Today is Saturday, August 13, 2022. After missing a day yesterday, the news coming out of Trump World just got worse in just 24 hours. Now that the search warrant on Dumpf’s Florida compound, Mar-a-Largo, has been unsealed yesterday, the nation has learned how serious the potential case against the former president has become since Monday. After events appeared to have been progressing at a very glacial pace with respect to the myriad investigations into the alleged crimes committed by Joe Biden’s predecessor, now the pace appears to have accelerated in just this last week. How grand! And with good measure considering the violations now being probed that Dumpf has committed with taking home many classified documents for no apparent reason other than his own hubris or plain arrogance. In an online article for the Washington Examiner, the nature of those apparent crimes is analyzed by Cami Mondeaux entitled “Mar-a-Largo FBI raid: What punishments Trump could face under Espionage Act.”

Thus the former president is being investigated for a potential violation of the Espionage Act and possible obstruction of justice, raising questions about what punishments, if any, he may face. The documents found at Dumpf’s home were labeled at the highest level of classification, according to the warrant. In its search, the agency recovered 11 sets of classified documents among 20 boxes that were taken, including handwritten notes, binders full of photos, and the executive grant of clemency given to Dumpf crony Roger Stone, another sterling character who should have been rotting in jail right now instead of enjoying his freedom because of Dumpf’s largesse.

Here are the violations Dumpf faces and the possible punishments if charged:

Espionage Act – Possible fines and up to 10 years in prison

“The search warrant unsealed on Friday afternoon cited 18 U.S. Code 793, which is part of the Espionage Act, that specifically refers to the ‘gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information.'” If Dumpf were charged for this violation, he could face fines and up to 10 years in prison, according to the Espionage Act.

Concealment of documents – Possible fines and up to three years in prison

“The warrant also pointed to 18 U.S. Code 2071 on ‘concealment, removal, or mutilation generally.'” The provision deems it illegal to steal government documents and makes it a crime for anyone to have any federal record in their possession with the intention to conceal or destroy it. Here if Dumpf is charged, he faces a fine or three years in prison.

The additional punishment accompanying being charged with this violation is that Dumpf could be disqualified from holding public office in the future. Oh, if this could only happen, it would be a Godsend!

Obstruction of justice – Possible fines and up to 20 years in prison

“The former president also faces possible charges related to obstruction of justice based on violations of 18 U.S. Code 1519, which deals with the ‘destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy.'” Here the greatest sentence the orange buffoon could face is up to 20 years in prison. If found guilty, Dumpf could also encounter hefty fines of up to $5,000 (which is nothing to a “billionaire” like him) in addition to jail time.

The only other story that I can comment on here since the day is fast fading (Elliot and I had motored to West Hartford, Connecticut, by the way, to meet up with his daughter “Jill” and “Sadie” for lunch and a walk at nearby Elizabeth Park to view some beautiful orchards, whereupon we headed back to New York, stopping in Milford, Connecticut, where we dined at a Cracker Barrel, one of Elliot’s favorite eateries) is the shocking attack on author Salman Rushdie at an upstate “community of artists, educators, thinkers, faith healers and friends dedicated to exploring the best in humanity”(this is how it describes itself), the Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit center near Lake Erie. Before he could even give his lecture, the Mumbai-born writer was knifed in the neck yesterday by 24-year-old Hadi Matar who stormed the stage and knifed the stunned author. Rushdie was flown to a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania. So this horrible incident is but an ironic display of the worst in humanity, certainly not the best, as a man of letters was violently attacked and stabbed on stage.

For those who have followed the career of this writer, you would recall that Rushdie wrote The Satanic Verses in the late 80s which was labeled blasphemous by many Muslims and was banned in Iran since 1988. The following year, the nation’s leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s elimination. The country has also offered a $3 million reward to anyone able to kill Rushdie. After the issuance of the fatwa, Rushdie spent nearly a decade under British protection before slowly returning to the public eye.

The assailant, ironically, was not even born when Rushdie’s novel was published. At the moment, the motivation for the attack has yet to be revealed. At this time, all we can do is pray that the author is able to recover from his grievous wounds. As far as I have heard about the extent of Rushdie’s wounds, it seems as if he could lose his right eye. The writer is 75. I cannot fathom being someone in the audience watching such a violent act unfold before his or her very eyes when all one expected was an informative, dry lecture given by an author of 14 novels, four works of nonfiction, and a collection of short stories. What a traumatic experience it would have been!

In light of this terrible assault upon a prolific author, it behooves us to take up the mantle against the forces of bigotry, fanaticism, and censorship that Rushdie has championed against all his literary life. The United States used to be considered a safe haven for the freedom of expression, but under the current political climate, that is not the case anymore. We now attack anyone who doesn’t share our own ideology or perspectives. I can go on and on, but it’s getting late here.

So have a nice Sunday. The weather is supposed to be as lovely as today.

Stay safe and be well.