President Trump announced Monday evening that the FBI had raided his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida; of course, the media was in a flurry over the news. On Tuesday, however, more details have emerged about the raid. Fox News revealed on Tuesday that their sources mentioned a meeting in June at Mar-a-Lago. At this meeting, President Trump’s attorneys were present to meet with investigators. These same sources revealed that President Donald Trump himself was briefly at the meeting as well.
At one time, it was customary for outgoing presidents to take paperwork with them upon leaving office. Some pundits have mentioned that the files President Trump took with him are not classified and would fall into the category of the types of documents utilized to start a presidential library.
President Trump had already delivered fifteen boxes of documents to the National Archives in February this year. Pundits have also mentioned that the raid seems inappropriate based on what appears to be cooperation by President Donald Trump and his attorneys to return the requested materials. After a letter from the Department of Justice prompted Trump to send back the fifteen boxes.
According to sources, however, the investigators felt – after the June meeting – that they “weren’t receiving the same level of cooperation” as they were earlier this year. They say this is why a search warrant was obtained for the August 8 raid at Mar-a-Lago.
Even Eric Trump, President Trump’s son, said that he was surprised about the raid because his father had been cooperating. Eric also pointed out that his father keeps newspaper clippings and other sentimental items. He inferred that some of the documents in his father’s possession could be just that.
Many GOP heavyweights in Washington have come out since early Tuesday to throw their support behind President Trump. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) spoke to the press today saying that the FBI raid makes it even more likely that Trump will run for president in 2024.
Sebastian Gorka, who was once the Deputy Assistant to President Trump, tweeted earlier today that the raid “has made him (Trump) stronger.” Graham echoed a quote from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in saying that “no one is above the law,” but Graham added that he is “suspicious” of the investigation.
Although many pundits and members of the media have said that the Trump legal team should share the details of the search warrant for transparency purposes.
Surprisingly, even embattled former New York governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted that the federal government should be transparent about the probable cause and the subsequent warrant used to raid the home.
Reports are holding that at least 100 FBI agents were present at the raid; thirty were inside going through the documents inside. Trump’s attorneys were not allowed inside during the raid, which most legal scholars agree is a constitutional right.
Many have said that the raid is a horrific example of the “weaponization” of a branch of the federal government against a (now) private citizen. The raiding of a home of a former president is unprecedented in the United States.
Today, both President Joe Biden (who made an appearance to sign paperwork that would allow for Sweden and Finland into NATO) and his Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre both refused to comment on the raid. Jean-Pierre repeatedly told the press “No comment” or that she would not comment on an ongoing investigation.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) and other members of the House Republican Study Committee are set to meet with President Trump on Tuesday evening at Trump’s property in New Jersey.
Fox News has learned that agents from the Evidence Response Team carried out the raid Monday and they notified the Miami Field Office just before the raid took place. Another source told Fox News that a “safe cracker” was with the team, but the safe was empty.
Questions have been raised regarding the magistrate who signed the search warrant as he allegedly defended Jeffrey Epstein at one time.
