Good afternoon from Capitol Hill.
There continue to be more questions than answers as it relates to the FBI raid on Mar-A-Lago. However, this morning Judge Bruce Reinhart rejected the Justice Department’s argument to keep the affidavit under seal. The affidavit would likely describe, among other things, the assertion of probable cause that President Trump had committed a crime, and information gathered through surveillance or through informants.
More from Fox News:
Reinhart, in a filing Monday morning, said he rejects “the Government’s argument that the present record justifies keeping the entire Affidavit under seal.”
“The Government argues that even requiring it to redact portions of the Affidavit that could not reveal agent identities or investigative sources and methods imposes an undue burden on its resources and sets a precedent that could be disruptive and burdensome in future cases,” Reinhart wrote. “I do not need to reach the question of whether, in some other case, these concerns could justify denying public access; they very well might.”
He added: “Particularly given the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, the Government has not yet shown that these administrative concerns are sufficient to justify sealing.”
Though the House and Senate are both out for August recess, momentum continues to build behind an effort to hold the FBI accountable for the years of politicization and corruption that have culminated in an overtly political raid of a former president.
The Center for Renewing America, led by former Trump OMB Director Russ Vought, has laid out the following agenda for conservatives:
Congress must take three actions to restore the American people’s confidence in our institutions:
- Establish a Modern-day Church Committee: Congress must immediately establish a modern-day Church Committee, structured as a stand-alone committee affording due process to members of the minority party, to investigate the depth and breadth of corruption, incompetence, and political bias under current and past leadership of the FBI. The Committee must then propose legislative action to restore transparency, accountability, and firm statutory limits to prevent the agency from being politically weaponized. The scope of the committee should be broad, criminal violations should be referred for prosecution as the committee sees fit, and the guilty should face jail time.
- Condition Funding of the FBI on the Implementation of Major Reforms: Congress controls the purse strings of the Executive Branch agencies. All future funding of the FBI – through any appropriations vehicle – should require the agency to implement the systemic reforms proposed by Congress, designed to hold the FBI accountable to its singular mission: neutral enforcement of the law. Any program, position, or investigation that seeks to undermine that mission with overtly partisan purpose should be defunded.
- Impeach Garland and Wray: Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray have overseen their agencies during the most partisan and vindictive enforcement era in recent memory. Congressional investigators should immediately subpoena all documents related to these matters. Their tenure has diminished faith in America’s premier law enforcement institutions, flaunting both the mandate of the voters and the oversight role of Congress. They should be impeached and removed.
The Latest From Around The Conservative Movement
- Dr. Tony Fauci to step down in December
- Think the FBI deserves the benefit of the doubt? Check out this laundry list of corruption.
- The American Principles Project has released their Top 25 Threats to the American Family, including a contribution from yours truly on the threat posed by Google
- Conservatives to Congress: Garland and Wray Must Be Impeached
One More Thing…
The American Accountability Foundation issued a new report detailing how the “environmental, social, and corporate governance” (ESG) movement is corrupting the country’s largest asset managers: BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. The leadership of these institutions manage billions of dollars under an overtly political agenda. Jon Posen of BlackRock, for example, is a former Obama staffer who authors BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s influential letters. “Republicans support mass murder,” he tweeted after the shooting in Buffalo, NY, in May. The entire report is well worth your time.