OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
The Florida judge who approved the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s home represented Jeffrey Epstein’s employees in court, reports have revealed.
Bruce Reinhart represented a number of employees working for Epstein before he sanctioned yesterday’s ‘unannounced’ search of Trump’s Mar a Lago home.
Almost a decade ago, he left the local US Attorney’s office to assist Epstein’s staff members, including his pilots and scheduler.
The magistrate judge had been appointed four years prior following a decade in the private sector with Epstein’s staff.
It was he who helped Nadia Marcinkova, who Epstein called “his Yugoslavian sex slave”, scheduler Sarah Kellen, and the pedophile’s pilots.
In 2008, he left his job at the US Attorney’s Office of South Florida and began working with Epstein’s employees on Jan. 1.
It states in his official biography that he ‘managed a docket that covered the full spectrum of federal crimes, including narcotics, violent crimes, public corruption, financial frauds, child pornography and immigration’.
A FBI investigation into whether Trump took classified records from the White House to his Florida mansion led to the search of Trump’s estate.
In a lengthy statement, the former president said the Feds had broken into a safe at his home to search for the documents.
A total of 15 boxes of classified information were seized by the agents, but the agents did not elaborate on what they contained.
It was Reinhart who approved the FBI warrant that enabled agents to search the Florida mansion yesterday morning, sources told the New York Post.
This year, boxes of White House records were found at Mar-a-Lago, leading to a search of Trump’s house. It intensifies the investigation into how the classified documents ended up there.
Trump faces possible legal repercussions in light of a separate grand jury investigation into overturning the election results.
The raid is being characterized by Trump and his allies as a weaponized criminal justice system and a Democratic effort to disqualify him from running for president in 2024.
Trump posted on Truth Social: ‘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.’
‘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.’
In response to a question about whether AG Merrick Garland personally authorized the search, Justice Department spokesman Dena Iverson declined comment.
According to the Justice Department, the search is being conducted as a result of the potential mishandling of classified information. However, Trump did not elaborate on the basis for the search.
It follows the announcement earlier this year that the National Archives and Records Administration had received from Mar-a-Lago 15 boxes with White House records, including classified records.
It was the National Archives’ opinion that Trump should have turned over the material upon leaving office, and it had requested an investigation by the Justice Department.
Classified records and sensitive government documents are governed by multiple federal laws, including statutes that make removing and retaining such records a crime.
The government must first demonstrate to a judge that they have probable cause that a crime has occurred before they can obtain a search warrant. A search warrant does not indicate criminal charges are imminent or even expected.
Several people familiar with the case said the search occurred early Monday and was associated with the investigation into records.
Also, agents looked for any classified documents or presidential records that Trump may have at his estate.
In the past, Trump has claimed that presidential records were turned over ‘in an ordinary and routine process.’
In a Fox News interview on Monday night, Eric Trump said he had spent the day with his father and the search was conducted because ‘the National Archives wanted to corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession’.
When asked how the boxes got to Mar-a-Lago, Eric replied they were among the items moved out of the White House on Inauguration Day.
According to him: ‘My father always kept press clippings. He had boxes, when he moved out of the White House.’
Just before 8 p.m., Trump stepped out of Trump Tower in New York City and waved to curious passersby.
According to him, the search was a ‘weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don´t want me to run for President in 2024’.
Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, called the search ‘outrageous’ and said it shows how much conservatives need to get out and vote.
According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is considering running for president in 2024, it was a further step in the weaponization of federal agencies.
“The raid of MAL is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves. Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.”
The raid of MAL is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves. Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) August 9, 2022
Source: The Republic Brief