Former President Donald Trump’s crusade sought to garner sympathy and donations for his 2024 presidential bid by suggesting that FBI agents who raided his Mar-a-Lago property were willing to kill him, exaggerating popular language used in warrant search warrants despite investigators. They are reportedly taking steps to prevent clashes in the August 2022 raid.
Trump’s campaign sent out a fundraising email on Tuesday claiming that “Joe Biden was locked up and loaded, capable of getting me out and putting my family in danger” when FBI agents raided his property in Palm Beach, while Trump also claimed on Truth Social that “Joe Biden’s twisted Department of Justice, its illegal and unconstitutional raid on Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY FORCE.
The allegations stem from search warrants related to the use of deadly force that were included in a move to dismiss the classified documents case filed through Trump’s lawyers and unsealed Tuesday.
The FBI’s order included a “policy statement” on the use of deadly force that said “Justice Department law enforcement officials would possibly use deadly force when necessary,” according to the document, which also said agents planned to bring “standard weapons. “. . . ammunition. . . handcuffs” and bolt cutters, but were told to wear civilian clothes and “keep law enforcement devices hidden. “
The FBI questioned Trump’s interpretation of the “fatal force” orders in that the company “followed popular protocol” consistent with “everyone seeking warrants,” which come with a policy “limiting the use of fatal force,” noting that “no one ordered further action to be taken and there was no deviation from the popular in this case. “
Despite Trump’s claims, he was in New York City in the August 2022 raid, a circumstance that the FBI intentionally planned for, among other measures to de-escalate a potential confrontation, adding caution to Secret Service agents before his arrival and dressed in “unmarked polo shirts or collared shirts,” The Washington Post previously reported, citing four anonymous sources close to the deliberations.
The Justice Department also said it gave Trump several opportunities to voluntarily turn over the documents, but allegedly took steps to dissuade the firm from retrieving them, adding that it suggested to his lawyers that they tell the Justice Department that he did not have classified documents in his possession. conspiracy with his co-defendants, his personal assistant Walt Nauta and asset manager Carlos DeOliveira, to move boxes of documents around the assets and delete security footage.
“Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?Trump reportedly told one of his lawyers after the Justice Department issued a subpoena for any classified documents he is accused of keeping on his property after leaving office, according to the June indictment against him.
Court documents released Tuesday also contain revelations that Trump’s lawyers discovered more documents marked as Trump’s property months after the FBI’s search, U. S. District Judge Beryl Howell wrote in a 2023 report finding that prosecutors can also simply question Trump’s former lawyer. Evan Corcoran, as a component of the research. A “nearly empty folder marked ‘Classified Summary of the Night'” found in Trump’s room at Mar-a-Lago, according to Howell, who wrote that other documents were reportedly discovered at an off-site workplace and warehouse. The ruling issued the opinion in reaction to Trump’s request to dismiss the case on the grounds that the Justice Department had engaged in “prosecutorial misconduct” by challenging its attorney-client privilege by questioning Corcoran about Trump’s alleged efforts. “In particular, no apology is offered for how the former president may have lost classified documents found in his own room at Mar-a-Lago,” Howell wrote.
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s workplace charged Trump with 40 counts, adding 32 violations of the Espionage Act, in two separate indictments filed in June of last year. The Espionage Act accounts relate to individual documents that Trump is accused of retaining in violation of the law prohibiting the planned withholding of national defense information. Prosecutors say investigators uncovered documents that risked revealing national security secrets, including foreign countries’ nuclear capabilities, U. S. nuclear weapons and U. S. spy operations, during the 2022 raid. Boxes containing classified documents were allegedly stored in unsecured locations (in a ballroom and in bathrooms, among others) at Mar-a-Lago, which hosted tens of thousands of visitors on more than a hundred occasions throughout the era when the The documents were in Trump’s inauguration. Matrix according to prosecutors. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed that the Justice Department brought the case at Biden’s request to thwart his re-election chances. Biden’s leadership has continually said he has no role in the matter, and Smith was appointed to handle the matter regardless of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s workplace.
U. S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to hold a hearing Wednesday on Trump’s request to dismiss the case. Cannon has indefinitely postponed the May 20 trial date, most likely after the November election, raising unresolved issues as well as Trump’s ongoing secret trial in Manhattan.
Other classified documents discovered at Mar-A-Lago, added in Trump’s room, after an FBI search, file (Forbes)
Judge postpones Trump’s classified case indefinitely (Forbes)
What crimes did Trump charge in the federal documents case?Here’s What You Need to Know as Justice Department Files New Charges (Forbes)
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