"Defund (& Abolish) The FBI": The Hypocrisy Is BreathtakingTrump, September 28, 2016: "If You're Innocent, Why Are You Taking The Fifth Amendment?Trump, August 10, 2022: Pleaded The Fifth Amendment 440+ Times In NY AG Case

William Saletan, formerly of Slate, now at The Bulwark, has compiled an impressive list of some of the "shameless backflips" by far-right lawmakers and media figures in the wake of the FBI's search of Trump's "spider hole". The shameless hypocrisy of the Trump Cult is on full display. Some examples:

Crime is exploding in Democrat-run cities ... this is 100% the result of their left-wing policies of defunding the police, backing BLM / ANTIFA, destroying families, and coddling of criminals!

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) June 23, 2021

DEFUND THE FBI!

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 9, 2022

It’s a sad and scary day in America when we have citizens calling to defund and dismantle the police. This dangerous call to action would NOT make our communities safer. It would only weaken law & order and cause far more chaos than we’ve already seen.
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— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) June 8, 2020

The FBI has proven time and again that it is corrupt to the core. At what point do we abolish the Bureau and start over?

— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) August 9, 2022

How do these morons not see that the defund the police movement both in practice and in rhetoric creates a lawless environment? We are all going to be less safe because of your idiocy.

— Lisa Boothe 🇺🇸 (@LisaMarieBoothe) June 21, 2020

The federal government needs to be dismantled entirely. Abolish the IRS and the FBI, for starters. Take it down to bare bones and give the power back to the states. Otherwise, America is finished, if we aren't already.

— Lisa Boothe 🇺🇸 (@LisaMarieBoothe) August 8, 2022

Defunding the police is idiotic. We need strong law enforcement to protect liberty & the vast majority of officers perform their jobs admirably & deserve praise. But many of us have proposed common sense reforms to address overreach for years & meeting strong resistance.

— Matt Rinaldi (@MattRinaldiTX) June 8, 2020

Abolish the FBI.

— Matt Rinaldi (@MattRinaldiTX) August 9, 2022

President Trump will never defund our great police heroes!

— ACT For America (@ACTforAmerica) July 17, 2020

DEFUND THE FBI!

— ACT For America (@ACTforAmerica) August 9, 2022

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William M. Arkin, Newsweek, August 10, 2022:

The raid on Mar-a-Lago was based largely on information from an FBI confidential human source, one who was able to identify what classified documents former President Trump was still hiding and even the location of those documents, two senior government officials told Newsweek. . . .

According to news reports, some 10-15 boxes of documents were removed from the premises [these are in addition to the 15 boxes of stolen documents Trump returned to the National Archives in approximately January 2022]. Donald Trump said in a statement that the FBI opened his personal safe as part of their search. Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, who was present during the multi-hour search, says that the FBI targeted three rooms — a bedroom, an office and a storage room. That suggests that the FBI knew specifically where to look.

Trump admitted online on Wednesday to illegally possessing boxes of top secret government documents at his Florida estate (though I doubt he realizes he confessed). He also admitted he was keeping those top secret documents in an unsecured room -- and two months ago, he allegedly voluntarily gave FBI agents a tour of the storage room (against the advice of his lawyers) and told them to come back anytime.

That is a felony, punishable by five years in prison. Back in 2018, Trump signed a national security bill that increased the punishments for anyone who mishandles classified information (such as secretly stealing boxes of them and storing them in an unsecure basement in your house). ("Hoist with his own petard; and 't shall go hard")

Nothing could confirm Trump’s guilt more than this statement this morning suggesting the FBI planted evidence. He got caught and he knows it. This is what guilty people say. Expect this to be the new GOP talking point. pic.twitter.com/vLhs4FacNQ

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) August 10, 2022

“A surprise attack”! pic.twitter.com/ljWcmmQ6ex

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) August 10, 2022

‘Just The News’ says they have confirmed that two months ago Trump gave FBI agents a tour of Mar-a-Lago, against his attorney’s advice, and showed them his storage areas where documents were kept. pic.twitter.com/9wzVXru2h1

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) August 11, 2022

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If Donald Trump pleads the Fifth, don't let him forget all of this pic.twitter.com/jL2YC50DpW

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 7, 2018

Donald Trump, 1990: Pleaded the Fifth Amendment 97 times when asked approximately 100 questions regarding marital infidelity during depositions in the divorce proceedings with his first wife, Ivana, who is currently buried near the first tee on his golf course.

Donald Trump, September 28, 2016: "Her [Hillary Clinton's] staffers taking the Fifth Amendment, how about that? . . . So there are five people taking the Fifth Amendment like you see on the mob, right? You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?

Donald Trump, August 10, 2022: Pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than 440 times in a four-hour deposition as part of the New York Attorney General's investigation into his shady-as-fuck business practices.

Trump deigned to answer exactly one question -- he stated his name.

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Time for the “billionaire” to shake down the rubes again. pic.twitter.com/lgv6M8ak2a

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) August 10, 2022

The only thing planted at a Trump property was Ivana.

— Steve Marmel (@Marmel) August 10, 2022