PROPAGANDA: Russian TV host mocks the Mar-A-Lago search as too little, too late
Russian state media has begun to troll America over the FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents.
Russian propagandist Evgeny Popov taunted the United States shortly after the warrant to search Mar-a-Lago was unsealed by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, insinuating that, if the documents were related to nuclear weapons, then the U.S. was too late.
As host of the state-owned Russia 1 television channel, Popov mocked the search on air:
“Turns out that the investigation against Trump has to do with the secret documents from the White House, related to the new development of new nuclear weapons by the US,” Popov said.
“The FBI isn’t saying what kinds of weapons or what they found at Trump’s estate. Obviously, if there were any important documents, they’ve been studying them in Moscow for a while,” Popov continued. “What’s the point of searching?”
The Daily Beast columnist, Julia Davis, shared the clip on Twitter on Friday evening:
Meanwhile in Russia: Putin's mouthpieces on state TV are taunting America about "Top Secret" documents sought during the raid of Trump's estate, which they claim had to do with the newest nuclear weapons developed by the US and gleefully imply that Moscow already got to see them. pic.twitter.com/hmmphB4Utf
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) August 13, 2022
Popov’s comments could very well be an attempt to troll the United States – one of Russian television’s favorite pastimes of late – but the matter, and his comments, should be taken no less seriously.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the FBI’s search at Mar-A-Lago last Monday was related to classified documents concerning nuclear weapons. Eleven boxes were seized in the search, ranging from top-secret to confidential – the lowest classified level.
But Friday’s unsealing of the warrant, at the Department of Justice’s request and with Trump’s decision not to oppose it, revealed an even bigger potential threat to national security when Politico – who had received a copy of the warrant prior to its release – reported that the federal investigation into Donald Trump was for a potential violation of the Espionage Act, which:
“Outlaws the unauthorized retention of national security information that could harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary,” as the legislation states.
Whether or not there is the truth behind Evgeny Popov’s claims that Russia has already seen the classified documents, red flags have been raised.
After Trump publicly sided with Putin in Helsinki over his country’s own intelligence reports, the then-president’s decision to withhold crucial aid to Ukraine to help the sovereign country fend off Russian aggression, and his refusal to condemn or confront Putin over allegations that Russia had put bounties on our soldier’s heads – we can’t afford to take this possibility of espionage lightly.
Original reporting by Jason Lemon at Newsweek.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
