The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s resort home in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said Monday evening.
In a lengthy statement, Trump said his residence was “currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a big group of FBI agents.”
The raid was “unannounced,” Trump said, adding, “They even broke into my protected!”
The search represents a serious escalation of federal law enforcement give attention to Trump, after months of questions on whether Attorney General Merrick Garland was planning to pursue investigations into the previous president.
To acquire a search warrant, federal investigators must show a judge that there may be probable cause to imagine a criminal offense has been committed and that there could also be evidence related to that crime in the placement they’re targeting.
The FBI and the Department of Justice declined to comment.
NBC News and other outlets reported that the search was related to a Justice Department probe into whether laws were broken when 15 boxes of White House records — which included some documents marked as classified — ended up at Mar-a-Lago as a substitute of the National Archives.
“If your own home is searched by the FBI, you are in big trouble,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said Monday evening on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.”
There are multiple energetic probes on the state and federal level related to Trump, his business and his family. The Justice Department is reportedly investigating events resulting in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and delayed confirmation of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College win by Congress.
Trump, who summers at his golf club in Bedminster, Recent Jersey, was not at Mar-a-Lago on the time of the raid, NBC reported.
The previous president departed Trump Tower in Recent York City later Monday evening without responding to questions, in line with NBC.
“He’s as shocked as anybody,” said Lara Trump, the ex-president’s daughter-in-law, who told Fox News that she had spoken with Trump earlier within the evening. She added that “everybody’s been cooperating with the FBI” with regard to the “documents which were in query.”
“They’re terrified he will announce any day that he’s running for president in 2024, and this can be a very convenient approach to just throw a little bit more mud on Donald Trump, as if they have not already done enough,” Lara Trump claimed.
The raid got here hours after Politico reported that attorney John Rowley, a former federal prosecutor, is now representing Trump in talks with the DOJ about executive privilege issues related to the department’s investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Interest in Trump’s handling of official documents while president resurfaced earlier Monday, when Axios published photos that it said corroborated prior reporting that Trump was believed to have flushed papers down the White House toilet.
“The previous president of america didn’t handle classified documents properly,” said Trump’s former press secretary Stephanie Grisham, CNN reported. “I watched him undergo documents, throw some away, rip some up and put some in his pocket.”
Read the complete statement below:
These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a big group of FBI agents. Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of america before. After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not mandatory or appropriate. It’s prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t need me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives within the upcoming Midterm Elections. Such an assault could only happen in broken, Third-World Countries. Sadly, America has now grow to be one among those Countries, corrupt at a level not seen before. They even broke into my protected! What’s the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the house of the forty fifth President of america.
The political persecution of President Donald J. Trump has been happening for years, with the now fully debunked Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so way more, it just never ends. It’s political targeting at the best level!
Hillary Clinton was allowed to delete and acid wash 33,000 E-mails AFTER they were subpoenaed by Congress. Absolutely nothing has happened to carry her accountable. She even took antique furniture, and other items from the White House.
I stood as much as America’s bureaucratic corruption, I restored power to the people, and truly delivered for our Country, like we have now never seen before. The establishment hated it. Now, as they watch my endorsed candidates win big victories, and see my dominance in all polls, they are attempting to stop me, and the Republican Party, over again. The lawlessness, political persecution, and Witch Hunt have to be exposed and stopped.
I’ll proceed to fight for the Great American People!
That is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
