OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
The Democrats are exposing how they use government power to harm their political opponents as the news emerges that President Donald J. Trump is being investigated by the FBI because a Democrat Oversight Committee – who says they can investigate anything they want to – has triggered an FBI investigation and media frenzy about a story they don’t really know anything about- but makes great smear bait for their media friends.
The FBI is in the preliminary stages of the probe into the handling of materials that were in the 15 boxes of material that were moved to Trump’s new Florida home base, proving that the FBI will investigate important matters when it comes to using the intelligence community against their Republican foes.
The investigation started with the House Oversight Committee and moved to the FBI, where the legal probe is now in its infancy. It all happened after being triggered by the discovery of ‘top secret’ information found in the boxes recovered from Florida in January.
On Thursday, Oversight Committee chair Carolyn Maloney blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland for ‘obstructing’ Congress’ probe, and now Garland is being put on the “naughty list” by Trump’s other opponents who want to just quickly get to the punishment and consequences stage of their work against Trump, his family, his associates, and his supporters.
However, it appears that the Oversight Committee is a political body looking for a crime.
The Oversight Committee was given no explanation when denied an accounting from the National Archives of the contents of the boxes, yet they persisted to make drama and fake news about what they feel is in the boxes.
In January, the National Archives and Records Administration recovered the 15 boxes from Trump’s Florida estate, disclosing the move publicly in February, noting that the contents should have been handed over to the National Archives as required by the Presidential Records Act. That is what triggered the Democrat Oversight Committee to jump into gear and make criminal accusations.
Using their media allies to leak stories too – as is their pattern, The New York Times curiously reported that this suggested that a criminal probe was afoot.
Perhaps the Democrats were preparing for something like this to happen.
Some may recall seeing footage and photos at the time of a moving van that was parked outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on January 14, 2021, just days before former President Donald Trump left office.
Boxes and materials were seen being loaded into the van and Democrat activists speculated wildly about what they felt Trump was doing wrong, accusing him of crimes that only Hillary Clinton can get away with.
The Times also reported that Trump would not likely be an official target of the FBI-led
the investigation, but the Democrats, true to their mission- Democrats have spread their version of the story around on social media in the hopes to sway public opinion away from Trump and his supporters.
That is the smear.
Being as petty and dramatic as she can be for the cause to damage Trump, However, Maloney is complaining that the Justice Department told the National Archives not to share requested information with Congress and she demands quick action- which is what happens when the target is a Republican.
On Thursday Maloney wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland pointing out that the National Archives wouldn’t release the contents of the 15 boxes of materials recovered from Mar-a-Lago.
She accused the DOJ of ‘obstructing’ the Congressional investigation.
‘The Committee does not wish to interfere in any manner with any potential or ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice,’ Maloney wrote. ‘However, the Committee has not received any explanation as to why the Department is preventing NARA from providing information to the Committee that relates to compliance with the [Presidential Records Act], including unclassified information describing the contents of the 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago.’
In her dramatic letter, Malony wrote to Garland (in part):
The Oversight Committee is investigating potential violations of the Presidential Records Act (PRA) by former President Donald Trump, including the removal of records from the White House and potential destruction of records.
As part of this investigation, the Committee requested documents and information from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), including an inventory of 15 boxes of documents recovered from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
I write today because the Department of Justice is preventing NARA from cooperating with the Committee’s request, which is interfering with the Committee’s investigation.
The Committee has jurisdiction over the PRA and is conducting this investigation in order to determine the full scope of PRA violations by former President Trump and assess whether legislative reforms are needed to ensure presidential records are preserved in accordance with the law.
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
In addition, House Rule X states that the Committee on Oversight and Reform has jurisdiction to “study on a continuing basis the operation of Government activities at all levels, including the Executive Office of the President.”
Thank you for your prompt attention to this request.
Source: The Republic Brief