there are at least a few commenters on this here blog that have a mild acquaintance with the law, even beyond paralegal level.  Maybe teach a course or two as well.

  118. 118.

    Nettoyeur

    @MattF: My brother who knows about intl finance and things, says Dubai is Trump’s best bet. Interestingly, also the destination of choice for Russians looking to get out.

  119. 119.

    Kropacetic

    @raven: “If they can do it to him they can do it to anyone”!! Fuckin A douche.

    Let’s reverse that. Our government has long been free to investigate and prosecute crimes by, well, anyone for a long time. It’s good we’re making it clear that can include Presidents, albeit at least 45 years late.

  120. 120.

    Layer8Problem

    @The Thin Black Duke:  Baud’s study of those has paid dividends!

    And I’ll lay down my marker right now:  I’ll put my know-how based on careful review of Alan Shore’s courtroom techniques in Boston Legal against ANY prosecutor when I represent myself!

  122. 122.

    Jinchi

    Ari Fleischer tweeting that the DoJ “better have the goods” as though we all haven’t seen Trump’s crimes practically live-streamed for years is classic Republican BS.

    Then again, didn’t McConnell and McCarthy text about letting the Democrats take care of Trump for them?

    Maybe Ari meant it literally.

  123. 123.

    dww44

    @WereBear: One of his guests this morning to opine on the matter was Walter Isaacson, whose words were to the effect that this has never been done before, and they better have a good reason for it….. he was truly whining.  I’ve always had my doubts about the true neutrality and historical bona fides of Isaacson  and this interview just cemented them.  He’s no neutral observer of the political realm by a long shot.
    But he wasn’t quite as obvious as that NBC Reporter that Stephanie Ruhle had on her show last evening who was CLEARLY in the Trump tank.  Saying that Garland has really done something to further divide the country because Trump was gonna be the party’s nominee in 2024.  I think the other 2 guests were kinda shocked as I was.  She actually pushed back on him a bit.​
    ​
    ​

  125. 125.

    Another Scott

    @jonas: Good points.  But they also had to know to search that place and not Bedminster or his Tower in NYC.  The FBI had very specific information to get the warrant.

    I agree with Popehat that this must be something big that we don’t yet know that much about.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  126. 126.

    bbleh

    @Another Scott: @jonas: Yeah, once again, why NOW?  They’ve known that Trump had those documents, and what they were (they had an inventory), for a long while, and lawyers have been lawyering over getting them back.  If it were really something super-duper-secret-handshake sensitive, why wait until now? And if it isn’t, why do something this explosive? I suppose one explanation could be that the inventory was missing something super-sensitive, but REALLY sensitive documents are extra-well controlled, better than less sensitive but still classified ones, so that seems unlikely.

    Seems to me there has to be more to it than “Trump had the documents he’s had all along.”

  127. 127.

    Ken

    @Another Scott: Yes, now that Balloon Juice, Popehat, and DPRK News Service have all weighed in, I know what to think. And I see Dick Nixon’s twitter account is in agreement.

    (Though there’s always the possibility the Onion will come out with something to change my mind.)

  128. 128.

    Ramalama

    @Layer8Problem: OMG I remember that, too. Why hasn’t Ari F. been cancelled in a more meaningful way? Like he should walk the corridor of shame with his pubes shaved. A bell tolling as he walks past the people. And then bussing tables at Applebee’s for a year.

  129. 129.

    Mike in NC

    Judging by thirsty Micro Rubio, Ron DeSatan, Rick Batboy Scott and Jeb! Bush, Florida keeps puking up fascist Republicans with zero ability to perform on a national level. Something in the water?

  131. 131.

    New Deal democrat

    @Burnspbesq: I have responded more fully below.

    I await your defense of Comey’s taking it upon himself to hold a news conference about Hillary’s emails in the middle of the election.

    Have a nice day.

  132. 132.

    Layer8Problem

    @Ramalama:  As I used to say about Dick Cheney, “there’s nothing wrong with him that five years on a chain gang wouldn’t cure.”

  133. 133.

    New Deal democrat

    Since I’ve got blowback on my position that Biden should have been consulted about a raid on a former President’s premises, I want to state the reason for my position with more clarity.

    First of all, for those who believe this was strictly a law enforcement decision, was that your position with regard to Hillary’s emails? That the decision to publicize reopening an investigation was something strictly for law enforcement to decide? Or were the political ramifications, coming as it did when early voting in many States had already begun, of such a magnitude that a political (in the sense of responsibility to the voters, not “partisan political”) should have been in the loop and given the opportunity to veto the announcement?

    If you do not believe that Comey’s announcement about reopening an investigation into Hillary’s emails was properly within his preview, why is this different?

    Secondly, let’s go back 2 days and put yourself under a Rawlsian “veil of ignorance.”
    FBI agent Joe Friday has probable cause to believe that a former President has one or more documents in their possession that violate the Presidential Records Act. There are three scenarios:
    1. It is only one or a few documents, which were inadvertently mixed in with the President’s private papers.
    2. It is a large number of documents which the former President took with him, to assist him in writing his memoirs. He has just been advised of the violation, and has agreed to immediately return the documents.
    3. It is a large number of documents of great value to the US’s global adversaries, which it is believed he intends to reveal to them for $$$$$. He agreed to return the document, but did not return all of them and made copies of the others.

    Would you approve of agent Joe Friday on his own getting a search warrant to raid the former’s President’s private residence, in each of the above scenarios, all of which involve a violation of the record-keeping act? Or in view of the likely magnitude of the political ramifications of such a search, should a High Political (again, not “partisan political”) actor with responsibility to the voters be required to sign off?

    Again, in my opinion, if you are being consistent, then in all three of the above scenarios, law enforcement should be allowed to act without consulting an official who is directly responsible to voters.

    In my opinion, in both the Hillary emails case, and in the raid on Mar a Lago, the Attorney General should have been fully in the loop, and in view of the potentially huge High (not “partisan”) Political ramifications, the President should have had at least general knowledge, not to goad law enforcement into taking action, but rather to veto the action if the ramifications would be more grave than the violation of the law.

  135. 135.

    Kropacetic

    @New Deal democrat: So Biden should have been told in advance that Trump was getting raided because it was inappropriate for Comey to make a speech in public about the Clinton investigation?

    One does not follow from the other.

    A more germain comparison would be something like “Obama should not have been involved or in a position to influence the Clinton investigation, just like Biden shouldn’t be with respect to Trump.,

  137. 137.

    Kropacetic

    @New Deal democrat: I’m saying that it is and should remain strictly under the purview of law enforcement. In both instances, they did the right thing by not looping in the president.

    So are you saying that because law enforcement abused the process by making a public statement (an act which is decidedly not the same thing as telling the president before executing a raid), that the President should now be informed in advance?

    All this would achieve is a political liability for D presidents. You tell them first then anything that happens after is automatically interpreted as abuse of power.

  140. 140.

    Chris Johnson

    @jonas: Or, the warrant cites entirely different things from ‘old classified records from January’, specifically, that would be a dead giveaway as to why and how this happened, and that’s why he cannot and will not show it.

    I really don’t think it’s the classified records from January. Either something happened very recently regarding them that rises to the level of a sting operation against Trump catching him red-handed, or it’s something entirely different which I would guess has to do with his interactions with Russia and Putin, that being the elephant in the room: fucker was literally an agent of a foreign power, just not a very well disciplined one. I would like to know what direction he got that he did NOT try to eat or shred, and why. Was there stuff he did not trust to commit to memory? Was there stuff HE did not write, and did not feel safe to destroy?

  142. 142.

    Sasha

    “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

  143. 143.

    J R in WV

    @New Deal democrat: ​
     

    PIE SAFE, OR NOT PIE SAFE — THAT IS THE QUESTION~!~

    WHETHER IT IS MORE NOBLE TO TAKE ARMS AGAINST ONE’S OWN TEAM, OR TO SHUT THE FCKK UP WHEN ONE IS ABOUT TO SHOW ONE’S IGNORANCE OF HOW GOVERNMENT WORKS~!!!

  144. 144.

    Another Scott

    @Ken:

    TheOnion:

    BEDMINSTER, NJ—Upon realizing the FBI had only searched his Florida home for classified White House documents, former President Donald J. Trump expressed relief to reporters Tuesday, saying that he had assumed the early morning raid of his Palm Beach resort was all about the bodies.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

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