Search for documents?
US Attorney General has “personally approved” the raid on Trump’s villa – and wants to publish reasons
STORY: US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the first statement since the raid on Donald Trump’s home that he personally approved the FBI’s investigation into the ex-president. More information will be available in a reasonable time and in appropriate ways, the minister said in a statement on Thursday. According to information from circles involved, the federal officials were looking for clues as to whether Trump illegally took government documents from the White House. In a move unprecedented in US history, the FBI recently searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago luxury home in Florida. Garland’s actions, who as Attorney General in the US is also the country’s top prosecutor, are unusual because law enforcement agencies do not usually talk about ongoing investigations. He justified going before the press with the significant public interest in the case. In addition, Trump himself has already spoken about the search.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland says he “personally approved” the FBI’s raid on ex-President Donald Trump’s Florida mansion. He also wants to publish the search warrant.
Since the raid on former US President Donald Trump’s mansion in Mar-a-Lago, the pressure on the US Department of Justice has grown. Trump has described the search of his property as politically motivated. The 76-year-old right-wing populist accuses President Joe Biden’s Democrats of using the judiciary to prevent him from running for the presidency in 2024. Similar statements have been made by leading representatives of Trump’s Republican Party.
In particular, the pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland has grown to take a stand. An unusual occurrence. Garland himself stressedthat his ministry would rather “speak through his court records and his work.” On Thursday, however, he publicly commented on the raid on Trump’s property.
So far no reasons for the search have been given
“I personally endorsed the decision to apply for a search warrant,” he said Thursday at a late-breaking address in Washington. “The search warrant was granted by a federal court following the required determination of reasonable suspicion.”
There was “reasonable reason” for the historically unique crackdown on a former US president, Garland said.
Garland added, “The Department does not take such a decision lightly. Wherever possible, less intrusive means will be sought as an alternative to a search, and any search will be strictly limited.”
The FBI and Department of Justice have not yet provided a reason for Monday’s search of the Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach. Garland did not do this either on Thursday, citing “ethical obligations” as justification. However, the minister announced that he had asked the responsible judge in Florida to publish the search warrant because Trump had confirmed the raid and there was “great public interest in the matter”. Garland stressed, “All Americans have the right to equitable application of the law, due process, and the presumption of innocence.”
Donald Trump: “Release the documents now!”
Trump has until Friday afternoon 3:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. CEST) to appeal the request. The ex-president has the search warrant, but he has not made it public. The document should explain in more detail why the authorities felt the raid was necessary – and what the FBI agents were looking for.
The ex-president has nothing against publication – even demands it. “Not only will I not oppose the release of documents… I’m taking it a step further by supporting the immediate release of these documents.” Trump goes on to say: “Release the documents now!”
Was the raid about secret documents?
According to media reports, the raid involved documents Trump took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after the end of his presidency in January 2021, although by law he should have turned over all documents to the National Archives.
The “Washington Post” reported on Thursday, citing anonymous sources, that the FBI agents were looking for secret documents on nuclear weapons, among other things. The newspaper did not say whether the nuclear weapons were US or another country. Garland said Thursday he could not comment on the details of the search.
The National Archives confirmed last February that it had seized 15 boxes of documents in Mar-a-Lago that Trump took with him when he left Washington. Apparently, the authorities assume that Trump has other documents in his villa that should actually be stored in the National Archives.