The FBI exercised a search warrant at Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago last night. The New York Times has some ongoing coverage here.
Here is a taste of Trump’s message to followers:
My “favorite” line in this statement is “especially based on recent polls.” (Trump is already fundraising off the search)
By the way, the crooks who broke into the Watergate Hotel did not have a court-appointed warrant. Today, however, the FBI did have a warrant. A judge does not give a warrant without probable cause, especially when it is the house of a former president.
This leads us to the court evangelicals. These Trump-loving evangelicals have been silent since January 6th. Sure they condemned the violence, but they looked the other way when it comes to saying anything about the role Trump played in the Big Lie and the insurrection.
Well, it looks like yesterday the court evangelicals awoke from their slumber.
Here is Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, a Texas Southern Baptist megachurch:
Some comments on Graham’s tweet:
- I wonder if Jack Graham would write the same tweet if the FBI raided the house of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, or Joe Biden?
- There are many ways to “pray for our democracy.”
- Graham’s reference to the “deep state” reflects a long history of conspiratorial thinking in American evangelicalism.
- Graham seems to think that the “spirit of the American” people is behind Donald Trump here. Let’s remember that Trump rarely made it over a 40% approval rating during his presidency.
- Does Graham believe Trump is above the law?
Other court evangelicals have also weighed-in:
Tony “Mulligan” Perkins of the Family Research Council continues to undermine American institutions:
Mike Huckabee lets House minority leader Kevin McCarthy do the talking:
Gary Bauer’s take:
Trump court journalist David Brody plays the GQ model card:
More deep state stuff. I was watching some film of Brody on CNN and NBC back in 2007. He came across back then as a fairly objective journalist.
I believe this is Kayleigh’s sister. She appears to be the first to play the Satan card:
Father Frank Pavone is not an evangelical, but I think this may be the first time I’ve seen a priest use the word “crap”:
It was only a matter of time before someone brought up Hunter:
Charlie is preparing for war. He will be at an evangelical megachurch near you this weekend:
I don’t know, Mike. It seems like Attorney General Garland and the judge who issued the warrant must have had good reason to break 250 years of practice:
Trump’s “election fraud” lawyer wants us to turn to Jesus. Depending on what’s in Trump’s safe, this may be her only option:
I will continue to follow this story and add more posts throughout the day on Tuesday.
UPDATE (August 9, 2022, 8:30am):
Jack Hibbs, pastor of Calvary Chapel-Chino Hill, just shared this on his Facebook page:
Worship leader Sean Feucht:
UPDATE: August 9, 2022 at 11:00am:
Jim Garlow:
Al Mohler plays the Romans 13 and “Christian worldview” card, but he is generally taking a wait and see approach:
And that’s true of every former president, but particularly with what is at stake here. But the integrity of the United States government is also at stake here and the credibility of the Department of Justice and the FBI. It is going to take some time for this matter to be clarified, to be sure, but it better not take much time and it better be truly clarified. One aspect of the Christian worldview that comes into play here is the reality that when you look at our constitutional separation of powers and the concern about limited government, that’s a deeply rooted theological insight. Now, this goes back to the statement that was made by the British statesman Lord Acton, who famously said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
That is a statement absolutely consonant with biblical Christianity, with the Augustinian line of theology that has so shaped Western theology and Western civilization and political systems is the reality that if you’re going to have a limited government, you’re going to have to work continuously at limiting it. The Bible also makes clear the legitimacy and rightful authority of government. Just consider a passage like Romans 13.
Knockout punch: After we do that and Trump announces, we need to rally around him and simply say, âHe is the candidate.â He WILL be re-elected. Thatâs because heâs the only candidate whoâll have the guts to take on this incredibly corrupt machine. We MUST put him back in and let him do this. Iâm convinced at this point that this is the only hope for our nation, to get it back to the point where people can believe in it. As it stands now, half of us, if not more than half, do not.
Update: August 9, 2022 (3:15pm)
Trump court journalist David Brody is still pontificating:
A writer at the Liberty University “Standing for Freedom Center”:
More from the guy who fuses worship of God and country:
And this:
Allegiance to an idol… very demanding; one must give up all other things to stay loyal to the idol…(ethics, morals, logic, rule of law, compassion, love…)