Mar-a-Lago Raid: Trumpers see investigations as ‘badge of honor’, ‘point of pride’, says NY Times guest essay

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A New York Times guest essay from Georgetown Law professor Caroline Fredrickson claimed that former President Donald Trump and his allies are playing up outrage over the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago because they relish the opportunity to look like victims at the hands of law enforcement.

Regardless of the FBI raid on Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida estate constituting the first time a former president has been forcibly searched by the feds – a move considered “dangerous” and “daring” by even a CNN legal analyst – Fredrickson wrote that Trump Republicans welcome the drama, because it’s a “point of pride” for them.

The author claimed that many in the GOP establishment are supporting Trump’s outrage over the raid, “not necessarily because they truly believe him to be innocent but because being seen to be persecuted by federal officers is now a badge of honor in the Republican Party.”

Rather than respect the legal process that “sanctioned the search” or express concern that the former president may have broken the law, Fredrickson wrote, “Mr. Trump’s defenders instead attacked law enforcement officials.”

CNN ANALYST: FBI MAR-A-LAGO RAID ‘DANGEROUS’ & ‘NOT WARRANTED’ IF ONLY ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is seen in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 8, 2021. REUTERS/Marco Bello

She mentioned how Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., vowed to go after “Department of Justice officials” if the GOP “takes back the House,” claiming that the DOJ has reached “an intolerable state of weaponized politicization.”

She also noted how Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., described the raid as “another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents.”

Fredrickson then argued that Trump views the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago, and the January 6 investigations into his 2020 election conduct, as “a point of pride — a sign that he and his followers are waging a righteous battle against a biased, corrupt law enforcement regime,” on which he has already “capitalized.”

“Mr. Trump has already capitalized, sending a text to his supporters, linking to his donation page: ‘The Radical Left is corrupt. Return the power to the people! Will you fight with me? Donate,’” she reported.

Fredrickson noted that this same “attitude doesn’t stop with Mr. Trump,” claiming that investigations into GOP officials for “tampering with election equipment” and other similar offenses do not “seem to give pause to Republican leadership or its committed base.” The opposite is now happening.

Dozens of Trump supporters gather outside Mar-a-Lago to protest the FBI’s raid. (Alon Skuy/Fox News Digital)

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“To the contrary, brazen lawbreaking is now a political asset for G.O.P. candidates and operatives. Several people involved in Jan. 6 are running for office and winning G.O.P. primaries — with Mr. Trump’s blessing — flaunting their participation in the violent putsch,” Fredrickson reported.

The author noted the “election deniers” who “prevailed in several G.O.P. primaries,” like “former news anchor, Kari Lake, who won the Republican nomination for governor” in Arizona. As Fredrickson put it, Lake “told reporters that there was fraud even in that race and told her supporters that they ‘rose up and voted like their lives depended on it.’”

The author lamented that this attitude will ultimately result in compelling Trump to “embrace” any charges he receives from a federal investigation, “run for president on them and for that reason gain votes in the Republican primary.”

“This is the inevitable result of the Republican Party being under the control of a man who prides himself on his impunity,” Fredrickson claimed. 

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Aerial footage of police stationed outside of Mar-a-Lago during FBI raid (WFOR)

Gabriel Hays is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @gabrieljhays.