OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A prominent Democratic legal operative perhaps accidentally revealed the true motivation behind the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida.
Marc Elias, who worked as an attorney on the 2016 Clinton campaign, cited U.S. Code Title 18, Section 2071, to argue that Trump could be banned from being president again.
“The media is missing the really, really big reason why the raid today is a potential blockbuster in American politics,” he said on Twitter.
“Yes, I recognize the legal challenge that application of this law to a president would garner (since qualifications are set in Constitution). But the idea that a candidate would have to litigate this is during a campaign is in my view a ‘blockbuster in American politics,’” he added.
Yes, I recognize the legal challenge that application of this law to a president would garner (since qualifications are set in Constitution). But the idea that a candidate would have to litigate this is during a campaign is in my view a "blockbuster in American politics."
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) August 9, 2022
This seems to be the new talking point from Democrats.
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss appeared on MSNBC and said he agreed with Elias.
“That’s a real law, and if Donald Trump violated that law … that has real penalties, including the fact that he may never be able to serve in federal office ever again,” Beschloss told MSNBC.
Michael Beschloss: "Don't think that this is something that has ever happened before in American history. Let's pause for a second to look at how weird and horrible this is." pic.twitter.com/2zsPxpaa7b
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 9, 2022
Several other prominent legal experts insisted the legal block had long been ruled not applied.
“If Trump is convicted of violating this statute, can he be disqualified from the presidency? No,” insisted Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston.
Blackman also cited those same laws that were examined in 2015 when Hillary Clinton was accused of storing classified materials on her private email server. He noted that a potential block had been ruled out.
Law professor Seth Barrett Tillman — one of those who wrote about the applicable laws in 2015 — noted Monday that the only restrictions on presidential eligibility were citizenship, residence, and age.
“Although the former president may be at legal risk, depending on the facts, a criminal conviction would not bar him from another run for elected federal office, including the presidency,” Tillman tweeted.
Following the same legal reasoning, although the former president may be at legal risk, depending on the facts, a criminal conviction would not bar him from another run for elected federal office, including the presidency.
/5
— Seth Barrett Tillman (@SethBTillman) August 9, 2022
Other experts warned that the raid will only further strengthen the support of Trump’s followers.
“If they raided his home just to find classified documents he took from The White House,” one legal expert said, adding, “he will be re-elected president in 2024, hands down.
“It will prove to be the greatest law enforcement mistake in history,” the expert added.
Beyond that, FBI Director Christopher Wray broke his silence on Wednesday and refused to directly address questions about the raid.
Asked to respond to Trump’s suggestion, Wray declined to jump into the fray. “As I’m sure you can appreciate, that’s not something I can talk about,” he said. Wray then referred such a question to the Department of Justice.
WATCH:
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Biden Justice Department to produce a copy of a search warrant executed at his Mar-a-Lago estate, where the FBI conducted a nine-hour-plus search on Monday.
Federal Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the DOJ to “file a Response to the Motion to Unseal” the warrant after requests were made by the Times-Union, a newspaper located in Albany, N.Y., as well as the conservative legal group Judicial Watch.
The judge said that the DOJ must respond no later than Aug. 15, reports said.
Reinhart signed off on the FBI’s warrant to search the former president’s palatial home in South Florida in what he said was an “unannounced raid on my home.”
He took a leave of absence from a local U.S. Attorney’s office more than 10 years ago to represent employees of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein after they had gotten immunity during the lengthy probe of the now-late financier for sex trafficking.
Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan said that the warrant was “sealed” when agents showed up to search Trump’s estate.
Another Trump lawyer, Christian Bobb, meanwhile, told streaming network Real America’s Voice: “When I arrived and kind of announced myself as the legal representation for President Trump. I asked to see a copy of the warrant.”
Trump revealed on Monday that his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida was raided by a “large group” of FBI agents.
The FBI’s unannounced raid was allegedly tied to boxes of classified information that Trump had supposedly taken to his Florida estate.
