No Bread; Just a Circus: The FBI Raid of the Home of President Donald J. Trump
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the home of former President Donald Trump based on an accusation from the National Archives that Trump had illegally stored classified documents in his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
Opinions about the former president fill the spectrum from love to hate, but Trump isn’t what matters — it is the FBI’s unprecedented raid on the Democratic Party’s main rival.
For context, in 2015, it was revealed that, then, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stored classified information on personal devises. This is a serious federal crime and, according to the now disgraced FBI Director at the time, James Comey:
“…there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”
However, Comey concludes, “As a result, although the Department of Justice makes final decisions on matters like this, we are expressing to Justice our view that no charges are appropriate in this case.”
Comey’s “kid gloves” approach to handling Clinton’s criminal actions is typical for the FBI’s approach to high-level officials, unless your name is Trump.
Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, says, “These cases overall have not been subject to aggressive criminal prosecution in the past.”
Critics of the raid warn the FBI is being weaponized against conservative voters and the officials they elect. The implications run much deeper and can be observed in countries where Christians are persecuted for the Faith.
Lebanon has suffered economic destitution for the past three years, over 80% now live below the poverty line.
On Sunday, the first shipment of corn to leave Ukraine aboard the Razoni was supposed to have arrived at port in Lebanon. Instead, it was revealed on Wednesday that the ship’s owner had decided to sell the cargo in Turkey.
Turkey played a major role in convincing Russia’s Vladimir Putin to allow Ukrainian exports to resume shipping.
Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan has reaped the benefits of playing both Russia and the West for Turkish gain.
Despite being a NATO-ally, Turkey has helped Russia skirt Western sanctions by opening up trade between the two nations in energy and goods that Russia needs.
The European Union is unlikely to support sanctions against Turkey, as Europe’s energy dependence on Russia, has now forced it to consider Turkey as an alternative hub for energy transport.
Turkish gain has come at the expense of Lebanese Christians. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lebanon received 60% of its grain goods from Ukraine.
The country has a unique power-sharing system of government in which the President must be a Maronite Catholic, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Parliament is a Shiite Muslim.
This distribution roughly accounts for the demographics of the general population.
The terrorist organization Hezbollah, a Shiite group backed by Iran, has held strong political influence since it’s rise to political power in the 1990s. They have been the only militia group allowed to keep its weapons, and advocate for war against Israel.
The Parliamentary elections on May 15, 2022 saw Hezbollah lose enough of a majority to form a government on its own, but it still retains enough influence to remain dangerous to the enemies of Islam, namely Christians and Israel.
On July 18, Archbishop Mussa al-Hajj, who is Patriarch of the Diocese of Haifa and the Maronites in the Holy Land, was detained by border guards on his return to Lebanon from Israel.
Al-Hajj attempted to cross the border with money worth $460,000 and medical supplies. The humanitarian aid was provided by Lebanese, living in Israel, to support their families who remain in Lebanon.
Hezbollah and their allies, however, accuse the bishop of supporting Israeli spies, and flagrantly violating Lebanese law which prohibits normalization actions with Israel.
The Maronite’s head Patriarch. Bechara Rai, preached in a sermon the Sunday after the arrest that, “[W]hat happened with Archbishop Al-Hajj is not only an insult, but an assault and an insult to the Maronite Patriarchate and me personally.”
Rai has long been a vocal challenger of Hezbollah, both of their anti-Israeli policies and their retention of weapons. Rai is also calling for the election of a president later this year who will focus on the interests of Lebanon, and not be influenced by foreign actors.
Lebanon is an example of how the corruption among establishment leaders in government and industry can lead to societal devastation for the average citizen. The same is now being observed in the American milieu where the justice system is being used to target political opponents.
In a declining Roman Empire, the masses of people were kept docile with “Bread and Circuses.” So long as people were fed and entertained, they wouldn’t revolt. Now, food of any sort is becoming prohibitively expensive and those running the show are the only circus in town.
Trey Blanton is a former army captain and Texas deputy who gave up career to research and write on behalf of persecuted Christians.
