Since the raid at Mar-a-Lago, there has been a steady stream of guessing, assumptions, and leaks. The sun hadn’t set on the date of the raid when media was ablaze with wild accusations. Celebrities were gleefully declaring that “they got him now!”
Once the narrative turned generally negative toward the DOJ and/or FBI (including the fact that agents rifled through Melania’s closet) leaks started to appear in the media, principally in the Washington Post. Rumors that Trump had “nuke” documents in his mansion and that was why the FBI had seized his passport turned to mud when his passports were returned.
The DOJ/FBI lost more momentum when presiding judge Aileen Cannon ordered the government to stop its review of seized presidential documents until a special master is appointed and that special master reviews what the agents seized. That Order put an immediate stop to, what I presume was, Merrick Garland’s intention to spring an “October Surprise.” Judge Cannon’s order didn’t sit well with the partisans at DOJ and the FBI. The solution was to keep the narrative alive with targeted leaks.
The Washington Post published an article claiming to have spoken to sources close to the investigation. The source or sources provided targeted, leaked information, that suggests the seized documents contained sensitive information including material on a foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities and documents with:
“S/FRD,” an abbreviation for “Formerly Restricted Data,” which is reserved for information that relates primarily to the military use of nuclear weapons. Despite the “formerly” in the title, the term does not mean the information is no longer classified.”
Although that sounds ominous and scary, the caveat at the end suggests that it is, in fact, dated material. Although the judicial order is now several days old and should have prevented ethical DOJ or FBI personnel from further review, that hasn’t stopped the DOJ and FBI from leaking information to make Trump look bad. I don’t for a minute believe that the leaks are without authorization from senior staff or appointed bureaucrats.
And, missing from the WAPO article is any suggestion that the material might all have been declassified by Trump in 2021.
WAPO lapdogs are at the ready, waiting for the next FBI leak(s).
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