DOJ makes request to unseal search warrant for FBI Mar-a-Lago raid [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department has asked a federal judge to unseal a search warrant used by the FBI to raid former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
• Garland said he “personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter.”
• The DOJ is investigating Trump for the removal of potentially sensitive documents from the White House when he left office.

The Justice Department moved Thursday to unseal the search warrant used by federal agents to seize documents from former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida, with Attorney General Merrick Garland revealing he “personally approved” the extraordinary step to seek the warrant.

In brief remarks from the Justice Department as the government filed its request in federal court, Garland defended the move to have dozens of federal agents descend on Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, saying he “does not take such decisions lightly.”

He noted, however, that he was bound by federal law, department rules and ethical obligations from providing more information about the basis of the search. The search was reportedly related to an investigation into documents Trump took with him when he left the White House.

“Faithful adherence to the role of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor,” he said. “Under my watch, that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing. All Americans are entitled to the even-handed application of the law, to due process of the law and to the presumption of innocence.”

The decision by the Justice Department to ask the court to make the warrant public was made “in light of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial interest in this matter,” Garland said.

He noted that the warrant was authorized by a federal court in South Florida “upon the required finding of probable cause,” and copies of the warrant and a list of property seized by the FBI — required by law to be left with the property owner —  were provided to Trump’s attorneys on the day of the search.

One of Trump’s lawyers, Lindsey Halligan, confirmed to CBS News that she and a second attorney, Christina Bobb, a former television host for the far-right One America News network, were at Mar-a-Lago while the search was conducted.

In a late-night post on his social media site, former President Trump said that he would not oppose the release of the warrant, and is in fact “ENCOURAGING the release” of documents related to what he called “the unAmerican, unwarranted and unnecessary raid and break-in of my home in Palm Beach.”  

Trump and his GOP allies were quick to denounce the unprecedented search, claiming without evidence that it was a politically motivated attack. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy vowed to investigate the Justice Department if Republicans win control of the House in November.

But Garland defended the department from the attacks by Republicans about its credibility and independence.

“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” he said. “The men and women of the FBI and Justice Department are dedicated, patriot public servants. Every day they protect the American people form violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety, while safeguarding our civil rights.”

President Biden is on a vacation to Kiawah Island, South Carolina since Wednesday.

Source: Politico