Now We Know What The FBI Was After

Hello! It’s the weekend, this is The Weekender. ☕

The week started with Donald Trump proclaiming that he, the former President, was on the receiving end of “prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats”: FBI agents had searched his Mar-a-Lago resort, armed with a warrant to look for sensitive records that don’t belong in poolside storage sheds.

The week ended with the revelation that Trump was under federal criminal investigation for potentially violating the Espionage Act.
That latter truth is a difficult one to dress up, so of course, Trump tried fire and fury: After the Justice Department moved to unseal the search warrant documents, Trump made a public show of agreeing with the move, demanding that they be released immediately — “Now!” — while neglecting to pursue the simplest option for doing so: posting them online himself.

As it became clear he had nowhere to go, Trump appeared to leak the search warrant documents to several news outlets himself Friday before his lawyers alerted federal prosecutors that the former President had no objection to the same documents being released lawfully, as court filings.

What emerged was alarming. The documents showed that federal agents had recovered several boxes of top secret, secret and classified documents, as well as other records alarmingly labeled “SCI,” or “sensitive compartmented information.” Also in the haul: An executive grant of clemency for Trump ally Roger Stone, and, for some reason, “Info re: President of France.”

— Matt Shuham

House Passes Historic Climate Package

With much applause and embracing, House Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act Friday evening, a massive climate change bill that also lowers certain health care costs and raises taxes on large corporations.

The bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk after the House returned from recess Friday to seal the deal.

It’s a stunning resurrection of a legislative agenda that seemed dead just weeks ago. And, considering that it’s the product of a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), the robustness of the climate provisions is nothing short of miraculous. Analysts have estimated that the legislation should cut carbon emissions around 40 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, putting Biden’s goal of cutting emissions in half within reach with additional state, local and private sector action. 

— Kate Riga

Suspect In Cincinnati FBI Attack Was Angered By Trump Raid

A man who allegedly attempted to break into the FBI’s field office in Cincinnati died after a lengthy standoff with law enforcement Thursday. The suspect — identified by the media as Ricky Shiffer, who reportedly attended the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and who may have ties to extremist groups — allegedly attempted to breach the office’s screening facility, triggering a response from armed FBI agents. He then fled the scene.

After a car chase, an exchange of gunfire, and unsuccessful attempts by police to negotiate with the man and use less-than-lethal tactics, the suspect “did raise a firearm towards law enforcement, and shots were fired by law enforcement officers on the scene,” Ohio State Highway Patrol said Thursday. He died at the scene.

The attack came just days after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. While a motive has not been identified, it became increasingly clear in the hours after the attack that the deceased suspect was a Trump supporter angered by the raid, who posted extremist content and threats on social media, including on his Truth Social account.

— Matt Shuham and Nicole Lafond

Why Did the DHS IG Withhold Info From Congress?

Hi! I’m TPM’s newest investigative reporter, Kaila Philo. This past week, I covered the ongoing scandal surrounding the missing text exchanges from high-ranking Trump administration officials around the time of the January 6 insurrection.

As you’re probably aware, there’s been growing interest in texts exchanged by Secret Service agents and former officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department, and the Army around the time of the insurrection. Turns out, almost all of them have been erased – and at least one official knew about it.

DHS Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari sent Congress a letter about missing texts from the Secret Service on July 13, but according to documents unearthed by the Project on Government Oversight, he’d known about the loss since February and could have alerted Congress at least a month earlier. This isn’t the first time Cuffari has become embroiled in scandal: The Washington Post found that he was investigated in 2013 for violating ethics rules during his time in an Arizona field office of the Justice Department.

Cuffari is also being investigated by the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency for allegedly retaliating against a whistleblower from his department. There have since been calls for President Joe Biden to fire Cuffari, but he’s vowed to let federal watchdogs remain independent, unlike his predecessor. In the meantime, there could be more surprises on the horizon, as the Secret Service has handed over the agents’ phone records to Congress.

— Kaila Philo

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade was dissatisfied with Attorney General Merrick Garland publicly addressing on Thursday the FBI’s blockbuster raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

“All of a sudden, Merrick Garland wants us to believe that he is concerned about the, quote, ’the public interest,’” Kilmeade snorted. “If that is indeed true, why did he wait until after the raid to give the American people the details?”

Yeah, if the Biden official is sooooo transparent, then why didn’t he put out a PSA about the raid in advance? Why didn’t he personally email, text, call, fax and carrier pigeon every reporter in D.C. about the raid? Why didn’t he announce the raid via skywriting over Trump Tower???

— Cristina Cabrera