One of the major causes leading up to the American Revolution was the “general warrant.” This was a search warrant that was completely open-ended, allowing the British government official to search anything, anywhere, at any time. When they ratified the Bill of Rights, they explicitly banned general warrants, requiring that all search warrants must be specific. The DOJ and FBI, though, went to Mar-a-Lago with a warrant so broad it allowed them to take anything. Donald Trump has therefore announced that he will be bringing an action against the government alleging his Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
ThoughtCo has a good summary of the general warrants the colonists so despised:
Among the most glaring of these issues [leading to the Revolution] were the "Writs of Assistance." These were general search warrants that gave British soldiers the right to search and seize any property they deemed to be smuggled or illegal goods. Designed to assist the British in enforcing trade laws, these documents allowed British soldiers to enter, search, and seize warehouses, private homes, and ships whenever necessary. However, many abused this power.
In 1761, Boston lawyer James Otis fought for the constitutional rights of the colonists in this matter but lost. The defeat only inflamed the level of defiance and ultimately led to the Fourth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.
The Fourth Amendment, for those who are not conversant with it, is quite explicit about the fact the government may not use general warrants, which are an invitation to unduly invasive searches that are both fishing expeditions and a form of government terrorism against citizens:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
That could not be more clear: The government cannot just go into people’s homes or places of business at any time it wants, for any reason. Instead, all search warrants must show probable cause that a crime was committed, and they must be very specific about what the government seeks. Of course, if the government seeks X and stumbles across Y, and Y is evidence of a crime, the government may grab away and use it as the basis of a criminal cause of action.
Image: Trump Truth social post.
What the government cannot do is say, “We just want to look at everything because we’re sure that, eventually, we’ll find something.” Put another way, as Lavrentiy Beria, the head of Stalin’s secret police said, “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” Our government is supposed to be better than a despotic totalitarian system.
Supposed to be.
Yet the government asked, and a federal magistrate (who is nothing more than a second-class judge and, in the case of Bruce Reinhart, a seemingly compromised one at that) agreed, that the government could go into Trump’s home and look for every single document or other record in his possession covering the entirety of his first term in office:
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Property to be seized
All physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 793, 2071, or 1519, including the following:
[snip]
c. Any government and/or Presidential Records created between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021...
That, dear readers, on its face is a General Warrant and is highly unconstitutional.
No wonder, then, that Trump announced on Truth social (which I’ll start reading when it finally has a computer app), that his legal team will file a motion challenging the search and do so based on the Fourth Amendment:
A major motion pertaining to the Fourth Amendment will soon be filed concerning the illegal Break-In of my home, Mar-a-Lago, right before the ever-important Mid-Term Elections. My rights, together with the rights of all Americans, have been violated at a level rarely seen before in our Country. Remember, they even spied on my campaign. The greatest Witch Hunt in USA history has been going on for six years, with no consequences to the scammers. It would not be allowed to continue.
I would quarrel only with Trump’s claim that what’s happening to him is a violation “at a level rarely seen before in our Country.” In fact, I don’t believe it’s ever before been seen in our country. What’s happened to Trump since 2016, under Obama’s aegis, and then continuing in the Deep State throughout Trump’s presidency, to continue under the Biden puppetship, contradicts every single American norm going back to our country’s founding.
So, what do you think the federal court will do, especially if the motion must first be brought before Bruce Reinhart (who may get a second bite at the apple on his own prior order, unless Trump successfully challenges Reinhart’s involvement in this matter)? Leftists have always resented the Constitution, and now they’re open in their disdain, so it’s valid to ask if they’ll say that Trump’s case is so extraordinary that the Constitution just can’t apply to him.