Mar-a-Lago raid live updates: The FBI raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago serves as a reminder of a ‘lawless president,’ Democratic strategist says
The FBI #TheFBI
Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after making a video call to the troops stationed worldwide at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach Florida, on December 24, 2019.NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images
The FBI searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Monday, sparking a firestorm.
Sources told the Post the FBI searched as officials believed Trump withheld documents.
Republican lawmakers and right-wing organizations are now using the search to fundraise.
FBI searched Mar-a-Lago because officials suspected Trump never gave back some material sought by the National Archives: report
Police presence outside Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida.AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
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.
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Chris Christie said the FBI searching Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and safe was ‘fair game’
A file photo showing Donald Trump (left) and Chris Christie.LM Otero/AP
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.
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An author who helped Donald Trump ghostwrite his book speculates Trump may have taken White House documents to one day sell as presidential memorabilia
A man who helped Donald Trump write his book in the 90s speculates that Trump may have taken documents from the White House to one day sell as collectors’ items.Mario Tama/Getty Images
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.
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“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.”
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A dozen House Republicans rallied around Trump a day after the Mar-a-Lago FBI raid, encouraging him to run for POTUS in 2024.
Indiana 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:
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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
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Hillary Clinton are both hawking merch related to the FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.Marjorie Taylor Greene on Telegram; Hillary Clinton Onward Together PAC
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.
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The Mar-a-Lago FBI raid serves as a reminder of a ‘lawless president,’ a Democratic strategist says
People walking outside Mar-a-Lago in March 2017Darren Samuelsohn
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.”
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FBI seizes cell phone of Trump ally and Pennsylvania Republican Scott Perry, lawmaker claims
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., takes a question from a reporter at a news conference held by the House Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Aug. 23, 2021.AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
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.
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Trump supporters protest FBI raid on a bridge outside Mar-a-Lago: ‘It is us against the government’
Trump supporters gather on Monday on a bridge leading to Mar-a-Lago.Kimberly Leonard/Insider
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.
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Here’s what it’s like to traverse the members-only grounds of Mar-a-Lago, from a reporter who’s been there
Insider DC bureau chief Darren Samuelsohn in March 2017 at Mar-a-Lago, while working as a White House reporter for Politico. Also pictured is the backyard of Donald Trump’s private club.Darren Samuelsohn
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.
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Mitch McConnell declined to comment on the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago as conservatives increasingly call out his silence
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
With former President Donald Trump fuming over an FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago residence, the American people have yet to receive comment from the most powerful elected Republican in Washington: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell has yet to issue a statement on Monday’s raid, and he dodged a question about it at a Tuesday press conference related to flooding in Eastern Kentucky.
“I’m here today to talk about the flood and the recovery from the flood,” he said when asked for his reaction to the raid.
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What’s in Trump’s search warrant? A grab-bag of potential federal charges, a longtime DOJ prosecutor predicted
Mar-a-Lago one day after the FBI raid.Kimberly Leonard/Insider
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.
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Republicans revive false claim that DOJ called parents ‘terrorists’ after Mar-a-Lago raid
Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from OhioKevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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.
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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.
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Pence defends Trump and expresses ‘deep concern’ over FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid
Then-President Donald Trump shakes then-Vice President Mike Pence’s hand after a 2019 rally.Zach Gibson/Getty Images
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.”
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Trump nominated the FBI Director who led Mar-A-Lago search: ‘He will make us all proud’
Former President Donald Trump nominated Christoper Wray for FBI Director in 2017.Brandon Bell/Getty Images, MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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.
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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.”
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Lindsey Graham says ‘nobody’s above the law’ after FBI raid, but added that he’s ‘suspicious’ of the investigation
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).Ting Shen – Pool/Getty Images
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.”
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Ex-RNC chairman calls Marjorie Taylor Greene a ‘shitforbrains’ Republican for demanding the FBI be defunded
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from GeorgiaDrew Angerer/Getty Images
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.”
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Trump family members react to FBI search, calling it ‘political persecution’
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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.
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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.
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Trump talked about his ‘strange day’ while calling into a tele-rally for Sarah Palin hours after the FBI raid
Former President Donald Trump campaigns for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at a rally in Anchorage, Alaska on July 9, 2022.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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.
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Pelosi says FBI raid on Trump was a major step and that ‘no person is above the law’
House 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.”
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Michael Cohen was jubilant after the FBI searched Trump’s home, says he is finally being ‘held accountable’
Michael Cohen in July 2018 in New York City.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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.'”
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Mary Trump says her uncle is panicked by FBI raid and never believed the DOJ would take action
Mary Trump speaking on MSNBC on August 8, 2022MSNBC
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.”
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Kevin McCarthy threatens to investigate DOJ over Trump FBI raid if Republicans retake the House
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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.
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A law forbidding presidents from destroying or mishandling records could be why FBI agents searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home
Police direct traffic outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida.AP Photo/Terry Renna
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.
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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.
Former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene at the LIV Golf Invitational on July 30, 2022.Jared C. Tilton/LIV Golf via Getty Images
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.
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Republicans rail against the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, calling for the FBI to be destroyed and defunded
Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona were among several Republican lawmakers calling for the FBI to be destroyed or defunded.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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.
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Lawyers received instructions to secure Trump’s document room months before the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago
Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally on April 2, 2022, near Washington, Michigan.Scott Olson/Getty Images
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.
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Eric Trump says he was the ‘guy who got the call’ that the FBI was executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago
Eric Trump said on Monday night that he was the one who informed his father Mar-a-Lago was being searched.Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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.”
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Feds likely obtained ‘pulverizing’ amount of evidence ahead of searching Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, legal experts say
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a “Save America” rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on August 5, 2022.AP Photo/Morry Gash
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.
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Trump’s 2024 rivals are swooping in to support him, claiming the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago is politically-motivated
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — largely thought of to be one of Trump’s key rivals for the GOP presidential ticket in 2024 — tweeted in support of the former president.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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.
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Trump supporters protest the execution of a search warrant against the former president outside Mar-a-Lago and FBI headquarters
Supporters of former President Donald Trump hold flags in front of his home at Mar-A-Lago on August 8, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. The FBI raided the home to retrieve classified White House documents.Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images
After the FBI executed a search warrant on Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, supporters of the former president gathered outside the Florida resort and FBI headquarters to protest.
Though it was initially unclear which of several pending investigations into the former president the warrant was related to, ABC News cited sources saying it was in connection to 15 boxes of potentially classified documents Trump took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency.
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Trump was perched in Trump Tower as he decried ‘unauthorized raid on my home’ at Mar-a-Lago resort: CNN
Trump Tower in ManhattanSpencer Platt / Getty Images
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.”
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The Biden White House was unaware that the FBI was going to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home until the former president announced it on social media
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 22, 2018.Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images
The Biden White House was unaware that the FBI was going to search former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, White House officials said.
The former president accused the bureau of prosecutorial misconduct in a statement and suggested the search was part of a politically motivated plot to stop him from running for president in 2024.
A senior White House official told CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe that the Biden administration wasn’t made aware of the search warrant until Trump released his statement about it.
“No advance knowledge,” the official said. “Some learned from old media, some from social media.”
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Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was searched by the FBI. Take a look inside his exclusive resort that the public never sees.
Donald Trump outside the entrance of Mar-a-Lago on December 21, 2016.Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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.Read More
Trump says FBI accessed his safe during raid at Mar-a-Lago: ‘They even broke into my safe!’
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole on August 06, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. CPAC began in 1974, and is a conference that brings together and hosts conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders in discussing current events and future political agendas.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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.
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The FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home
Republican Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump speaks to the media at the Mar-A-Lago Club on March 1, 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump held the press conference after the closing of Super Tuesday polls in a dozen statesJohn Moore/Getty Images
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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