What Did Trump Raid Find?

It’s Tuesday, August 16. Welcome to the News Diet. Today I’m gonna talk about the FBI raid into Trump’s home, Afghanistan one year after the US withdrawal, Kenya’s chaotic elections, and also the ancient underground city discovered in Turkey. Let’s be informed so we can get on with our day.

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Last week former President Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago home was raided by the FBI. They had indeed obtained a search warrant by a judge, and also won the approval of Attorney General Merrick Garland, which means that several parties signed off. The warrant resulted in the seizure of 20 boxes of items which included documents, photos, and handwritten notes. There’s a lot of speculation around the exact purpose and outcome of the raid, because not much has actually been released about it. But while the FBI and Justice Department are remaining quiet about details, some leaks have come out claiming the raid had to do with an ongoing dispute between Trump and the National Archives. The National Archives is where presidents are supposed to turn over all official documents before leaving office; and for months now, the department has been claiming that Trump took some documents with him instead of turning them over. Even back in January, the Archives retrieved 15 boxes for the same reasons, although that exchange was more cordial than last week’s raid. 

There were 3 laws stated in the search warrant. The first was the 1917 Espionage Act, which targets those mishandling documents related to national defense, the second has to do with obstruction of justice, and the third prohibits the destruction or illegal handling of government documents. 

Now, Trump has claimed that all documents were declassified before he left office, but this has yet to be verified. He also claims that the FBI took items protected by attorney-client privilege, as well as some of his passports. Trump is accusing the Department of Justice of abusing their power, likely to prevent him from being eligible to run for president again in 2024. Also, comparisons are being made between Trump’s possession of government documents and past accusations that Hillary Clinton’s possessed government documents in private servers that were later destroyed and for which no consequences were given. 

Some backlash from Trump supporters has turned violent, with one incident resulting in a man killed by a shootout with Cincinnati police after attempting to enter the FBI office. Also armed protestors met outside another FBI office in Phoenix.

Supporters of the raid are saying that the lack of evidence for Trump’s claims of declassification is concerning, especially considering that some were marked as Top Secret, which is the highest level of confidentiality. They also point to The Washington Post’s report  from Thursday that claims that the raid had to do with documents related to nuclear information.

I believe this is the first time a former president has had their home raided by the FBI. 

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It’s been one year since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, as US troops left the country after 20 years of what became America’s longest war. America started the war in 2001, looking to dismantle al-Qaeda and overthrow the Taliban after the September 11 attacks. Over that time, the Taliban did retreat and some stability was formed in the country, in the form of some progress for women’s rights and other freedoms. However, the Afghan military struggled to reach a point of being self sufficient and so when the US withdrew abruptly, the Taliban was able to take control over the country again almost immediately. 

At first Taliban leaders promoted a more modern regime this time around, claiming that women would be able to keep their jobs and continue their educations. But now,  it seems those progressions have regressed. Girls have been banned from attending secondary school, women have been banned from working, from traveling without a male guardian, as well as being forced to wear full body coverings. 

Overall, the state of Afghanistan is struggling economically, with most of the world cutting off funding and support for the regime. According to the United Nations Development Programme, about 97% of Afghans could be living below the poverty level. 

One year later and no country has yet to recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan. 

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Kenya has announced a new president, despite a chaotic and even violent reaction to the election process.  As the electoral commission was about to announce the final election results, four out of the seven electoral commissioners walked out, claiming they couldn’t support the process because of the so-called “opaque nature” of the count. In fact, when the commission’s chairman went to declare the winner, he was attacked by a Senator, where others joined in by knocking over the lectern, ripping banners, and attacking other commissioners. Regardless, the chairman returned and declared that William Ruto as Kenya’s next president.

Kenya is seen as an example of democracy in East Africa, where democracies aren’t fully embraced. In fact, Ruto will only be Kenya’s fifth president. So even though a winner has been announced, the chaotic scene at the certification process leaves some questions on the acceptance of the democratic process. 

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An ancient underground city has been discovered in the Turkish town of Midyat,  after workers who were restoring nearby houses came across what they thought was a cave. It turns out this opening was actually a gateway to mazes and corridors that served as indoor streets for an ancient town that housed around 70,000 people across 74 acres. The region was first discovered in 2020, and since then archeologists have come to think the area was occupied in the 1st and 2nd century by Jews and Christians looking to escape Imperial Rome. They think the layout of the corridors were made to help store grain, olive oil, wine, equipment, and more; and also that parts of the area were used as places of worship. So far excavations have only explored about 5% of the area. The city of Midyat is known for having a rich ancient history, with still many sites standing.

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It’s Tuesday, August 16. And you’ve just been informed. Now it’s time to get on with your day. I’m Michele Carroll. Thanks so much for listening.

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https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/enormous-underground-city-discovered-in-turkey/

https://twitter.com/trtworld/status/1528048472355753984 

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/09/donald-trump-fbi-raid-documents

https://www.readtangle.com/trump-fbi-search-mar-a-lago/

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/12/documents-taken-in-trump-raid-included-files-marked-top-secret-report-says.html

https://nypost.com/2022/08/15/trump-vows-hell-help-us-after-sneak-attack-fbi-raid/

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-fbi-seized-three-his-passports-during-raid-calls-search-assault-political-opponent 

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https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-62470502

https://www.axios.com/2022/08/15/zalmay-khalilzad-interview-fall-kabul-taliban

https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-taliban-negotiator-afghanistan-withdrawal-mess-one-year-later

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/15/1117037318/for-biden-the-chaotic-withdrawal-from-kabul-was-a-turning-point-in-his-presidenc

https://abcnews.go.com/International/dont-forget-us-afghan-women-year-talibans-return/story?id=88293610 

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https://www.npr.org/2022/08/15/1117536736/kenya-election-results-ruto