To obtain the warrant that it used to search Donald Trump's home at his Palm Beach resort on Monday, New York Times reporter Peter Baker says in a "news analysis," the FBI would have been "required to meet a high level of proof of possible crimes." That is a strange way to describe probable cause, an ill-defined standard that falls far short of the evidence needed to convict someone of a crime.
Baker's mischaracterization of probable cause reflects the misplaced deference to the FBI that Trump's opponents tend to display in cases involving the former president. Journalists who would be critical of the FBI in other contexts, such as the investigation of Hillary Clinton's email practices as secretary of state, abandon all skepticism when the bureau targets Trump or his associates. Baker, whose (correct) thesis is that Trump criticizes politicized law enforcement only when it works to his disadvantage, seems blithely unaware of the corresponding hypocrisy among people who despise Trump.
