The FBI executed a search warrant Monday at former President Donald Trump’s resort in Florida.
Saying in a statement that his home is “currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump then claimed, “nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.”
President Trump issues a statement after his home was raided by FBI agents. pic.twitter.com/AskCG225o1
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) August 9, 2022
Though the particulars of the search remain murky, the Department of Justice has been investigating boxes of White House records taken from Washington, D.C., to Mar-a-Lago when Trump left office nearly 19 months ago.
Earlier Monday, a New York Times reporter posted photos that allegedly showed multiple instances where Trump attempted to flush documents down a White House toilet.
Under the Presidential Records Act of 1978, documents received and distributed by a presidential administration must be preserved.
Comparing the raid to the Watergate break-in, Trump said America has become a third-world country, “corrupt at a level not seen before.”
Some commentators agreed.
BREAKING: @dbongino goes off on the FBI Raid on Donald Trump:
“This is some Third World BULLSH*T” pic.twitter.com/2e9jryfVOi
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 8, 2022
All I can say is the FBI better have the goods. This better be a slam dunk criminal case, otherwise the Biden Administration and DoJ have crossed a line of no return.
If they got the goods, announce it. Otherwise this search on a former President’s home is a disgrace.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) August 9, 2022
Neither the Department of Justice nor FBI have commented on the sudden search.
“You could have some type of statement made tomorrow to explain why this occurred at this time. There are these lingering questions about how this was handled,” Constitutional attorney Jonathan Turley said Monday night on Fox News. “The country is deeply divided. Frankly, we are living in this age of rage. I would have thought that Attorney General Garland would be more sensitive in how this type of historic raid would occur. To just have a raid out of the blue without an independent investigator, I think is reckless.”
Turley said there is a legitimate expectation of a Tuesday statement from the FBI about the search’s timing.
Trump was in New York City Monday after spending the weekend at his New Jersey golf club.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
