On Monday, August 8, 2022, the United States officially entered the “Third World sh** hole” category in terms of its politics. No, I’m not talking about dragging out the counting of votes for two weeks, though that also puts is in the running for the title. What I’m talking about is the Attorney General sending the FBI to raid the home of a former president for political purposes. Until that day, we were under the illusion that the “winner” of an election using federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and probably indict a vanquished opponent was something they did in Pakistan or the like (Bongino Blasts the FBI Raid on Trump, ‘This Is Some Third-World Bulls**t’).

The ostensible purpose of the raid, other than to give FBI agents a chance to cuddle with Melania Trump’s nighties (More Info on FBI Raid: They Even Searched Through Melania’s Clothes), was to return to the control of, get this, the Archivist of the United States, documents that President Trump had allegedly retained without authority. Never mind that disputes between former presidents and the National Archives over the possession of documents are routine.

The last FBI SUV had barely left when we started reading about the “national security” information found in the documents. For instance, WaPo Drops Latest ‘We Got Him Now’ Story About Nuke Doc Seized in Trump Raid and Startling New Report Indicates FBI Was Looking for Extremely Sensitive Documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. There were bizarre stories, thank you, USAToday, about the FBI finding the identities of undercover operatives’ documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. Even the Russians got in on the joke; see Russian Media Claims That They Have Read the Nuclear Secrets Stored at Mar-a-Lago. Of course, the source for these stories was the FBI and the intelligence community; see New: Intel Officials Leak About What FBI Was Looking for in Trump Raid.

Soon it became clear that the FBI’s intentions were a bit more grandiose than retrieving rogue documents. The search warrant was so broad that it covered anything the Trump White House produced during his presidency (Damning Info in Trump Affidavit That Raises Even More Questions About FBI/DOJ Action). President Trump’s passports were seized (Trump Accused of Lying Over FBI-Seized Passports, Then He Dropped the Receipts). Confidential attorney-client documents were rifled along with Melania’s underwear; see Confirmed: DOJ Admits FBI Seized ‘Attorney-Client Privileged Information’ in Mar-a-Lago Raid. The same FBI goons involved in “investigating collusion” with Russia were now leading the search for contested documents; see More on Report That FBI Unit Involved in Russia Probe Was Behind Trump Raid.

We were assured that an indictment, maybe for treason if you believe everything you read, was coming after the midterm elections; see Democrats Champ at the Bit for Trump Indictment, but DOJ Unlikely to Move Until After Midterms: Sources.

Here we are, after the midterms, and what does the media who pushed this story as Trump personally endangering nuclear weapons codes and the identities of undercover agents abroad have to say? Oops, would sum it up.

Federal agents and prosecutors have come to believe former president Donald Trump’s motive for allegedly taking and keeping classified documents was largely his ego and a desire to hold on to the materials as trophies or mementos, according to people familiar with the matter.

As part of the investigation, federal authorities reviewed the classified documents that were recovered from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and private club, looking to see if the types of information contained in them pointed to any kind of pattern or similarities, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

That review has not found any apparent business advantage to the types of classified information in Trump’s possession, these people said. FBI interviews with witnesses so far, they said, also do not point to any nefarious effort by Trump to leverage, sell or use the government secrets. Instead, the former president seemed motivated by a more basic desire not to give up what he believed was his property, these people said.

…

The people familiar with the matter cautioned that the investigation is ongoing, that no final determinations have been made, and that it is possible additional information could emerge that changes investigators’ understanding of Trump’s motivations. But they said the evidence collected over a period of months indicates the primary explanation for potentially criminal conduct was Trump’s ego and intransigence.

Let’s be serious. The odds of anyone in the FBI, the Department of Justice, or the Office of the Archivist of the United States thinking that President Trump had actual classified documents, much less the identities of covert agents or nuclear weapons codes in his possession, are zero. Sane people don’t believe crap like that. That is jerk-off material for progressive Twitter. The entire purpose of the FBI raid was to attempt to intimidate President Trump as he hinted at a 2024 presidential run in the same way Department of Justice investigations are being used to harass and, in the case of Steve Bannon (Steve Bannon’s Conviction Shows the Biden Justice Department Has Politically Weaponized the Law and Law Enforcement), imprison Trump allies. They also wanted to create a narrative of Trump-is-a-traitor that could be weaponized to offset any campaigning done by Trump in the midterms. Finally, if possible, they wanted to damage him should he opt to run for president. There was never any crime. All that ever existed was a desire for petty vengeance. And that is not going to work out for them the way they thought it would (The Political Persecution of President Trump Is Not Going to Make Trump or His Supporters Go Away or Accept the Outcome).