>> I'm straining to see what that has to do with the rule of law. It's not apparent to me why the FBI chose to include it in the filing other than to demonstrate that there really, really were classified documents found, in case the judge doubted their one sentence statement that there were.
Perhaps you've forgotten that federal law enforcement is supposed to be allowing its "filings" to do the talking. Not photographs gratuitously included in such filings.
I previously posted Turley's [imo, authoritative] article on the topic. I'll just post the link below. But this sentence sort of summarizes it.
"When combined with the leaks from the government, there is a reasonable concern that the photo was included not for the court but for public consumption to help frame the public debate. It is striking to see so many pundits on the left expressing shock that we should doubt that claims or representations of the government, particularly after the documented history of bias and false statements by Department officials in related Trump investigations." [Wording of the 2nd sentence is Turley's, not mine, but his point is easily inferred]. FBI Faces Criticism Over Release of Photo of Classified Documents on Floor – JONATHAN TURLEY
"The way that the FBI and other prosecutors treat people fairly is to keep their investigations secret so as not to subject their subjects to being tried in the court of public opinion. Throughout this exercise, the FBI has tried to keep their workings secret."
Again, the photo is gratuitous. It in no way informs the content of the filing. It is there solely as a way of making a public statement. I don't think any reasonable person could conceivably conclude otherwise. Turley, above, tried as hard as any person could to justify it, and at the end of the day could not do it.
This case is about politically persecuting Trump. Not about any criminal act. Prosecutors have a huge advantage here, in that DC courts have collapsed into rubber stamps against Trump. It is clear that you and other nutjob liberals want Trump prosecuted and you may get it. It will be wrongful.
If they put him in jail he may well be the first president to win the White House while sitting in a jail cell. He would have my vote.
There is nothing FBI or DOJ can do to ever recover its former status as fair and reasonable. They're dead to me at this point. And they're a major part of the effort to overthrow our democratic government. |
