OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
As the details unfold in the story of the search of the Trump family home at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Monday, more is coming to light.
Explanations unfold in retrograde as answers are demanded.
Initially, the search warrant used in the raid was sealed.
The decision on whether to unseal the records lies with Judge Reinhart, the same judge who signed off on the search warrant.
The judge in the case, Bruce Reinhart, told the federal government to respond to requests to unseal it.
The Justice Department had until Friday afternoon to tell the judge whether Trump’s lawyers agree or disagree with the proposal to make it public.
The former President posted and expressed his desire make the warrant public.
On Thursday Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Department of Justice filed a motion to unseal a warrant and related documents.
The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” said a motion filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday.
On Friday, the warrant was unsealed.
According to Intelligencer, the warrant addresses alleged potential violations of three laws:
“The search was related to potential violations of three laws, including the Espionage Act: One of the laws concerns the ‘concealment, removal, or mutilation’ of classified materials, the second concerns ‘gathering, transmitting or losing’ materials, and a third pertains to obstructing an investigation into these matters.
The Espionage Act, which governs classified information whose release could harm national security, has been used to prosecute both foreign spies and domestic leakers – from Daniel Ellsberg to Reality Winner.
The warrant, which does not list Trump by name, does not accuse him or any other individual broke [of breaking] the law.”
The article continues with the receipt of property which lists dozens of entries of what the FBI took from the Trump home in an ambiguous manner, with 11 of the materials being classified:
“One entry contains ‘various classified /TS/SCI documents’ which by law must be kept in a secure government facility akin to a vault.”
The Washington Post reported that ” agents believed some of the documents they went to look for involved nuclear weapons, but this was before the search, and it ins not known if such documents were recovered.”
Former President Trump posted yesterday, “Number one, it was all declassified. Number two, they didn’t need to “seize” anything. They could have had it anytime they wanted without playing politics and breaking into Mar-a Lago. It was in secured storage, with an additional lock put on as per their request.”
Both Trump and his attorney Christina Bobb have questioned the actions and the protocols of the searchers.
Both refuted reported claims that the FBI was searching for nuclear documents at Mar-a-Lago, with Trump writing on Truth Social that the “issue is a hoax.”
Bobb was called by a high level aide and drove to the Trump home as the search ensued.
Bobb said she was on the premises during the raid but she and other members of Trump’s team were barred from viewing the agents’ activity.
“Why wouldn’t the FBI allow the inspection of areas at Mar-a-Lago with our lawyers, or others, present,” Trump asked in his post.
“I was stuck in the parking lot there to collect paper and answer questions,” Bobb added. “But they were able to see the whole thing. So, they actually have a better idea of what took place inside.”
“I think the folks in New York—Speaking with Fox News Thursday, Bobb said that she “actually couldn’t accompany” the FBI agents to “see what they were opening” inside Mar-a-Lago.
Earlier this week, meanwhile, Trump’s son Eric told the Daily Mail that agents told Mar-a-Lago staff to turn off security cameras, but they didn’t.
On Thursday it was revealed that the Trump family watched what could be seen of the FBI raid via the security cameras operating on CCTV at that time.
Trump and his family were able to see what was broadcast and also recorded by the cameras.
Bobb related, “We know of the stories because CCTV [and] cameras were on so those in New York watching were aware, I have to take their word for it [and] know the president put the story out,” she said
President Trump and his family—they probably had a better view than I did. Because they had the CCTV, they were able to watch,” Bobb told “Real America’s Voice” on Thursday.
It’s not known when or if Trump’s team will release the FBI search video to the public.
Another Trump lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, told CBS News on Thursday that the former commander-in-chief is considering releasing the video and photos of the search, Epoch Times reported.
On Monday Trump released a video regarding the raid, stating, “…It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024.”
Source: The Republic Brief