Status: 08/10/2022 04:49 a.m
The FBI searched former US President Trump’s Florida home on Monday. This was an extraordinary event and many questions are still unanswered. What we know – and what we don’t.
More than 24 hours after the search of Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the public is still speculating as to why the FBI took this extraordinary, and some say drastic, step.
“So what do we think, what were you after?” Not only the moderator of the public broadcaster PBS asks himself.
Raid after illegally taken documents at Trump estate
Torben Börgers, ARD Washington, daily topics 10:15 p.m., August 9, 2022
FBI and Justice Department are silent
Nobody has answered the question so far. Because those who could, namely the FBI and the US Department of Justice, remain silent – much to the annoyance of many politicians. Asa Hutchinson is the Republican governor of the US state of Arkansas, on PBS he calls for clarification.
You have to explain what’s going on here. And urgently. Democrats and Republicans await comment from the Justice Department explaining exactly what is happening here.
What is known so far and is running up and down in the US media: the FBI took 12 boxes from Trump’s estate on Monday, which has now been confirmed by a Trump lawyer. Inside are likely documents from his tenure as President. These may include confidential documents.
What’s in the files?
Actually, he shouldn’t have any more documents from his time as president. Because everything a president has collected in written documents during his presidency must be handed over to the national archives at the end of his term of office.
This had already received 15 boxes from Trump at the beginning of the year, the rest apparently not. So the FBI just retrieved what belongs to the National Archives? Or is it about more? Many are wondering if the boxes might contain documents that could implicate Trump in the investigation into the storming of the Capitol on January 6 last year.
The Democrat Zoe Lofgren sits on the US Congress investigative committee that is investigating the events on January 6th. On the CNN broadcaster, she dismissed the question as to whether her committee had passed on information about possible secret documents relating to January 6 to the Department of Justice.
I don’t think we have a lot of information on confidential documents. Our focus is on the events leading up to January 6th and what followed. If he stole documents, that’s not our committee’s purview. I think these are parallel investigations.
Does the raid hurt Trump’s ambitions?
The second big question on everyone’s mind in the US: Will the FBI raid have any impact on Trump’s ambitions to be president again in 2024?
Probably yes, it could even speed up Trump’s announcement of his candidacy, writes Arkansa governor, Republican Asa Hutchinson:
If the Justice Department doesn’t explain itself, then fuel the fire of those who say he’s being followed, he’s being harassed, and they’ll defend him. And that could very well motivate him to line up again.
Trump could be banned from public office
Trump’s son Eric and other Republicans have also hinted that it would take a President Trump to restore order to the country, pointing to a possible candidacy. However, if Trump were to have withheld truly confidential documents, then he would have violated applicable US law and could be charged – and banned from any public office in the US.
But as long as the Justice Department or the FBI don’t comment, and the big questions remain unanswered, it’s all pure speculation.
Reactions to Dream Raid: FBI raids Mar-a-Lago Club
Claudia Sarre, ARD Washington, 08/09/2022 5:24 p.m