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Aug 12, 2022
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2022-08-13T00:06:55Z
- The FBI searched former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home on Monday, sparking a firestorm.
- Trump signed off on the release of the search warrant used, the Justice Department announced on Friday.
- Trump is reportedly under investigation for violations of three laws, including the Espionage Act.
Trump allies insist FBI raid, potential Espionage Act investigation only strengthen his standing in a 2024 Republican presidential primary
Former President Donald Trump is being investigated for potential crimes related to his handling of documents that could threaten US national security — a fact that may well strengthen his desire to run for a second term in 2024 and make him "unbeatable" in a Republican primary, according to allies and GOP strategists.
But after years of priming his supporters to believe he's the target of a "deep state" cabal, Trump has been able to exploit the latest investigation into his actions to rake in money. He also now has a chorus of elected Republicans, including potential competitors for the 2024 presidential nomination, quick to join him in dismissing the allegations, without evidence, as a politically motivated sham.
This is the warrant used to search Trump's home and the list of items the FBI seized
A federal court unsealed the warrant used to allow the FBI to search Trump's property at Mar-a-Lago, as well as a list of items the federal agents seized in the raid.
Trump agrees to unsealing the FBI warrant and list of items seized in the Mar-a-Lago search
Donald Trump signed off on the unsealing of records related to the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department said Friday, setting the stage for the public release of the warrant and list of items seized during the unprecedented search.
In a court filing, the Justice Department told a judge that it conferred with Trump's lawyers, who raised no objection to unsealing the records.
The Justice Department's filing came as multiple news organizations reported — citing a copy of the search warrant — that the FBI raid related to possible violations of the Espionage Act and laws governing the mishandling of government documents, including classified materials.
Trump has been calling for the release of the records since the search, though he could have released the copies he had.
The DOJ is investigating if Trump broke 3 federal laws when he took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago
The Justice Department is investigating if former President Donald Trump violated three federal laws involving the handling of national security information when he moved government records from the White House to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office.
Breitbart reportedly obtained the warrant the FBI used to search Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in south Florida.
Feds are looking into whether Trump broke laws against gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information; the destruction, alteration, or falsification of records; and the concealment, removal, or mutilation of records.
One of those violations is a part of the Espionage Act.
FBI recovered 11 sets of classified documents — including some that were marked top secret — from Mar-a-Lago: WSJ
Federal agents took 11 sets of classified documents, including some that were marked top secret, from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The Journal, which reviewed an inventory list of the items seized in the raid, said the FBI recovered a handwritten note and Trump's order commuting the GOP strategist Roger Stone's prison sentence; information about the "President of France"; and binders of photos, among other things.
Trump once revealed that the US had a new secret nuclear weapons system, according to Bob Woodward's book.
In Bob Woodward's 2020 book "Rage," the journalist detailed a conversation with Trump in 2019 in which the then-president boasted about a secret nuclear weapons system he credited himself with creating.
"I have built a nuclear — a weapons system that nobody's ever had in this country before. We have stuff that Putin and Xi have never heard about before. There's nobody — what we have is incredible," Trump reportedly said.
Woodward wrote that sources confirmed the new weapons system existed, but were "surprised Trump had disclosed it."
It's not clear what kind of nuclear weapons Trump was referring to.
Trump didn't deny reports that the FBI was looking for nuclear documents at Mar-a-Lago. Instead, he baselessly attacked Obama.
In a new statement released Friday, former President Donald Trump didn't deny a Washington Post report that the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents that contained nuclear information.
Instead, he again tried to shift focus to former President Barack Obama, falsely accusing him of illegally keeping classified documents.
"President Barack Hussein Obama kept 33 million pages of documents, much of them classified," Trump said in the statement. "How many of them pertained to nuclear? Word is, lots!"
Asked whether Trump's statement appeared to confirm that nuclear documents were uncovered in the Mar-a-Lago raid, one former DOJ official replied: "Sounds like it."
The former official, who requested anonymity to candidly discuss the topic, added, "'Word is...' Love that. Word from who? His barber?"
Fox News airs digitally altered photo replacing Jeffrey Epstein with the judge who signed the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago.
Fox News aired a digitally altered photo that replaced an old image of Jeffrey Epstein getting a foot rub from Ghislaine Maxwell with the body and face of the federal judge who signed off on the warrant allowing FBI agents to search former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago.
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider on Friday.
The bizarre altered photo was broadcast during "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Thursday while Fox News' Brian Kilmeade was serving as guest host.
Fox News' Sean Hannity called out the photo being altered during the broadcast.
"I think that's actually a picture of Jeffrey Epstein with somebody putting [Reinhart's] head on there," Hannity told Kilmeade, adding, "I'm guessing, I don't know."
The judge has reportedly received violent and antisemitic threats by far-right extremists since signing off on the warrant.
Merrick Garland called Trump's bluff by moving to unseal Mar-a-Lago search warrant
Attorney General Merrick Garland at a press conference Thursday dealt a serious blow to former President Donald Trump's attempts to undermine the FBI after its search of Mar-a-Lago.
Trump and his allies have sought to discredit Monday's raid by pushing conspiracy theories that the FBI planted evidence and claiming the search was done without solid justification. They called for more transparency about the search, railing against the Department of Justice's policy not to comment on ongoing investigations.
Then, Garland called Trump's bluff, commenting on the raid and announcing that the DOJ would move to unseal the warrant.
He also alluded to the fact that Trump had been in a position the whole time to release the warrant himself. And though Trump himself personally said he wouldn't oppose the release, Trump's lawyers have until Friday afternoon to object.
Former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says FBI informant could be one of 6 to 8 people in Trump's inner circle
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has speculated that if an FBI informant in Trump's camp did exist, they would likely be one of the six to eight people closest to the former president.
Mulvaney spoke to CNN on Thursday about the FBI's Monday raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. He said that he thought the informant whose tip-off sparked the raid was likely someone deeply embedded in Trump's orbit and "really close" to him.
Citing sources, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that someone had told the authorities that classified government documents might have been improperly stored at Mar-a-Lago.
"I didn't even know there was a safe at Mar-a-Lago, and I was the chief of staff for 15 months," Mulvaney said. He added that the informant would be someone "very close to the president" who handled day-to-day affairs and knew "where the documents were."
"My guess is there's probably six or eight people who had that kind of information," said Mulvaney.
Watergate whistleblower scoffs at Trump's comparison of the FBI's Mar-a-Lago raid to the Nixon scandal
Watergate whistleblower John Dean has slammed former President Donald Trump's comparison of the FBI's search of his Mar-a-Lago resort to Richard Nixon's 1972 scandal.
"It's pathetic. It shows he has no knowledge of what happened with Watergate," Dean told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday evening.
"Watergate was much more than a break-in of course. There was a cover-up and really it brought forth the evidence of Nixon's abuse of power," he added.
Trump and his family watched the FBI search Mar-a-Lago via the property's security feed, says the former president's lawyer
Former President Donald Trump's attorney said Trump watched from New York as the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Monday.
Christina Bobb, one of Trump's lawyers, made this comment during a Thursday appearance on the right-wing media network Real America's Voice. Bobb told host Gina Loudon that, contrary to rumors that the security cameras had been turned off, the property's security feeds were on for most of the FBI's search.
"I think the folks in New York — President Trump and his family — they probably had a better view than I did. Because they had the CCTV, they were able to watch," Bobb said.
Trump has until Friday afternoon to decide whether to fight the release of the Mar-a-Lago search warrant
Former President Donald Trump could unilaterally release the warrant that federal agents used to search his resort and residence at Mar-a-Lago.
But news reports suggest that Trump and his allies are still trying to decide whether or not to fight the Department of Justice's motion to unseal the document — and the list of goods that were confiscated.
According to The New York Times, Trump's allies are "discussing the possibility of challenging" the release of the documents and have "contacted outside lawyers" to discuss the matter.
CNN reported Thursday evening that the former president and his team "have not yet reached a decision." One source told the outlet Trump's team is considering challenging the motion to unseal the warrant. Both outlets reported that his team is consulting with outside attorneys.
Meet Judge Bruce Reinhart, the magistrate who approved the FBI search warrant into Trump's Mar-a-Lago home receiving threats from MAGA supporters
The FBI raid of former President Donald Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago has drawn attention to Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed off the search warrant.
MAGA supporters were incensed by the raid, calling for protests at FBI field offices and gathering outside of Mar-a-Lago.
Reinhart has also received violent and antisemitic threats since approving the warrant.
The judge's official bio has been removed from the US District Court Southern District of Florida website — likely because of the threats he's received, according to Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg.
FBI was looking for classified documents about nuclear weapons, report says
Classified documents related to nuclear weapons were among the items the FBI was searching for during a raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the investigation.
The people, who were unnamed, did not provide details on whether the documents concerned nuclear weapons belonging to the US or other nations. It's unclear if the documents were recovered in the search. Read Full Story
Police killed gunman who tried to enter Cincinnati FBI office, officials say
Police fatally shot the armed man who tried to breach an FBI office in Cincinnati on Thursday morning, Lt. Nathan Dennis of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said in a press conference.
Lieutenant Dennis told reporters that officers tried to negotiate with the suspect and made efforts to take him into custody with "less-than-lethal tactics," but fatally shot the man after he produced a gun.
Authorities declined to identify the suspect or offer speculation about his possible motive. NBC News reported that the man was in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.
Though it's unclear if the suspect's actions are related to the FBI raid at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, it comes as Trump supporters and allies condemn the bureau and the Department of Justice for the search warrant.
During a press conference Thursday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the DOJ after Trump and GOP lawmakers attacked the FBI for raiding Mar-a-Lago.
Liz Cheney says she's 'ashamed' her fellow Republicans are putting the lives of FBI agents at risk with their post-Mar-a-Lago raid attacks
Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday blasted her fellow Republicans for putting "the lives of patriotic public servants" at risk following the immense criticism of the FBI after agents raided former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
"I have been ashamed to hear members of my party attacking the integrity of the FBI agents involved with the recent Mar-a-Lago search," Cheney wrote on Twitter. "These are sickening comments that put the lives of patriotic public servants at risk."
Cheney did not name specific Republicans that she was calling out. This marks her first major comments since the FBI's search of Trump's property earlier this week. Agents were reportedly investigating whether Trump still had classified material that should have been turned over to the National Archives.
Wild conspiracy theories swirling online attempt to tie the late Ivana Trump to her ex-husband's legal issues
Team Ivana is weighing in on former President Donald Trump's legal issues and searching for connections after the FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago home.
Absent more information on the FBI's search for classified documents, people on social media are floating some wild and dark conspiracy theories about Trump's first and recently deceased ex-wife, Ivana Trump, who was buried last month at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
There is no evidence that these theories are anything but games, the result of boredom, or just Twitter doing what it does.
Trump talked his way into the Justice Department releasing records from the Mar-a-Lago search
The warrant used to search Donald Trump's property at Mar-a-Lago will be unsealed, thanks in part to Trump's own publicizing of the raid, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Garland told reporters Thursday that the Justice Department doesn't usually comment on cases, and that the Monday search "attracted little or no public attention" while it was taking place.
But after Trump publicly denounced the raid and as Republicans call for more transparency, Garland said the DOJ has filed a motion to unseal the court records.
Cohen says he 'would not be surprised' if FBI informant was one of Trump's kids or Jared Kushner
Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen suspects that the possible informant involved in the FBI's raid on the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida is one of his own kids or his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
"It's definitely a member of [Trump's] inner circle," Cohen told Insider on Thursday.
"Who else would know about the existence of a safe and the specific contents kept inside?" he added.
Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple felonies committed while he was Trump's attorney and has since become a vocal critic of his former boss.
Merrick Garland defends Justice Department after Trump and GOP lawmakers attacked the FBI for raiding Mar-a-Lago: They 'are patriotic public servants'
Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the FBI and the Justice Department in the face of fierce attacks from Donald Trump and his allies, who accused federal agents of targeting Trump for political reasons.
"I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked," Garland told reporters at the Justice Department on Thursday. "The men and women of the FBI and the Justice Department are dedicated, patriotic public servants."
Attorney General Merrick Garland personally signed off on the warrant used to search Mar-a-Lago
Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed Thursday that he personally signed off on the search warrant used to raid Trump's Mar-a-Lago property.
Garland also announced the Department of Justice filed a motion to unseal the search warrant and an FBI property receipt.
Documents that Trump had were so sensitive, DOJ had to approve raid: report
Former President Donald Trump allegedly kept classified documents that contained such sensitive information that federal officials felt they had no choice but to raid Mar-a-Lago to get them back, The New York Times reported.
It's unclear what documents Trump was suspected of holding or what information they contained that would merit the unprecedented search of a former president's property.
The DOJ tried subpoenaing Trump to turn over sensitive documents before it sent the FBI to raid Mar-a-Lago
A grand jury subpoenaed former President Donald Trump for classified documents he took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago before the FBI took the dramatic step of searching his home, The New York Times reported.
Legal experts say the process of obtaining the search warrant likely started weeks ago and that it was approved at the highest levels of the Justice Department, including FBI Director Christopher Wray — who Trump appointed in 2017 after firing James Comey — and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
FBI director calls threats against agents 'deplorable'
FBI Director Christopher Wray condemned violent rhetoric and threats against his agency and federal agents after the FBI raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago property.
Wray said in the last few years, "we've had an alarming rise in violence against law enforcement."
He called the threats against the FBI "deplorable and dangerous."
Trump could release FBI's search warrant, but is choosing not to
Former President Donald Trump has denounced the FBI's raid on his Mar-a-Lago property as part of a political attack by Democrats and Republicans have demanded more information be released about the circumstances of the raid.
But Trump himself has many of the answers since he has a copy of the search warrant the FBI used to search his Florida home; so far, he's refused to release it.
"No, we're not releasing a copy of the warrant," a source close to Trump told NBC News, saying the Department of Justice should do it.
Michael Cohen: Trump likely feels 'trapped'
Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen said the former president likely feels "trapped" and "alone" after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home.
Cohen also said Trump would be most worried that the informant who tipped off the feds has more incriminating information to share.
"One thing for certain, Donald is not so much concerned that the FBI came to Mar-a-Lago," Cohen told CNN in an interview that aired Thursday. "What he's concerned about is he knows what information exists in the boxes that were taken."
DOJ and FBI officials are arguing among themselves about whether to explain the raid on Mar-a-Lago: report
Some Department of Justice and FBI officials are pushing for the FBI to explain its raid on former President Donald Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago report, CNN reported.
They argued within the Department of Justice and FBI that the lack of statements or explanation hurt the two bodies, and is not in the public interest, CNN reported.
This is partly because Trump and his allies have been so vocal about the search, per CNN.
Trumpworld is said to be roiling with finger-pointing and suspicion over a possible informant in Mar-a-Lago
People close to President Donald Trump are consumed with suspicion and finger-pointing over the possibility of there being an informant in Mar-a-Lago, per Rolling Stone.
One of Rolling Stone's sources — an unnamed Trump advisor — said that some close to Trump have been asking for warnings to be passed on to the former president not to trust some of those around him.
The messages, per the source, encouraged Trump to question specific people to see if they were in touch with the FBI.
"I'm getting a lot of messages saying, 'This guy must be the informant,' and others calling for the president to start doing phone checks of his staff," the advisor told Rolling Stone.
"To be honest, a lot of it feels like people trying to screw over the ones they don't like."
The FBI was tipped off by an informer close to Trump who guided them to where documents were kept, according to reports
An informant tipped off the authorities about possible documents at Mar-a-Lago and where they could find them, per reports from Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal.
Newsweek spoke to two anonymous senior government officials with knowledge of the FBI's raid of Mar-a-Lago. These officials told Newsweek that an individual revealed to law enforcement what documents Trump still had in his possession and where they were.
The report from Newsweek was corroborated by reporting from The Journal.
The Journal spoke to anonymous sources familiar with the matter, who said that an individual who knew where the papers were stored had been in touch with investigators. According to The Journal, this individual told investigators there were more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago that were not among the 15 boxes that the National Archives retrieved from Trump's residence back in February.
Trump has become deeply suspicious of being surveilled and that those close to him could be wearing wires: report
Even before the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, former President Donald Trump was getting paranoid about the possibility that he might be monitored by the authorities or that the people close to him are wearing wires, per a new Rolling Stone report.
"He has asked me and others, 'Do you think our phones are tapped?'" said one source to Rolling Stone.
According to the source, Trump brought the idea of being wiretapped up as a serious consideration but has also joked that people close to him should "be careful" about what they say on the phone.
Two sources close to Trump also told Rolling Stone that the former president has also grown suspicious of the Republican figures coming to see him at his clubs, wondering if they could be "wearing a wire." These sources also told Rolling Stone that Trump and his advisers are in search of a "mole" or a "rat," who might be working with law enforcement against Trump.
Trump's lawyer said she wasn't allowed to observe the Mar-a-Lago search
Christina Bobb, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, said she was "not allowed" to observe FBI agents as they searched Trump's Palm Beach estate, Mar-A-Lago, on Monday. Bobb said she arrived at the scene during the raid but was not allowed to enter the facilities to observe.
A retired FBI agent told Insider the FBI is not under any obligation to allow attorneys to oversee a search, although agents must be able to show a copy of the search warrant.
January 6 defendant says 'this is war' after Mar-a-Lago raid
Multiple Capitol riot defendants took to the internet with incendiary messages in the aftermath of the Monday FBI raid at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago compound — even as some of those offenders await sentencing for their role in the January 6 attack.
Anthime Gionet, a YouTuber known as Baked Alaska, pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor charge related to his role in the insurrection. While discussing the raid during a livestream on Tuesday, Gionet said: "We need to win the midterms or literally die."
"This is war, this is absolute war," he said. "It's insane what they're doing to Donald Trump. If they can do it to him, they can do it to anyone. You've seen them do it to me."Read Full Story
Trump could be penalized under a law he signed
In 2018, Trump signed a sweeping national security bill that ramped up penalties for those who mishandle classified information.
But that legislation — which was passed after Trump's attacks on former foe Hillary Clinton and the security of her emails — may soon be used against Trump himself.
FBI agents on Monday raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as part of an investigation into whether Trump wrongly kept hold of classified material after he left office.
National-security attorney Bradley P. Moss told Insider that Trump could face five years in prison if he's found guilty under the legislation he signed.
FBI raid will test Garland's vow to treat everyone equally under the law
In interviews with Insider, former Justice Department officials said any consideration of charges against Trump will involve murky questions of law layered on top of the political sensitivities around prosecuting a former president.
As for Attorney General Merrick Garland, the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago and its aftermath will test his pledge to treat no one as above the law, even as Republicans vow to investigate and even defund federal agencies who participated.
Mar-a-Lago raid adds to Trump's terrible week
This week may have been Donald Trump's worst since leaving office.
On Monday, the FBI searched his Florida home at Mar-a-Lago, kicking off a firestorm of speculation over what possible violations federal agents could be investigating.
A day later, a federal court ruled against Trump, finding that Congressional lawmakers could review his long-withheld tax returns.
And on Wednesday, Trump arrived for a court-ordered deposition in New York's probe into his business dealings. Trump pleaded the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions, saying in a statement that the inquiry was part of a larger "witch hunt" against him.
FBI searched Mar-a-Lago because officials suspected Trump never gave back some material sought by the National Archives: report
The FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago took place because officials suspected Trump held on to some records he was meant to return, The Washington Post reported.
Trump took boxes full of documents back to his Florida home when he left office in 2021, leading the National Archives and Records Administration to request them back.
Earlier in 2022, Trump returned 15 boxes.
But, per anonymous sources speaking to The Post, officials suspected that this did not cover all the material he was supposed to return.
They were also said to have suspected that Trump's staff were "not truthful at times" about the material.
Chris Christie said the FBI searching Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and safe was 'fair game'
Christie said in a radio interview with Sirius XM host Julie Mason that he believed the FBI agents had sufficient facts on hand to convince a judge to grant them the right to search Trump's property.
"It's fair game, and you just have to display probable cause to a federal judge that … there are contents in that safe that would assist in proving a violation of the law," said Christie, a former federal prosecutor.
"It's not anything that's out of bounds to go into a safe, and it happens frequently in federal law enforcement," Christie said.
An author who helped Donald Trump ghostwrite his book speculates Trump may have taken White House documents to one day sell as presidential memorabilia
Charles Leerhsen, who worked with the former president in the 90s on his book, "Surviving at the Top," weighed in on the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago on Monday.
"As a former Trump ghostwriter (mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa) I feel obligated to point out that Trump may have taken documents that he intended to sell as presidential memorabilia," Leerhsen wrote on Facebook.
"If there's a grift to be grifted, he's gonna grift it," Leerhsen later told Newsweek. "He has this very basic sense that he might be able to pawn it off on someone."
A dozen House Republicans rallied around Trump a day after the Mar-a-Lago FBI raid, encouraging him to run for POTUS in 2024.
—Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) August 10, 2022Indiana Rep. Jim Banks told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that a dozen House Republicans went to see Trump at the former president's Bedminster home on Tuesday. According to Banks, Trump was in high spirits during the dinner they had together.
"I've never seen President Trump as fired up as what he was tonight. He is not deterred, he's not fazed at all by what the DOJ has done to him," Banks said.
Banks said the House Republicans were there to "tell President Trump we stand with him."
"And when Kevin McCarthy is Speaker of the House, Jim Jordan will be the right man at the right time and the right place, as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, to hold the Department of Justice accountable for these actions," Banks added.
Banks said as well that the Republicans who visited Trump encouraged him to run again for the 2024 nomination and get started as soon as possible.
"Everyone in the room encouraged President Trump to run for president again. And the sooner he gets out and starts campaigning, the better," Banks said.
Read more about the dinner House Republicans had with Trump here:
From 'Defund the FBI' hats to 'But Her Emails' swag, Democratic and GOP figures alike are jumping at the opportunity to hawk Mar-a-Lago raid merch
Democratic and Republican figures alike are seizing the opportunity to sell merchandise inspired by the FBI's search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, for one, was one of the first Republican figures to call for the FBI to be defunded after the agency searched Mar-a-Lago. A day later, Greene promoted "Defund the FBI" merchandise on her official Telegram channel.
On the other end of the political spectrum, Hillary Clinton, too, is selling merchandise related to the Mar-a-Lago FBI raid. Clinton posted an image of a new piece of merchandise on her Twitter account, which bore the slogan "But Her Emails" — a reference to a scandal about her use of a private email server for official communications that the GOP seized upon during the 2016 election.
The Mar-a-Lago FBI raid serves as a reminder of a 'lawless president,' a Democratic strategist says
The FBI raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home puts Trump at the center of midterm elections debates, ensuring voters will hear about his legal problems from now until November.
Republican and right-wing groups are already using the raid for fundraising and calling for defunding the FBI while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pledged to investigate the Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garland if Republicans take back the House.
As they rally support for Trump, Democrats say the FBI's reported search for classified materials that Trump allegedly brought to his home from the White House will serve as yet another reminder of his scandals and massive legal problems for voters.
"This raises the stakes in the midterms as people see how dangerous the GOP has become," said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist. "This isn't about political advantage for one party or the other, it's a reminder of what happens if a lawless President is allowed to take power, aided and abetted by MAGA Republicans in Congress."
FBI seizes cell phone of Trump ally and Pennsylvania Republican Scott Perry, lawmaker claims
A key ally of former President Donald Trump is claiming that federal agents seized his cell phone a day after they executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, though it is not known if the two are connected.
In a statement provided to Insider, Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, said that on Tuesday morning, "while traveling with my family, 3 FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone."
Perry denounced the alleged seizure, first reported by Fox News, but did not say what reason the FBI gave him for taking the phone.
"I'm outraged — though not surprised — that the FBI under the direction of Merrick Garland's DOJ, would seize the phone of a sitting Member of Congress," he stated.
Trump supporters protest FBI raid on a bridge outside Mar-a-Lago: 'It is us against the government'
Following the FBI raid of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, several dozen Trump supporters gathered Tuesday on a bridge that extends outside the private estate.
Just a small crowd of supporters had gathered as of 2 p.m. Several people who said they were part of Club 45 — an independent Trump-supporting organization — said more people would assemble from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., after people were done working for the day. Traffic was becoming more backed up by 3 p.m. By 5 p.m., about 60 people had gathered on the bridge.
Several Trump supporters told Insider they'd heard that Trump would be driving by himself later in the day to get back into Mar-a-Lago and assess his belongings, though a local police officer refuted the rumor to Insider.
In interviews, Trump supporters said they thought the FBI raid was politically motivated and would ultimately grow Trump's support, but said they weren't concerned about a civil war. Many repeated false claims that there was widespread fraud during the 2024 election.
Here's what it's like to traverse the members-only grounds of Mar-a-Lago, from a reporter who's been there
Memories of Mar-a-Lago came flooding back Monday night when the news broke that the FBI had executed a search warrant on Donald Trump's permanent residence.
My visits there as a White House reporter for Politico more than five years ago came during the earliest days of Trump's presidency. They gave me an up-close look into all of the controversy and celebrity hoopla that surrounded a man who just months earlier had become the most powerful person on the planet.
In all, I made three trips in March 2017 to go inside Trump's exclusive South Florida resort.
What's in Trump's search warrant? A grab-bag of potential federal charges, a longtime DOJ prosecutor predicted
The feds knew they had only one chance to search Mar-a-Lago — so they carried a big net, Gene Rossi, for three decades a federal prosecutor out of northern Virginia, predicted.
The search warrant that got them inside the waterfront Palm Beach estate of former President Donald Trump may have only been one-page long — but the warrant would have authorized FBI agents to seize evidence related to multiple federal statutes, Rossi said.
"I would be shocked," Rossi told Insider if the search warrant did not list the federal statutes for insurrection, for sedition, and for obstruction — three charges Trump could potentially face for alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021 siege on the Capitol.
Republicans revive false claim that DOJ called parents 'terrorists' after Mar-a-Lago raid
Republicans who are furious with the FBI after the agency's search of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence are reviving a false talking point that pits the Department of Justice against parents.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called the raid "stunning" in a tweet and said, "This same DOJ labeled parents in Loudoun County as terrorists."
On Fox News, Rep. Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee's highest-ranking Republican, made a similar claim about Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Since last year, Republicans hoping to use culture wars to boost their chances in the midterm elections have said that the Biden administration and Democrats have branded parents who protest at school board meetings as domestic terrorists.
Mar-a-Lago raid prompts elected Republicans to openly acknowledge that Trump will likely run for president again
While Republicans slam the FBI's raid of Mar-a-Lago, many are also finally admitting in public that Trump is likely to run for president again in 2024.
Trump has hinted at the prospect for months now, leaving Republicans reluctant to comment or speculate on the matter.
"President Trump is likely going to run again in 2024," Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, wrote on Twitter.
"Joe Biden is trying to use the FBI to subdue his top political opponent because they are afraid of him running in 2024," Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger wrote on Twitter.
Pence defends Trump and expresses 'deep concern' over FBI's Mar-a-Lago raid
Former Vice President Mike Pence defended Donald Trump after FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago.
"I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump," Pence wrote on Twitter.
He continued: "After years where FBI agents were found to be acting on political motivation during our administration, the appearance of continued partisanship by the Justice Department must be addressed."
Trump nominated the FBI Director who led Mar-A-Lago search: 'He will make us all proud'
Christopher Wray, the FBI director who authorized the Mar-a-Lago search was picked for the gig by then-President Donald Trump in 2017.
Trump, at the time, called Wray a man of "impeccable credentials."
"We will have a great FBI director. I think he's doing really well and we're very proud of that choice. I think I've done a great service to the country by choosing him," Trump said in a speech during a 2017 visit to France. "He will make us all proud, and I think someday we'll see that and hopefully someday soon."
Now, Wray is feeling pressure from GOP lawmakers in the wake of Monday's raid.
Republicans are fundraising off the FBI's raid of Trump's 'beautiful Florida home' at Mar-a-Lago
Shortly after the FBI searched former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, Republicans and right-wing groups used the opportunity to boost political fundraising efforts.
A volley of emails from GOP lawmakers, political action groups, and other organizations denounced the FBI's search warrant and slammed the Biden administration.
"Biden's FBI raided President Trump's beautiful Florida home," the Republican National Committee wrote in a fundraising email, adding that "it's hard to believe it but it's true."
Lindsey Graham says 'nobody's above the law' after FBI raid, but added that he's 'suspicious' of the investigation
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham voiced a balanced reaction in response to the FBI's search warrant of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home compared to some of his colleagues.
"We're a nation of laws. Nobody's above the law. That's for darn sure," the Republican told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
The Trump ally said, however, that he's "suspicious" of the Justice Department's investigation and called it "dangerous territory."
Ex-RNC chairman calls Marjorie Taylor Greene a 'shitforbrains' Republican for demanding the FBI be defunded
Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, slammed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia for saying the FBI should be defunded.
After the FBI searched former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, Greene tweeted "DEFUND THE FBI!"
Steele quoted her tweet and said: "Trump failed to return classified docs requested by the National Archives. A federal judge issued a search warrant for probable cause of a crime. This is not some rando move by the FBI so you shitforbrains Republicans calling for 'defunding the FBI' for once try to be less stupid."
Trump family members react to FBI search, calling it 'political persecution'
Members of the Trump family took to Twitter and Fox News to voice their response to the FBI's search of former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
"Biden's out of control DOJ is ripping this country apart with how they're openly targeting their political enemies," Donald Trump Jr. wrote. "This is what you see happen in 3rd World Banana Republics!!!"
Eric Trump told Fox News on Monday night that he was the "guy who got the call," that the FBI was executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, calling it "political persecution."
"Every day, we get another subpoena," he said.
A dozen House Republicans plan to dine with Trump in Bedminster on Tuesday
Former President Donald Trump is hosting a dozen of the most conservative House Republicans at his New Jersey golf club Tuesday night for a dinner meeting.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Banks is reportedly leading the group, set to meet just one day after the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago.
Trump talked about his 'strange day' while calling into a tele-rally for Sarah Palin hours after the FBI raid
After the raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence, former president Donald Trump called into a tele-rally for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — a long-time political ally who is now seeking an open House seat in the state's August 16 special election.
"Another day in paradise. This is a strange day. You probably all read about it," Trump said during a roughly 15-minute call, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
Palin thanked Trump for checking in, despite the news of the raid.
Pelosi says FBI raid on Trump was a major step and that 'no person is above the law'
—TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 9, 2022House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home as a major step, and said that not even a former president is "above the law."
She is the highest-ranking Democrat to comment on the search, which took place on Monday.
Pelosi was interviewed about the Monday raid on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, where she was asked by host Savannah Guthrie if the search struck her as a "pretty serious step" for the Department of Justice to take.
Pelosi replied: "Yes I think it does."
She said later in the interview that Democrats "believe in the rule of law, and that's what our country is about and no person is above the law, not even the president of the United States, not even a former president of the United States."
Michael Cohen was jubilant after the FBI searched Trump's home, says he is finally being 'held accountable'
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, posted a celebratory video after FBI agents conducted a search of the ex-president's property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
As news broke of the raid Cohen posted a selfie of himself grinning on Twitter, and in a video later posted on TikTok spelled out what he thinks the development could mean for his former boss.
"I can promise you only one thing, that whatever information that it is that they took from him, it's information he didn't want exposed," he said.
He said Trump would frequently stash away compromising information in places he thought it was "impervious."
"Let's just all rejoice the fact that this man who has avoided, legitimately avoided, any responsibility for anything is now going to be held accountable," said Cohen. "And it goes right back to the democratic adage 'no one is above the law.'"
Mary Trump says her uncle is panicked by FBI raid and never believed the DOJ would take action
The niece of former President Donald Trump, Mary Trump, said that he is in "panic" after the FBI raided his home in Florida late on Monday.
Trump "may have been told it was coming," but he would not have believed that the FBI would actually do it, Mary Trump told MSNBC on Monday.
She has for years been a vocal critic of her uncle, who has attacked her in turn.
Mary said that the raid would have been "a bit of a shock" to Trump, citing what she, a psychologist, called his "narcissism and sense of entitlement."
"He may have known, been told it was coming, but he could not possibly believe it was coming, because it never has. So I think that's where that panic is coming from."
Kevin McCarthy threatens to investigate DOJ over Trump FBI raid if Republicans retake the House
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened to investigate the DOJ and Attorney General Merrick Garland, using powers the Republican Party would gain if it retakes the House in November.
In a statement Tuesday, McCarthy denounced the search conducted by FBI agents in Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
"I've seen enough. The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization," McCarthy said in a statement.
"When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned."
"Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar," McCarthy said.
A law forbidding presidents from destroying or mishandling records could be why FBI agents searched Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home
The FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort appears to be over material that Trump brought back to Florida after leaving the White House.
The search appears to be over material that Trump brought back to Florida after leaving the White House. That decision spurred a federal investigation, and likely the search on Monday, linked to the Presidential Records Act.
Under the act, presidential records are public property and presidents are obliged to store them properly, and not to destroy them.
These GOP lawmakers say they're pro law-enforcement but voted against giving congressional medals to police. Now they're excoriating the FBI on Trump's behalf.
In June 2021, 21 Republican lawmakers stood in opposition to legislation that would have awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers who risked their lives at the Capitol during the January 6 riot.
On Monday, a number of these GOP lawmakers joined a chorus of voices asking for the FBI to be destroyed and defunded for executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago.
Here's what these lawmakers said about the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago — and how it contrasts with their pro-law enforcement stance.
Republicans rail against the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, calling for the FBI to be destroyed and defunded
The far-right faction of the Republican party is up in arms about the Federal Bureau of Investigation's search of Mar-a-Lago, calling for the agency to be defunded and destroyed.
Trump ally and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was one of the first to tweet her disapproval of the search, posting on Twitter: "DEFUND THE FBI!"
Colorado lawmaker Lauren Boebert tweeted that she wanted the GOP to "set up a Select Committee to investigate the FBI's politically-motivated raid on Mar-a-Lago and on ALL the fraudulent persecution of President Trump from our government."
House Republicans' calls to defund and destroy a law enforcement organization stands in contrast to legislation their party introduced in May 2021 to "back the blue" in opposition to a progressive push to defund the police. As recently as May 2022, top-ranking Republicans like Rep. Elise Stefanik were still pushing the "back the blue" slogan — something that both Greene and Boebert have themselves staunchly supported.
Lawyers received instructions to secure Trump's document room months before the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago
Months before the raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence, former President Donald Trump's lawyers recieved instructions to "secure the room" in which he stored his documents, sources told CNN.
The sources told CNN Trump aides added a padlock to his basement after investigators met with his lawyers at the Florida resort.
Eric Trump says he was the 'guy who got the call' that the FBI was executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago
Trump — speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity — said he was "the guy that got the call this morning."
"I called my father and let him know that it happened," Trump said. "So I was involved in this all day."
After the search, Eric Trump complained to Hannity that he thought there is "no family in American history that has taken more arrows in the back than the Trump family."
"Every day, we get another subpoena," Trump said. "That's what this is about today, to have 30 FBI agents — actually, more than that —descend on Mar-a-Lago give absolutely, you know, no notice. Go through the gate, start ransacking an office, ransacking a closet. You know, they broke into a safe. He didn't even have anything in the safe. I mean, give me a break."
Feds likely obtained 'pulverizing' amount of evidence ahead of searching Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, legal experts say
For months, as new details emerged about the end of the Trump administration, the Justice Department confronted criticism over its slow, cautious approach to investigating the former president.
Again and again, Attorney General Merrick Garland met that criticism with what has almost become his personal mantra: The Justice Department, he says, will follow the "facts and the law."
On Monday, the facts and the law led FBI agents to former President Donald Trump's home.
Trump's 2024 rivals are swooping in to support him, claiming the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago is politically-motivated
Trump's potential rivals for a 2024 ticket quickly came to his defense on Monday night after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely thought of to be one of Trump's key rivals in a 2024 GOP primary, tweeted his support for the former president around an hour after Trump's statement about the FBI search dropped on Truth Social.
"The raid of MAL is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime's political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves," DeSantis tweeted, adding that he thought the US was becoming a "banana republic."
DeSantis was referencing an ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden's finances. Biden has not been charged with a crime and denies any wrongdoing.
Trump was perched in Trump Tower as he decried 'unauthorized raid on my home' at Mar-a-Lago resort: CNN
Former President Donald Trump was in the comfort of his Trump Tower in New York City as federal agents executed a search warrant on his home in Mar-A-Lago, Florida, according to CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins.
The search warrant was carried out in the early hours of Monday morning and was first reported by Florida Politics. Trump confirmed the search warrant in a statement, calling it an "unauthorized raid on my home."
"Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before," his statement said. "After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate."
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home was searched by the FBI. Take a look inside his exclusive resort that the public never sees.
During former President Donald Trump's time in the White House, his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach presidency exclusive resort was often referred to as "the winter White House."
Now, it's just his house.
Following the end of his presidential term, Trump decamped to the ornate resort.
Mar-a-Lago has hosted a number of high-powered visitors over the years, as it has seemingly always served as the Trump family's gilded weekend getaway. Mar-a-Lago has served as a lavish backdrop to host important dignitaries with its elaborately decorated halls. It was built to impress.
Case in point: the property was closed for 57 days amid the coronavirus pandemic after visitors like the press secretary to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Brazil's Chargé d'Affaires Ambassador Nestor Forster tested positive for the coronavirus in March.
Here's a look inside the sprawling complex, which was built in the early 20th century, where the Trumps have hosted opulent holiday parties and watched Super Bowls alongside members of the exclusive private club.
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Trump says FBI accessed his safe during raid at Mar-a-Lago: 'They even broke into my safe!'
Former President Donald Trump said the FBI went through his safe when they executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Monday.
"They even broke into my safe!" Trump said in a Monday statement confirming the search.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home
Federal agents descended on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property in Florida on Monday, Trump announced in a statement.
The former president denounced the raid as politically motivated, although he himself appointed the FBI's director, Christopher Wray.
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