The FBI used a search warrant to raid former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s home late last month, a spokesman confirmed on Wednesday, using the warrant to seize documents related to the investigation into Russian interference in the US election.It was once a widely-held view that a knock on the door by a policeman in the middle of the night was a hallmark of a fascist or totalitarian state.
The Washington Post first reported on the raid, which occurred in the predawn hours of 26 July without prior warning. According to the report, FBI agents working with special counsel Robert Mueller seized “various records” from Manafort’s Virginia home under a wide-ranging search warrant.
I can think of no rational reason for busting down Manafort's door in the early morning hours. Certainly not one that requires heavily-armed and armored goons to break down his door at zero-dark-thirty.
The police probably don't know how to knock on doors any more.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun for them to Ninja up and form a stick.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it's bout time for the Cop Suckers to jump on here in defense of more thuggery styled police work.
ReplyDeletelater,
-Moe
I can think of a couple, but they don't seem applicable here. Even if they believed Paulie was in deeper than we think, and was considering or actually destroying documents, it seems a stretch to get a warrant for this. Its timing is quite interesting, right after he testified before a Congressional Committee. Mueller is, by all accounts, a straight arrow, so was this done without his knowledge, or if he was aware, what is the real reason? Even worse for the Admimistration is that leaks on this and the results have been minimal, which suggests they either got nothing or hit the jackpot. Something in the middle would already have been a smug leak from a mid-level analyst or such, but silence tends to be gold or fools gold.
ReplyDeleteIf there IS a reason for the warrant, then that is one thing. The "Predawn Raid" is just a show of who is in charge. It is meant to throw fear in the the hearts of other who might be also part of the investigation.
ReplyDeleteTypical FBI tactics. Even moreso the US Marshalls. They like to throw their weight around when they can. Seems to be a trait.
I wonder what they found. Will they apologize if it turns out that it was unwarranted?
Story is the FBI feared Manafort was still in possession of documents he could destroy if he felt the heat of a normal warrant for them.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like a fair reason for a home search warrant, Paul, but were they really that concerned about potential for him destroying the docs between 4am and early that morning after he's had a cup of coffee? Look, I'm all for taking a long, deep look at the guy because by all accounts he's slimy as heck. Still doesn't make me okay with Tactical Ninja moves like this one. Save that crap for the kidnappers and mafioso.
ReplyDeleteB, a judge issued a warrant. By law that means the proper authority decided there was sufficient reason. While it may turn out to have been unnecessary, the search was and will always be "warranted". Think about where the term "unwarranted" comes from. Read for comprehension and clarity.
The FBI? Apologize?
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
(wiping tears) B, you slay me.
THe search was "Warranted". The PREDAWN search? IT was indeed, "Unwarranted"
ReplyDeleteA judge had to approve the warrant, along with the early morning part. Something to think about.
ReplyDeleteFOX's Judge Napolitano On Manafort Raid: 'It Tells Me There's A There There'
ReplyDeleteRed Painter8/10/17 7:00am
Fox News has served as a straight-up Trump propaganda outlet since he announced his candidacy and has only gotten more Orwellian since Inauguration Day. Well, it looks like there may be cracks in that loving relationship, based on today's segment regarding the July 26th raid of Paul Manafort's house.
In this clip, Judge Napolitano acknowledges that the FBI raid is a "significant development." In order to obtain a search warrant, a judge needs to sign off on it and that means that there is probable cause that a crime was committed. Agents that conducted the raid at Manafort's home allegedly hauled away documents and "other materials."
Napolitano also said the early morning raid, coming just one day after Manafort testified on the Hill, indicates the FBI did not trust that Manafort would preserve the materials and that they may have felt that he wasn't completely forthcoming in his testimony or document production just the day before.
He went on: "That is very damning for Manafort and for the president. ... It tells me there is a there there."
http://crooksandliars.com/2017/08/foxs-judge-napolitano-manafort-raid-it
Manafort is in deep doo doo. Wouldn't want to be him right about now.
ReplyDeleteMueller probably sees him as more useful in cracking the Trump nut than Flynn, who has credibility issues to say the least, and now a lot of pressure is being brought to bear on Manafort, who was supposedly cooperating with the subpoenas and document requests, but Mueller's team has to have just submitted an affidavit that convinced a judge otherwise.
His son in law is apparently being investigated for a so-called ponzi scheme involving California and NYC real estate that some of Paul's money was involved in, and then there's the laundry list of Russian and Ukrainian money that has passed through his hands for various reasons, some of which look a lot like money laundering, and the three year ten million dollars a year contract with Oleg Deripaska to, among other things, "further the interests of the Putin government in other countries, including the US." So yeah, I can see why they would want him under their microscope.
That said, speaking as someone who has had his house raided by local cops a couple of times, pre-dawn feebies do seem sort of extreme.
-Doug in Oakland
THe judge may have approved the search warrant, but I doubt he approved (specifically) the PreDawn part. That is the FEEBS choice of schedule.....Done to make others fear them.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know, was it a No Knock Door Breaking Down sort of raid as well? Or just a knock on the door at 4 AM?
...or to acquire paperwork or memory data that might otherwise disappear if the owner was cognizant of the impending raid.
ReplyDeleteOne might presume that someone as closely tied in with Russia (and by extension, Putin and Russian intelligence services) would be aware of, and have probably implemented, some way to initiate a wipe of all incriminating files on his computer at a moment's notice.
ReplyDeleteI'd imagine it would be quite easy to physically kill a SSD drive with just a wire leading to a piezo spark igniter, for example.
B, if you listen to the clip, Judge Napolitano says that warrants are usually not to be served between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM, so the FBI asked for a 4:00 AM time to keep Manaford from destroying evidence, and the judge signing the warrant agreed to it. And, no, it wasn't a no-knock warrant.
ReplyDelete