Political observers in the USA say the Biden administration is at risk of overplaying its hand and losing any political advantage it may have gained from the FBI raid on ex-President Donald Trump’s Florida home earlier this month.

They question the manner in which the Department of Justice yesterday released a redacted version of the affidavit the FBI relied upon to gain a court order for the 8 August raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and the seizure of numerous files and documents he had allegedly improperly retained after leaving office in January last year.

Professor Ken Tuckey, head of the department of politics at the Elvis Presley University in Tennessee, said more Americans were starting to question the purpose and outcome of the raid and the FBI’s handling of it in the wake of Republican Party criticism of the Department of Justice’s tactics.

“The raid is one thing, but the manner in which the Department of Justice has handled subsequent events risks validating Republican claims that the whole operation is just a political witch-hunt,” Professor Tuckey said.

“For example, it is one thing to release the affidavit, even in redacted form, but why the Department of Justice would choose to have it released by Stormy Daniels jumping out of a cake is beyond me.” (main picture)

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The professional body representing real estate agents says the problem of “underquoting” home prices is being overstated.

All state and territory consumer protection agencies have received complaints about underquoting in the real estate market –  a practice that involves agents attracting potential buyers or auction bidders for a property by quoting a price that is later vastly higher when the property is actually sold.

But spokesperson for the Real Estate Institute of Australia, Con Tract, told The Bug that the problem was being “vastly overstated”.

“Sure, the REIA acknowledges that underquoting goes on and it shouldn’t,” Mr Tract said. “But of all property sales across the country we estimate it happens in only about 1% of sales or less.”

Mr Tract later rang The Bug office to advise the figure he quoted should have been “15% or more”.

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Former prime minister Scott Morrison has defended accepting invitations for paid speaking roles at various conferences including an event in Japan and a Pentecostal church service in WA since leaving office.

“I have to make a living, mate,” Mr Morrison said. “Now more than ever I need to try to make ends meet, especially in the face of the upcoming judicial inquiry headed by former High Court judge Virginia Bell looking into my perfectly innocent behaviour as PM.

“These sort of inquiries are just a lawyers’ picnic and I’ll be facing a huge legal bill.

“Or should I say legal bills because I’m currently engaging a senior barrister to represent me as former PM, but I’ll also be engaging five other barristers to represent me as the minister for the health, finance, treasury, home affairs, and resources and industry portfolios.”