Mar-a-Lago raid live updates: Trump’s search warrant could be a grab-bag of potential federal charges, a longtime DOJ prosecutor predicts

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 2017 Darren 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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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 Ohio Kevin 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 Georgia Drew 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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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, 2022 MSNBC

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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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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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 was perched in Trump Tower as he decried ‘unauthorized raid on my home’ at Mar-a-Lago resort: CNN

Trump Tower in Manhattan Spencer 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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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

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 states John 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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