The silence is deafening
One of the more interesting things to happen following release of the redacted affidavit is the abject silence of the same people who were crying “foul” last week. MSNBC reached out to both Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy for comment, but neither has responded. Wonder why? They don’t know what’s behind the black markings in the affidavit any more than we do; however, they have enough sense to know that it doesn’t look good for Donald Trump. Trump and his most fervent allies are complaining about the redactions, asking about “transparency.” Trump had better be careful what he wishes for. The DOJ is undertaking a criminal investigation surrounding the taking of those documents, and Trump is at the center.
When this issue first came to light, Trump’s cronies all tried to paint the FBI as the “bad guy.” Kevin McCarthy asked: “Why wouldn’t they just ask the president if they had something there they want?” He surely would have provided it to them. Why did they have to show up in the manner that they did?” Kevin McCarthy hasn’t been living under a rock; surely, he knows that the National Archives asked for the return of those documents. Continuing to (erroneously) think he’s the smartest man in the room, Trump tried to appease them with a partial return and even had his attorney sign a sworn statement that all had been returned.
Alex Wagner of MSNBC reiterated that Trump had been asked, and she was visibly stunned when Karl Rove of Fox News went on the record that they did ask Trump-several times. Perhaps this will be the thing that finally breaks some people of the ridiculous spell Trump has over them. Rove said: “They were asking for a year and a half and why he was holding onto these materials when he had no legal authority to do so under the Presidential Records Act is beyond me.” That statement is simply stunning coming from Karl Rove. Not only has Rove suddenly awakened from his Trump stupor, but some of the most loud-mouthed Trump supporters in office have suddenly gone quiet.
Governor Glenn Youngkin was all “fire and brimstone” when the news broke of the search, calling it “politically motivated.” Now, he’s singing a different tune: “I would just caution folks not to draw too many conclusions.” You mean, like you did? As if this situation isn’t bad enough, Sunday’s news was littered with news that the judge overseeing the frivolous motion filed by Trump’s team said that it is her “preliminary intent” to grant the motion. What type of nonsense is this? She has not even heard the other side, yet she’s ready to side with Trump.
Interestingly, she was appointed to the federal bench by Trump and was confirmed after he lost, so it’s not that difficult to see where her loyalties lie. At the same time, former federal prosecutors are speculating that Trump will be indicted. Perhaps Judge Cannon is trying to throw Trump a bone, but that won’t help him if he is indicted and convicted of mishandling federal documents, espionage, and obstruction.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years