AG Garland: Donald Trump deadly force allegation in Mar-a-Lago search 'false,' 'dangerous'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

Published 1:37 p.m. ET May 23, 2024 | Updated 1:39 p.m. ET May 23, 2024


Attorney General Merrick Garland called former President Donald Trump’s accusation that the Justice Department authorized the potential use of deadly force during the search of Mar-a-Lago a “false” and “extremely dangerous” allegation.

Trump has long complained about the FBI search for classified documents in August 2022, which led to charges he unlawfully hoarded national defense records after leaving the White House. He wasn't at the resort when it was searched. On Tuesday, the release of sealed documents in the case showed Trump still had classified documents in his bedroom at Mar-a-Lago four months after an FBI search of the Florida estate.

The documents also provided new details of alleged efforts by Trump and his co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira to obstruct the investigation, through what the government called a "shell game" of moving documents around Mar-a-Lago to avoid being found by federal authorities. Trump complained in an all-caps post Tuesday that the Justice Department “authorized the FBI to use deadly (lethal) force” during the search.

Garland disputed the characterization at a news conference Thursday, saying FBI agents followed standard policy. “That allegation is false and it is extremely dangerous,” Garland said. “The document that is being referred to in the allegation is a Justice Department standard policy limiting the use of force.”

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/05/23/mar-a-lago-deadly-force-trump-merrick-garland/73819530007/

[Blue Owl]

1. Hey M$M motherfuckers, don't forget to normalize tRump's hate speech

[GreenWave]

2. Just say he is full of shit. Magats understand those words.

[maxsolomon]

3. At least he's addressing it in a timely fashion.

Instead of waiting 2 years to launch an investigation.

Guess it got under their skin enough to hold a presser.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. See this Jan. 6 timeline (no it was NOT "2 years" )

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3242217

And more specfically - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3243366

Inside Garland’s Effort to Prosecute Trump


By Glenn Thrush and Adam Goldman

Reporting from Washington

Published March 22, 2024 Updated March 27, 2024

After being sworn in as attorney general in March 2021, Merrick B. Garland gathered his closest aides to discuss a topic too sensitive to broach in bigger groups: the possibility that evidence from the far-ranging Jan. 6 investigation could quickly lead to former President Donald J. Trump and his inner circle. At the time, some in the Justice Department were pushing for the chance to look at ties between pro-Trump rioters who assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, his allies who had camped out at the Willard Hotel, and possibly Mr. Trump himself.

Mr. Garland said he would place no restrictions on their work, even if the “evidence leads to Trump,” according to people with knowledge of several conversations held over his first months in office. “Follow the connective tissue upward,” said Mr. Garland, adding a directive that would eventually lead to a dead end: “Follow the money.” With that, he set the course of a determined and methodical, if at times dysfunctional and maddeningly slow, investigation that would yield the indictment of Mr. Trump on four counts of election interference in August 2023.

(snip)

People around Mr. Garland, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Justice Department affairs, say there would be no case against Mr. Trump had Mr. Garland not acted decisively. And any perception that the department had made Mr. Trump a target from the outset, without exploring other avenues, would have doomed the investigation. “Don’t confuse thoughtful with unduly cautious,” said a former deputy attorney general, Jamie S. Gorelick, who sent Mr. Garland, then her top aide, to oversee the prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. “He was fearless. You could see it then, and you could see it when he authorized the search at Mar-a-Lago.”

Mr. Garland’s allies point to how, by the summer of 2021, the attorney general and his powerful deputy, Lisa O. Monaco, were so frustrated with the pace of the work that they created a team to investigate Trump allies who gathered at the Willard Hotel ahead of Jan. 6 — John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Rudolph W. Giuliani and Roger J. Stone Jr. — and possible connections to the Trump White House, according to former officials. That team would lay the groundwork for the investigation that Mr. Smith would take over as special counsel a year and a half later. But a host of factors, some in Mr. Garland’s control, others not, slowed things down.

(snip)

Much more... https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/us/politics/trump-jan-6-merrick-garland.html

No paywall (gift link)

[emulatorloo]

5. Appreciate you putting the facts out there again.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. That

(devil incarnate ) NYT feature was new to me that I stumbled on just a few days ago and it came out this past March. I know I had seen bits and pieces of the timeline reported but lots of gaps got filled in, which was needed considering there were 2 major things going on - J6 case and the classified docs case.

The J6 "fake electors" issue was primarily a STATE problem and they are finally handling it, whereas the classified docs issue was all federal.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. AG Garland denounces Trump claim 'deadly force' approved in Mar-a-Lago raid

Attorney General Merrick Garland denounced the former president Thursday for ginning up outrage over a routine federal authorization that permitted the use of “deadly force” during the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022.

“That allegation is false, and it is extremely dangerous,” Garland, who approved seeking a search warrant for the Palm Beach, Fla., residence, told reporters.

“The document that is being referred to in the allegation is the Justice Department’s standard policy limiting the use of force,” he explained - 05/23/2024.

[Magoo48]

8. So, this is great,

but the question remains the same as always: what are you gonna do about it?

[Rhiannon12866]

9. Good question, TFG is repeating this bogus accusation to anyone who'll listen, it's now part of his "act"

[MorbidButterflyTat]

12. What's the AG supposed to do about it?

Arrest him for lying?

No one except maybe Putin could get that asshole to shut his filthy mouth.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

10. To me, the thing that shows this is nothing but political dirty tricks is

the fact this took place nearly two years ago and only now they are raising hell about it? Uhhhh, if there was anything to this, aside from the fact DJT was NOT there when the raid happened, they would have screamed about it then. It's pure, 100%, unadulterated bullshit....

[3825-87867]

11. WOW!

Garland wasted NO TIME getting that straight! Whew!

[Vinca]

13. What is so batshit crazy about this particular story is that Trump is guarded 24/7

by the Secret Service. The Secret Service is part of Biden's Homeland Security agency. If Biden wanted to assassinate Trump, why bother with the FBI? Just tell the Mar-a-Lago Secret Service agents to knock him off. Oh, well. MAGA isn't known for its deep thinkers.