Alleged Passport Seizure at Mar-a-Lago Could Undermine Trump’s Civil Rights

Joel B. Pollak15 Aug 2022

President Donald Trump’s claim that his “passports” were seized in the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago last week could have major legal implications for any investigation into him: it could mean his Fourth Amendment rights were violated in the search.

As Breitbart News reported earlier Monday, former President Trump announced on Truth Social: “In the raid by the FBI of Mar-a-Lago, they stole my three Passports (one expired), along with everything else. This is an assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our Country. Third World!”

The unusual — and perhaps accidental — taking of Trump’s passports could mean that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would be unable to use at least some of the materials seized in the the raid in any prosecution of the former president. Already, it has risked violating his Sixth Amendment rights by seizing materials that may including privileged attorney-client communications, which are meant to be shielded from investigations.

The Fourth Amendment reads:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Typically, an individual’s passport would not be subject to seizure unless there were reason to believe he or she was a flight risk. An order authorizing the seizure of a passport would have to be approved by a court in most circumstances.

The search warrant under which FBI agents conducted the raid, with the approval of Attorney General Merrick Garland, does not list Trump’s passports as within the scope of the search; nor does it list the passports in the property register of seized items.

Trump could make a reasonable case in court that his Fourth Amendment rights have been violated, forcing the return of his passports, at the very least. A finding that the search exceeded the warrant could also affect its future use in court. However, the Department of Justice would still likely try to use information it obtained in the search to guide other investigations. The Trump team, or whoever was targeted in those investigations, would have to convince a court to exclude that subsequent evidence as “fruit of the poisonous tree” — i.e. information that was obtained only as a result of a violation of civil rights.

It is unclear which “passports” Trump has — whether a regular U.S. passport and a diplomatic one, or a foreign passport in addition to his U.S. passport. Trump’s grandfather was born in Germany, theoretically qualifying him for an EU passport.

Update: The DOJ claimed Monday evening that it was not in possession of Trump’s passports:

Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich pushed back:

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/15/alleged-passport-seizure-at-mar-a-lago-could-undermine-trumps-civil-rights/

I have a feeling POTUS is enjoying this cat and mouse game, and he’s not the mouse

>>17400104

The US is not as incompetent as its majorly corrupt

>>17400193

Kash has been announcing for a couple pf weeks he has a girlfriend now, wonder of she’s his girlfriend

>>17400195

Twiiter not down

>>17400296

Where did you get that Trump was lying?

>>17400418

Sundance doesnt come here I post and other anons post the articles because they are relevant. I’m sure Q could care less if sundance buys in. He does good articles. Get over it anon

>>17400478

It seems like he feels guilty, that look is actually pleading forgive me. Weird tilt to his head

>>17400496

God thats funny

>>17400508

If he didn’t there was no where else to go, he said tge original guys he worked with were good guys, but rwo women suits overruled exposing China. Listen to the video first

>>17400508

If he didn’t there was no where else to go, he said tge original guys he worked with were good guys, but rwo women suits overruled exposing China. Listen to the video first

Trump Team Drops Email Proving FBI Wrongly Seized Passports

Paul Bois15 Aug 2022

Donald Trump’s legal team demolished the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) media spin that denied having the former president’s passports in their possession following the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago last week.

On Monday, former President Trump claimed on his social media site TruthSocial that the FBI “stole” his passports during the raid that shook the political world last week.

“In the raid by the FBI of Mar-a-Lago, they stole my three Passports (one expired), along with everything else,” he said. “This is an assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our Country. Third World!”

As Breitbart News noted, the passports were “not independently itemized on the FBI’s property receipt of the 28 inventory items federal agents seized.”

“The warrant, which Attorney General Merrick Garland says he approved and was signed by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, did not state that they could take Trump’s passport,” the report noted. “Typically, the government needs a separate court order to seize someone’s passport, even temporarily.”

According to Norah O’Donnell of CBS News, a DOJ official said the former president’s passports were in their possession, one of which presumably would have been a diplomatic passport.

“According to a DOJ official, the FBI is NOT in possession of former President Trump’s passports. Trump had accused the FBI of stealing his three passports during the search of his Mar-a-Lago home,” O’Donnell announced on Monday.

Shortly after Norah’s post, Taylor Budowich, the former president’s communications director, shared an email from Jay Bratt, the top counterintelligence official in the Justice Department’s national security division, confirming that three passports were seized in the raid and that they would be returned to the former president soon.

“We have learned that the filter agents seized three passports belonging to President Trump, two expired and one being his active diplomatic passport. We are returning them, and they will be ready for pick up at WFO at 2 PM today,” the email to Trump’s attorneys read.

Norah O’Donnell amended her initial statement in light of the new information.

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Donald Trump warned about the “tremendous anger” brewing in the country following the raid on his private residence.

“There has never been a time like this where law enforcement has been used to break into the house of a former president of the United States, and there is tremendous anger in the country—at a level that has never been seen before, other than during very perilous times,” Trump said.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/15/trump-team-drops-email-proving-fbi-wrongly-seized-passports-media-doj-attempted-mislead-public/

Joe Biden Plans to Extend Vacation in Delaware After Kiawah Island Trip

Charlie Spiering15 Aug 2022

President Joe Biden is planning to extend his vacation this week after he wraps up his time on Kiawah Island in South Carolina.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data cited by the Associated Press, Biden plans to be in Wilmington, Delaware, from Tuesday until Friday after he leaves Kiawah Island.

The White House has not released a schedule of the president’s vacation but announced that Biden will return to Washington, DC, on Tuesday to sign the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022” before leaving again. The $430 billion bill raises taxes to spend more on government-controlled health care and subsidizes green energy.

The White House plans a separate celebration of the bill signing in September with members of Congress.

The president has enjoyed a relaxed August after spending two weeks in quarantine during his long battle with the coronavirus.

He spent a weekend at his beach home in Delaware before working for two and half days at the White House and leaving for his week in Kiawah Island.

Biden was spotted Sunday riding his bike cautiously on the beach with Secret Service but refused to answer any questions from the press.

He has not answered any questions from reporters since the FBI’s controversial raid on former President Donald Trump.

The White House expressed concerns in a publicly released memo this week that previous presidents typically face a “slump” in August, outlining a plan to prevent the “momentum killer” and turn it into a “momentum builder.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/15/joe-biden-plans-extended-vacation-delaware-kiawah-island-break/

Recall of Soros-backed L.A. D.A. George Gascón Fails After Observers Excluded, Signatures Tossed

Joel B. Pollak15 Aug 2022

they cheated

A second attempt to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón failed Monday after officials announced that there were not enough signatures to qualify the recall for the ballot, after observers were excluded from the count.

The recall effort gathered 715,833 signatures — far more than the 566,857 needed, representing 10% of registered voters in the county. However, county officials announced the they had eliminated nearly 200,000 of the signatures that were submitted.

“520,050 signatures were found to be valid and 195,783 were found to be invalid,” the county registrar said in a statement (emphasis removed). “To qualify the recall for the [November 2022] ballot, the petition required 566,857 signatures; therefore, the petition has failed to meet the sufficiency requirements and no further action shall be taken on the petition.”

Though the county rejected less than 1% of mail-in ballots in the 2020 election, Los Angeles County officials said they found that nearly 30% of signatures on petitions to recall the unpopular district attorney were invalid or could not count.

The petition fell short by 46,807 signatures — a margin that would have been covered by the sum of signatures rejected because of an address mismatch (32,187), because of a signature mismatch (9,490), and because of “other” reasons (5,374).

Throughout the process of signature validation, proponents of the recall complained that they were not permitted to observe the count. The county said observers would not be allowed because signature verification did not quality as an “election.”

Gascón was elected in 2020 on a platform of criminal justice “reform” with support from the Black Lives Matter movement, the Democratic Party establishment, and millions of dollars in spending by left-wing billionaire donor George Soros.

He quickly provoked public outrage by easing penalties for crimes — even violent crimes, such as multiple homicide and sexual assault. Gascón’s tenure has coincided with a crime surge in the country, for which many people blame his policies.

A first attempt to recall him in 2021 fell short of the number of required signatures. A second attempt appeared to have more than enough signatures by the July 6 deadline; however, even the cushion of nearly 200,000 signatures was not enough.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/15/recall-of-soros-backed-l-a-d-a-george-gascon-fails-after-observers-excluded-signatures-tossed/

Florida County Adds AR-15s for Classroom Defense in Every School in District

AWR Hawkins15 Aug 2022

Florida’s Indian River County School District has added an AR-15 to every school so students returning to class in the fall will have school resource officers who can access rifles in the event of an attack.

WFLA reports that Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said, “If they’re coming at us with an AR-15, we’re going to return with the same or greater firepower.”

Flowers told CBS 12 News that having the AR-15s in the school saves time in the event of an attack by saving resource officers from having to run out to their cars to retrieve a rifle.

He said, “If something were to happen during [the school day], they would have ready access to that AR-15 and their shield to be able to respond immediately.”

Breitbart News noted that Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey announced last week that officers in county schools will carry long guns and will be prepared to “meet violence with violence” and win the day in case of a school attack.

Florida Today quoted Ivey saying, “You are not coming into my schools and killing our children.”

Ivey used a Facebook post to say, “While I pray it never happens, I can assure you that our Brevard County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Deputies are prepared to win the battle to protect our children and teachers!”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/08/15/fl-county-adds-ar-15s-classroom-defense-every-school-district/

Report: Hunter Made Millions After Meeting with VP Joe Biden About Romanian Real Estate Deal

Wendell Husebø15 Aug 2022

Hunter Biden reportedly met with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, in the White House on multiple occasions immediately following meetings with Romanian officials, presumably pertaining to a high-profile deal he was involved in with Romanian real estate mogul Gabriel Popoviciu.

Hunter met with Biden three times from July 2015 to March 2016 about helping Popoviciu with a “conviction stemming from his purchase of a 550-acre parcel of government-owned land for a steep discount,” the New York Post reported from Hunter’s laptop from hell:

HUNTER’S CALENDAR

July 29, 2015

12 p.m. call with former FBI chief Louis Freeh, who is repping Popoviciu

Same day meeting with Joe Biden at his father’s US Naval Observatory residence

March 29, 2016

Meeting with US Ambassador to Romania Hans Klemm in Washington D.C.

Meeting with Joe Biden at the US Naval Observatory

November 17, 2015 Returns from trip to Romania

November 19, 2015 “Breakfast with dad” at the US Naval Observatory

The meetings contradict Joe Biden’s statement that he has not been involved in the Biden family business schemes. In fact, a total of seven times Biden and his team have deflected or denied involvement in the family business. “I’ve never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,” Joe Biden said.

A number of Biden family allies were also brought in on the deal to help Popoviciu escape conviction, according to the Post. But Popoviciu was still convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. Popoviciu has not served time. Instead, he fled to England where the Romanian government is trying to extradite him.

The Biden allies deployed to help Popoviciu include Mark Gitenstein, a former Obama administration transition official and former ambassador to Romania, former FBI director Louis Freeh, and Eric Schwerin, president of Hunter Biden’s investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners. According to Hunter Biden’s laptop, Gitenstein and Freeh spoke with Hunter Biden multiple times around the time Hunter met with Joe Biden at the Naval Observatory.

“A person familiar with the arrangements told The Post the president’s son had a side pocket agreement directly with Popoviciu that raked in ‘millions’ for himself and associates,” the Post’s Jon Levine reported.

It is not the first time Joe Biden conducted family business meetings in the White House as vice president. Joe Biden reportedly met at the White House two Chinese energy executives who worked with a CCP-linked company, Wanxiang, on July 25, 2014, between 11 a.m. and 12.15 p.m., emails from Hunter’s laptop reveal.

The documentation on the laptop shows Joe Biden has been involved in the family business at least 19 times over nine years. According to a Harris poll, 58 percent of voters believe that Joe Biden has played a role in his family’s business. Sixty percent say Hunter Biden has sold “influence and access” to the president.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) exclusively revealed to Breitbart News in August that House Republicans are gearing up to investigate the Biden family business with the possible creation of a select committee after the GOP likely reclaims the House in midterm elections. Gaetz noted that Rosemont Seneca will be a top priority for House Republicans because it may involve “highly sophisticated influence peddling” within the Biden family. It is Congress’s responsibility to pass laws that “ensure we don’t have a compromised First Family,” he added. “We need to understand how influence in our government was bought and sold through Hunter Biden’s various entities.”

Trump-appointed U.S. prosecutor David Weiss is currently investigating Hunter and associates for tax violations and lying to law enforcement about illegally purchasing a firearm, CNN reported. Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Security Division, Matthew Olsen, on Thursday confirmed to Gaetz in a congressional hearing the agency is investigating Hunter Biden.

https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2022/08/15/report-hunter-made-millions-after-meeting-vp-joe-biden-about-romanian-real-estate-deal/