The raid on former President Trump’s home and the hiring of thousands of IRS agents to harass ordinary Americans are disturbing examples of the White House and the left putting their agendas ahead of the freedom and security of the American people; doing so at a time of growing homeland security threats.
On Aug. 8, 30 to 40 FBI agents and 15 FBI vehicles descended on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home for a 10-hour raid.
This unprecedented assault on the residence of a former president was reportedly done on behalf of the National Archives to look for classified documents.
The raid encompassed a search of Melania Trump’s wardrobe, cracking Mr. Trump’s personal safe, and seizing his passports. The Justice Department initially denied Mr. Trump’s charge that it took his passports but later reversed itself and returned them.
There are many serious questions about this raid, including why the Justice Department did not take a less intrusive approach via a subpoena.
Two leading constitutional law attorneys, David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, recently wrote in The Wall Street Journal (on Aug. 22) that the search warrant had no legal basis because a former president’s rights under the Presidential Records Act trump the statutes that the FBI cited to justify the Mar-a-Lago raid. Furthermore, the search warrant was extremely broad, suggesting the raid was a fishing expedition.
There was another unprecedented abuse of federal government power on Aug. 9 when the FBI handed Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a warrant and confiscated his cell phone while he was traveling with his family.
The FBI did not allow Mr. Perry to contact a lawyer before seizing his phone.
This incident appears to be a serious violation of the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution, as well as an instance of the Executive Branch of government spying on the Legislative Branch.
On Aug. 16, President Biden signed the left’s new spending bill, deceptively called the "Inflation Reduction Act."
The legislation funds 87,000 new IRS agents to harass and bully the middle class.
At the same time that the Biden administration and the left are politicizing law enforcement and undermining civil liberties, they have done nothing to address growing threats to our homeland security.
Because the Biden administration refuses to secure America’s southern border and has signaled to the world that this border is open, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency recently reported that illegal alien apprehensions in fiscal year 2022 surpassed 1.9 million through July — a new record that exceeds last year's record-setting number of 1.74 million through all of Fiscal Year 2021.
Moreover, the Biden administration’s July average of 206,785 illegal alien apprehensions is 340% higher than the five-year July average before Mr. Biden took office.
Unreported border crossings make these numbers even higher.
In addition, fentanyl seizures jumped over 200% and a record 66 people on the U.S. terrorist watchlist were caught at the southern border during this fiscal year through July, including 10 just last month.
By comparison, between 2017-2021, there were fewer than 30 total terrorist watchlist aliens apprehended at the border.
In all likelihood, many more possible terrorists crossed the border undetected.
And as a result of hostility to our police and a refusal by progressive "reform prosecutors" to prosecute criminals in major cities, the U.S. had its highest murder rate in over 20 years in 2021.
The highest responsibility of the president and Congress is to protect the security of the American people.
The contrast of the Biden administration and the left trampling civil liberties and inaction against growing domestic security threats makes a mockery of this crucial responsibility.
If the power of the U.S. government can be misused in these ways to promote the interests of those in power, our country risks moving in the direction of a banana republic.
The American people know this and will not stand for these abuses. That’s why the Mar-a-Lago raid has caused a widespread outcry. Americans also realize that our country faces growing domestic security threats that Congress and Biden administration refuse to address.
Americans don’t appreciate that the Biden administration and the Left are playing with their civil liberties instead of securing our country.
Fred Fleitz is a Newsmax TV Contributor and vice-chair of the America First Policy Institute Center for American Security. He previously served as National Security Council Chief of staff, CIA analyst, and as a member of the House Intelligence Committee staff. Read more reports from Fred Fleitz — Click Here Now.