On Monday the FBI executed a search warrant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to the former head of state, who described his home as “under siege, raided and occupied” by federal agents.
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Trump made a news statement addressing the “unannounced” search warrant, posted on the social media platform he launched after being kicked off of Twitter, Truth Social.
“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 large group of FBI agents,” Trump said. “Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.”
“They even broke into my safe,” he added. “What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States.”
Trump didn’t specify what the agents were looking for, but one factor in the search may have been the former president taking months to return over a dozen boxes of material requested by officials from the National Archives, according to reporting by the New York Times.
In June, former assistant to Trump’s chief of staff Cassidy Hutchinson testified before the special U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 siege that Trump wanted to join, and possibly lead, the insurrectionists marching to the U.S. Capitol.
“At this point, it is hard to believe a criminal case will not be pursued. The evidence of multiple crimes seems overwhelming,” said Roland G. Riopelle, who was a Southern District of New York prosecutor from 1992 to 1998.
“I am sure [U.S. Attorney General Merrick] Garland will take his time and be deliberate, but if he does not bring charges against the senior advisers and Trump based on what we have seen so far, the Department of Justice will lose all institutional credibility,” Riopelle added.
When asked about possible charges against Trump last month, Garland stated “no person” was above the law, no matter their current or former political position.
“We have to hold accountable every person who is criminally responsible for trying to overturn a legitimate election, and we must do it in a way filled with integrity and professionalism,” Garland told reporters.
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Source: https://www.law360.com/articles/1519345/trump-says-fbi-raided-his-mar-a-lago-resort
