Summer at Mar-a-Lago
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and not representative of The Conglomerate or Centenary College as an institution.
Former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is quite infamous for his jarring presence on social media and frequent headlining in the press. Though, today’s focus is the ongoing investigation conducted by the FBI on the premise of Trump’s alleged criminal activity.
The three crimes in question are a violation of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice, and unlawful removal of public records. According to the released redacted affidavit used to justify the search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, the warrant was issued on the following criminal statutes: (gathering) transmitting or losing defense information, (concealment) removal or mutilation of documents, and (destruction) alteration or falsification of records. The link to the document can be found below.
Prior to the release of the affidavit, Trump insinuated that his right to privacy was being obstructed and the investigating institutions were mistreating his case. Whereas, the public argues the exact opposite. A privilege that was extended to the former president was the option to keep the investigation disclosed to the public and to keep the affidavit sealed. Earlier in the year he was even quietly subpoenaed for the documents in question. On the contrary, Trump forfeited his right to privacy by making a press release about the investigation where he claimed his property was “invaded” by the FBI.
Amongst the itemized list of seized materials at the Mar-a-Lago property, there were twenty-seven boxes of government materials. Most notably there were: eleven sets of classified documents, three marked ‘secret’, four marked ‘top secret, and one marked ‘top secret SCI’ (which stands for Sensitive Compartmented Information and is the highest form of classification that must be viewed in specific government secure locations).
The question of leniency has been brought forth on numerous occasions due to the delay of response in knowing that the former President had these documents in his possession for such an extended time. In addition, this is not the first time he has been accused of scandalous behavior whilst in possession of sensitive government information. Not only did he refuse to cooperate when subpoenaed the first time, he publicly insulted the institutions responsible for protecting the country he claims to care about. The same country he wants to serve for a second term. Yet, the same institutions he would be required to work with to best protect and serve American citizens.
During the Red Scare, civilians were prosecuted based simply on heresy. Not with twenty-seven boxes of government classified information found in their home offices, but by pure word of mouth. We ask ourselves why and the answer is because those individuals were depicted as threats to American institutions. No, not the building you would find at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500. They were a threat to the ability of institutions to protect American citizens from harm, ensure the right to democracy, grant the opportunity to live a life of dignity and ensure freedom of fear that their neighbors would be their enemies.
Then we ask ourselves how they were so easily targeted. Well, that is because many of the targeted did not have a net worth of $3 billion and were not the former President of the United States of America. To afford a good defense attorney was a pipe dream, to insult American institutions was a death sentence, and to be a politician was for the rich.
The purpose of this article is not to insinuate innocence or guilt. Whereas, that is the responsibility of the Department of Justice. The goal is to prompt a discourse that would catalyze enforcing the same level of accountability for wealthy public figures as we do for everyone else. Due to the circumstances of current events, do you believe the social justice system is vindicating liberty and justice for all?
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-mar-a-lago-doj-affidavit/index.html
youtube.com/watch?v=Ga1NC6DZibc
