Sources familiar with the raid of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home have told Fox News that the FBI seized at least five boxes of materials — labeled A-14, A-26, A-43, A-13, and A-33 — that contained materials protected by executive or attorney-client privilege. Fox reported the possible breach of Trump’s legal rights on Saturday.
In addition, the Justice Department, which is led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, reportedly strenuously objected to a request by Trump’s attorneys that an independent special master be appointed to review the records in question.
Trump’s attorneys — and the former president himself — are demanding that the privileged documents be returned immediately.
A very broad search warrant gave the FBI basically carte blanche to grab every piece of paper on the premises. The FBI was allowed to seize “all physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed.”
The “Receipt for Property” attached to the warrant lists several boxes described as “classified,” “secret,” and “top secret” documents. Trump claims that he declassified those documents prior to leaving office.
On Friday, Trump representative John Solomon reported that the former president “had a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken into the residence were deemed to be declassified.”
“The power to classify and declassify documents rests solely with the President of the United States. The idea that some paper-pushing bureaucrat, with classification authority delegated BY THE PRESIDENT, needs to approve of declassification is absurd,” the statement read.
According to Just the News, at least two former Trump aides confirmed the statement’s account.
Earlier this year, Trump and his attorneys handed over 15 boxes of material at the request of the National Archives.
Predictably, Trump was outraged by the Fox report and made his feelings known on Truth Social, the former president’s social media platform.
“Oh great! It has just been learned that the FBI, in its now famous raid of Mar-a-Lago, took boxes of privileged ‘attorney-client’ material, and also ‘executive’ privileged material, which they knowingly should not have taken,” Trump posted.
“By copy of this TRUTH, I respectfully request that these documents be immediately returned to the location from which they were taken,” the former president demanded.
A “truth” is what a post is called on Truth Social — the equivalent of a tweet on Twitter.
In a subsequent truth, Trump decried the apparently politically biased Justice Department and FBI.
“Just left a large gathering of people and all they could talk about was the complete and total stranglehold that the Radical Left Democrats have over the DOJ & FBI. It shouldn’t be that way,” the former president wrote. “Nobody goes after BLM, ANTIFA, or the rest, despite murder, beatings, and burning down large sections of cities, a very unfair double standard. They definitely won’t attack the home of a former Democrat President, nor should they. It is all so out of control, great simmering anger!”
Trump went on to vent: “America has never suffered this kind of ABUSE in Law Enforcement! For the FBI to RAID the home of the 45 President of the United States, or any President for that matter, is totally unheard of and unthinkable.”
In contravention of what the mainstream media is referring to as a “legal search” and “not a raid,” Trump called the FBI’s actions of last week a “break in.”
“This Break In was a sneak attack on democracy (our Republic!), and was both unannounced and done at a time when the President was not even present. It was for political, not legal reasons, and our entire Country is angry, hurt, and greatly embarrassed by it. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced articles of impeachment against Attorney General Garland for his role in the matter. Garland has admitted that he personally approved the raid.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden remains on vacation in South Carolina, unwilling (or unable) to answer questions about the Trump raid. His son Hunter, who is, supposedly, the subject of another FBI investigation, has reportedly joined the president on Kiawah Island. By the FBI’s new standard, while Hunter is away from his home, isn’t that a perfect time to conduct a “legal search” of his property?
