Yes, Dear Readers, the FBI raids Trump’s home in the most epic way this week. But what does that mean for us poor mortals? Is this still America, the Land of the Free? This blog has put together JMS Crisis Management Hit List to help you navigate this unprecedented move from the Department of Justice against a former president.
Welcome to the JMS blog, your hub for the success tips to level up your brand.
As a reminder, Dear Readers, this website answers all your branding questions. If it is your first visit, this blog is the brainchild of JMStrategy LLC (JMS), a boutique consulting firm that offers strategic solutions to strengthen your professional or personal brands. The JMS team is in the business of designing recovery plans as robust as possible that avoid behavioral or productivity inertia. Now, without further ado, let’s dive into everything you need to know about the implications of the FBI raiding Mar-a-Lago.
What’s the timeline that led to the FBI raiding Trump’s home?
At the beginning of this year.
Dear Readers, let’s remember that judges do not grant search warrant requests willy-nilly as they require probable cause! First, prosecutors must show probable cause that a suspect is likely to commit a specific federal crime. Second, they must present proof that law enforcement agents will find more evidence at the location of the alleged federal crime. Third, prosecutors must convince a federal judge that the information provided is legit. No judge signs a search warrant unless s/he has scrutinized every detail and believes that the case can move forward.
Dear Readers, did you know that the National Archives and Record Administration retrieved 15 boxes of White House records sent to Mar-a-Lago in February? According to the Presidential Records Act, Trump should have handed over all Presidential documents to the National Archives at the end of his term. Yet, we all remember that Trump had exerted all his energy disputing Biden’s victory and claimed the 2022 presidential election was fraught with an unprecedented level of voter fraud. Therefore, it is plausible that Trump waited until the last minute before packing and forgot to turn everything over while rushing to leave the White House for Mar-a-Lago.
A few weeks ago.
It appears that later in the spring, Trump received a subpoena as a part of his potential mishandling of classified documents. A federal grand jury began investigating whether Trump had mishandled top-secret documents, including taking 15 boxes to Mar-a-Lago. Of course, it is hard to imagine that Trump’s legal team would not comply with the subpoena. Yet, here we are in the aftermath of an FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago.
At a minimum, there was a breakdown in communication between Trump’s camp, the FBI, and the DOJ as Attorney General Merrick Garland stated yesterday that “where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means.” If that’s not an indication that the DOJ camp attempted to retrieve all remaining documents from the Trump camp to no avail, Dear Readers, what will? This blog does not know what else could convince the American people that the FBI conducted the search warrant in due form.
Finally, we’ve heard that Jay Bratt, the Justice Department’s top counterintelligence official, visited Mar-a-Lago in early June with a small group of other federal officials. The officials met with Trump’s lawyer, Evan Corcoran, and examined a basement storage area where Trump was storing classified materials that he brought from the White House. A few days after the visit, Bratt emailed Corcoran and told him to secure the remaining documents with the addition of a padlock. As you see, Dear Readers, the August raid is an escalation of a well-established legal attempt to retrieve all classified documents from Mar-a-Lago once and for all!
What does the FBI raid on Trump’s home mean to the American people?
Dear Readers, it is hard to say for sure. Today, we’ve learned from the search warrant newly unsealed that the FBI was investigating Trump for removal or destruction of records, obstruction of justice, and violating the Espionage Act. Thus, Dear Readers, the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago because Trump removed classified documents. But does that mean that Trump refused to return national security documents, or was the DOJ unclear about the timeline it granted for the safe return of all classified documents? We may never know, Dear Readers!
For now, Dear Readers, this blog encourages you to remain informed and engaged. It is our duty, as citizens, to keep all branches of our government accountable. There should never be a time when the FBI, the DOJ, or members of Congress feel free to trample all over our rights or civil liberties. This blog is committed to encouraging civic engagement by continuing to provide an honest analysis of crisis management cases in the news; so you know what to do moving forward. Get in touch or leave us a comment below if you have any questions, comments, or requests about other topics you would like to see us analyze.
You can catch up on the last three public policy analyses the JMS team put together for our Dear Readers:
–Kansas Abortion Referendum Celebration, Now What?
–Goodbye Roe v. Wade, Now What?
–U.S. Brand Under Biden In Distress?
–What Is Georgia’s New Voting Law: Security Enhancement Or Suppression?
Leave a Reply