Rep. James Comer, who considers himself a big shot these days, judging by the countless appearances of his smug mug on right-wing gasbag so-called news shows, is trying his damndest to undermine the Department of Justice’s probe into the unholy dealings of former President Donald J. Trump.
Instead, our boy Jamie recommends that John and Jane Q. Public divert their eyes and instead take a gander at President Biden’s son, Hunter, and his overseas business dealings, undoubtedly the greatest threat to the republic since Aaron Burr.
Comer, R-Tompkinsville, or maybe Frankfort, perhaps Washington DC, or wherever big shots hang out these days, could be the next chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform if Republicans, as expected, regain control of the lower chamber in the November election. He has made it clear he intends to follow an ultra-partisan path in carrying out those duties should they drop in his lap, pushing the GOP line, whatever it might be at any given time, rather than offer careful consideration to the nation’s real issues.
Now he’s stepping forward to say the troubles nipping at the heels of his old pal, the Lord of Mar-a-Lago, who has been called out for hoarding top secret documents – which he in no way is supposed to maintain – in unsecured areas of his Florida estate is a mere bag of shells. Furthermore, now get this, folks, the search warrant served on Trump’s estate, according to our boy Jamie, is an example of “the deep state at its worst and something’s going to have to be done about it.”
And Jamie is just the guy who can do it, too.
“If the FBI can go in and raid someone’s home just because some government bureaucrat said there’s some documents missing, that again may or may not be classified, then they can do that to anyone,” Comer said on Newsmax, one of the right-wing outlets he pretties up for on occasion. “This is about our freedom.”
Well, yeah. If the FBI obtains a search warrant, approved by a federal judge or magistrate, based on information developed through the investigatory process, “they can do that to anyone,” including an ex-president of the United States. That, Jamie, is one of the precepts the nation is built on. No one is immune from wrongdoing.
Appearing earlier this week on Fox News (here we go again), Comer boldly predicted that the mishigas will end up going nowhere.
“The Democrats, especially the liberal media, have already declared Donald Trump guilty of treason and high crimes,’’ Comer said. “I think when all this is said and done it’s going to show the FBI way overstepped their authority. They made a fool of themselves and they further added to the dismay of most Americans in their confidence of the FBI and our legal and intelligence community right now.”
Now, it might not prove advisable to differ with Jamie on the subject of someone or something making a fool of himself or itself given his vast, personal experience with the subject matter. But given the public knowledge about the ongoing imbroglio, only a moron could utter a defense of Trump’s actions while simultaneously deriding the FBI for carrying out its duties.
Let’s go over this as quickly as possible.
At some point after Trump left office – involuntarily, it should be noted — in January 2021, the National Archives determined that some important documents were missing. As is their duty, they contacted Trump to see if he had any idea about their whereabouts.
Trump, by now a private citizen with no security clearance, delayed and deflected before finally transferring 15 boxes of documents and miscellaneous material to the Archives in January. The records keeper found 184 documents with classifications, including 25 marked top secret. It was only then that the Archives realized Trump was holding on to a mother lode.
On May 10, the Archives contacted Trump’s attorneys to note that the ex-president had apparently taken hundreds of pages of classified documents, including some marked Special Access Programs, the highest classification of the high, and failed to return them.
Archives brought the Department of Justice into the contretemps. The agency issued a subpoena to Trump in an effort to gain access to those documents thought to remain in his possession. Trump’s attorneys handed over some more documents in June, but the DOJ was tipped off that Trump still had his mitts on additional sensitive material despite the Trump team’s claims to the contrary. DOJ got a search warrant, okayed by Attorney General Merrick Garland and approved by a federal magistrate, asserting that Trump was suspected of violating three federal laws, including the Espionage Act of 1917.
The search warrant was executed on Aug. 8 with the FBI asserting therein that there was “probable cause to believe” that classified national security materials were improperly transferred to “unauthorized” locations at Mar-a-Lago. Materials concerning national defense remained at the ex-president’s Florida residence. Agents believed “evidence of obstruction” would be unearthed at Mar-a-Lago and noted that some documents were intermixed with other records.
Classified documents were recovered at various unsecured locations at Mar-a-Lago. Among the documents, according to The New York Times, was a file detailing the nuclear capabilities of another country.
Subsequently, a federal judge in Florida has decided to appoint a special master to review the seized documents and assess attorney-client and executive privilege claims, although, as legal experts have noted, Trump no longer has any executive privilege.
It’s all pretty simple, really. The man who was no longer president held on to unbelievably sensitive material regarding the nation’s security without any official clearance in an area of lax security and, for some reason, refused to give it all back. The only question that needs to be answered now is why, sending shivers over the possibilities.
Comer said the appointment of a special master was “a big victory for Donald Trump” and shows that the FBI and the DOJ are all wet.
“I don’t think the president would have been granted a special master had the DOJ had all there Is dotted and Ts crossed,” Comer said. “Clearly, they took way too many documents. They’ve already admitted there’s a certain number of documents that may have been classified. What they took significantly outnumbered what they said was classified. So I think the FBI, the Department of Justice, they’re going to have a lot of explaining to do as to why they took so many documents in addition to so many questions.”
Remember, documents were taken because they were intermixed with the deep classified stuff. Jamie forgot to note that.
At any rate, Jamie would much prefer you get a load of Hunter Biden, the president’s ne’er-do-well son.
Hunter Biden has a history of problems, including drug use. It appears likely he has traded on the family name to climb those golden stairs.
Reports, from CNN and elsewhere, show he is under active investigation from the Department of Justice. The probe, which began in 2018, is extremely complex, regarding Hunter Biden’s financial and business activities in foreign countries, including China. Investigators have examined whether Hunter Biden and some of his associates violated money laundering, tax and foreign lobbying laws, as well as firearm and other regulations, multiple sources said, according to CNN.
It is not a pretty picture that might ultimately result in indictments. Comer is laboring to make it even uglier for solely political purposes, trying to place some responsibility on the president’s back, even though the activity in question occurred before he assumed the presidency.
This, in other words, is Jamie Comer’s idea of a good time, threatening a congressional investigation into the truly questionable business activities of the president’s son while an official DOJ investigation is underway.
But never mind whatever that old rapscallion Trump has been up to with the nation’s security at stake.
Now that’s politics.
Priorities, folks. Priorities.
