Over the last 240 years, millions of Americans (rich and poor, young and old, male or female, white, black, Hispanic or other) have had their homes, persons or effects searched pursuant to the protections provided by the US Constitution. Because the founders of the republic found such searches to be a significant infringement on personal liberty and privacy, the Constitution required stringent protections before a search could legally be conducted. First, law enforcement (the executive branch of government) had to believe there were reasonable grounds to believe (probable cause) evidence of a crime would be found if a search was conducted. Second, law enforcement had to apply to a court (the judicial branch of government) for permission to conduct the search. When doing that, law enforcement had to tell the judge what evidence it was looking for, why it believed it was likely the evidence would be found in the place to be searched, and what crime or crimes the evidence sought would help to establish.
Until earlier this week, this exposition of the law was unremarkable and uncontroversial. However, all it took was for law enforcement to execute this kind of routine search against former President Donald Trump for the formerly ‘law and order’ Republicans to lose their collective mind with comparisons to the Gestapo and Watergate. Even richer, some Republicans who for months have been castigating Democrats because a small minority spoke of ‘defunding the police’ in response to actual proven crimes by police are now talking about defunding or even disbanding the FBI in response to its entirely legal - and commonplace - execution of a legal search warrant. Watergate was a scandal precisely because the burglary at the Democratic headquarters and associated wiretap (not to mention the burglary of the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office) were without any warrant and were thus crimes.
Republicans are also demanding the FBI justify its action. It already did that. In the way required by the Constitution - to a neutral and detached magistrate (a judge). When law enforcement executes a search warrant, it leaves behind at the place searched a copy of the warrant authorizing the search. They also leave behind a list of any and all items of evidence taken pursuant to the warrant. Viewing those documents Donald Trump can see exactly what crime(s) were being investigated and what evidence was found and taken of that (or other) crimes). The FBI has policies forbidding comment on these matters which policies are designed to protect the reputation of citizens. However, before you accept Mr. Trump’s exaggerated protestations at face value it is worth noting that nothing prevents Mr. Trump from making the warrant and list of items seized public so we can all see exactly what crimes are involved and what evidence was seized. Mr. Trump is refusing to do that. His refusal speaks loudly.
