More than 24 hours after raiding former President Donald Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department and FBI remain tight-lipped about the purpose and justification behind the raid.
Wyn Hornbuckle, the DOJ’s deputy director of public affairs, told the Washington Examiner that “we’ll decline to comment” on the raid of Trump’s Florida home, while a spokesperson for the FBI’s national press office said that ”we have no comment on this matter.” The search warrant and FBI affidavit for the raid remain sealed.
The Monday search by the FBI was reportedly related to boxes of materials Trump brought back with him to his Florida resort after leaving office. The National Archives and Records Administration said some presidential records in 15 boxes obtained from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year included materials marked as classified.
President Joe Biden also didn’t respond to questions from reporters Tuesday when asked what Attorney General Merrick Garland had told him about the raid and if the president had known about it in advance. Biden officials have said the White House was not informed about it beforehand.
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Trump said Monday night the FBI had “raided” his home in Mar-a-Lago, claiming agents even “broke into [his] safe.”
“These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said. “Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before. After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate.”
Trump is facing multiple investigations, including a sprawling Capitol riot inquiry in which the Justice Department is reportedly beefing up its team investigating Jan. 6. Garland has called the Capitol riot investigation “the most wide-ranging investigation and the most important investigation” the Justice Department has ever conducted. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
Congressional Republicans quickly demanded answers from FBI Director Christopher Wray about the raid.
Whether Garland and Wray personally signed off on the Trump raid remains to be seen.
Both Garland and Wray were questioned about fired FBI Director James Comey’s controversial July 2016 press conference on the FBI’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s improper use of a private email server during their respective confirmation hearings, and both stressed generally that they did not think it appropriate for top law enforcement officials to make “derogatory” comments about uncharged persons.
Former Attorney General William Barr had released a February 2020 memo that stated the DOJ could not open investigations into candidates for president or presidential campaigns without written approval by the attorney general, and Garland wrote his own May memo that said DOJ employees “must adhere to” those requirements in Barr’s memo.
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Trump has strongly hinted at running again in 2024 but hasn’t formally announced.
Garland’s memo also said prosecutors “may never select the timing of public statements, investigative steps, criminal charges, or any other action … for the purpose of affecting any election.” Barr’s memo said the DOJ “must exercise particular care regarding sensitive investigations and prosecutions that relate to political candidates, campaigns, and other politically sensitive individuals and organizations — especially in an election year.”
