F.B.I. Raids Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

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The FBI has searched the Mar-a-Lago home of Donald Trump, the former president said in a statement.

“They even broke into my safe,” Trump said on Monday in a lengthy statement describing it as a “raid.”

It was not immediately clear why the agents were present at Mar-a-Lago, but he said it was “under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.”

“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” he said.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s offices in Washington and for the Southern District of Florida did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Federal investigators are also pursuing evidence that Trump’s administration mishandled presidential records and even removed some boxes to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

An executed search warrant would require the signoff of a federal judge, who would issue the warrant based upon evidence of a potential crime.

This could be serious...

Many Republicans want to bring him down. They are sick and tired of his act.

It was also revealed.....that an ex Joint-Chiefs-of Staff Chief wrote a resignation letter to Trump (alas, not delivered to him), saying that Trump was ruining the country's reputation abroad, and accusing him of having dictatorial motives.

Former President Donald Trump said Monday that the FBI "raided" his Florida home at Mar-a-Lago and even cracked his safe, with a source familiar telling NBC News that the search was tied to classified information Trump allegedly took with him from the White House to his Palm Beach resort in January 2021.

Trump also claimed in a written statement that the search — unprecedented in American history — was politically motivated, though he did not provide specifics.

In mid-January, the National Archives “arranged for the transport from Mar-a-Lago to the National Archives of 15 boxes that contained Presidential records, following discussions with President Trump’s representatives in 2021,” the agency said in a statement.

When the National Archives discovered the missing documents, it demanded them of the former president, who eventually turned over 15 boxes of the documents in February.

That same month, the National Archives and Records Administration asked the Justice Department to examine whether Trump’s handling of White House records violated federal law, a story first reported by The Washington Post and subsequently confirmed by NBC News sources.

Just hours before agents searched Trump's residence on Monday, the FBI notified the Secret Service about the bureau’s plans to execute the warrant, according to a Secret Service official. The Secret Service facilitated access to the property, the official said, but did not participate in any aspect of the search.

It was unclear how long the FBI remained at Trump’s home.

The New York Times first reported the focus on the National Archives.

A growing number of Republicans are erupting over news of an FBI raid of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, accusing federal agents of unfairly targeting the ex-president for political purposes, with some suggesting that the law enforcement agency be “defunded.”

Many Republicans also echoed sentiments from Trump’s Monday statement in which he said his home had been raided by the FBI and that agents had opened a safe belonging to him.

“In third world countries and banana republics they prosecute the former presidents/leaders and their staff,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted. “Right now, we look beneath them. We are in a race to the bottom.”

Florida lawmakers also weighed in, mostly notably Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is increasingly seen as a potential GOP presidential candidate who could challenge Trump in 2024 should the former president opt for another run.

“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,” wrote DeSantis. “Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.”

Using government power to persecute political opponents is something we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships,” wrote Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). “But never before in America.”

Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who chaired the House Oversight and Reform Committee during the FBI’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server, noted that the bureau never raided Clinton’s home in that probe.

He also called for the firing of FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was nominated by Trump in 2017.

Like DeSantis, some GOP lawmakers invoked President Biden’s son Hunter Biden, who is under federal investigation by the Justice Department into his worldwide business dealings.

“The FBI just raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago,” tweeted Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). “Is this equal application of the law? Or is this a political hit job? #HillaryClinton #WheresHunter”

Other Republicans tied the raid to President Biden himself. The White House said Monday it “did not have notice of the reported action.”

Hunter Biden didn’t seek to overturn a legitimately-conducted election. THAT is the ultimate banana-republic move.