WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday that he "personally endorsed the decision to seek a search warrant" against former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Resort , The Department of Justice filed a motion to release the warrant earlier in the day.
Speaking about his decision in a brief press conference, Garland said the department "does not take such actions lightly" and pursued "non-intrusive" means to retrieve materials first. Garland said it was Trump's "right" to reveal Monday's search of his property by the FBI, and that all Americans are entitled to a presumption of innocence.
Garland added that the Department of Justice is seeking to release property receipts detailing what agents found on Trump property.
Trump received a federal grand jury subpoena over classified documents the government believed he held after the president left the White House this spring, according to circumstances. This was confirmed by a knowledgeable source.
Garland's agreement to "non-intrusive" means to retrieve the documents appears to be a reference to the subpoena, and Trump turned over all the materials the Justice Department asked for.
Mr Trump defended himself in a statement posted on his social media platforms following Garland's remarks, saying his lawyers " He claimed that he is cooperating “fully” and that he has developed a “very good relationship” with Justice Department officials.
"If we had it, the government could have gotten whatever they wanted," he wrote. Nonetheless, Mar-a-Lago was raided by so many agents and even 'safecrackers' that they were ahead of themselves. Solomon first reported on Thursday afternoon that a subpoena was sent to Trump months before the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago's home in Florida on Monday.
The subpoena was issued by Trump's legal team at a previously reported meeting in June, according to a source familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 3.
Federal officials who traveled to Marlago for a meeting in June stated that the subpoena "recovered the requested documents." I came down to do it," said a source familiar with the matter, adding: The meeting was arranged with the understanding of Trump and his team that submission of the relevant documents on that date would fulfill the subpoena.
Citing "two sources briefed about classified documents" sought in the subpoena, The New York Times reported Thursday that the uncollected material was It was reportedly so important that federal officials were prompted to search for Mar-a-Lago. Sensitive to national security.
A source familiar with the matter told NBC News that Trump's lawyers were last contacted by the Justice Department shortly after the June meeting, before the FBI investigated, and federal officials asked for additional security at the storage facility where the documents are kept. Trump's team has added his second lock to the basement storage area, according to sources.
In Thursday's remarks, Garland also defended the Justice Department against "baseless" attacks by Trump and his supporters. I will not sit on the sidelines when they are unjustly attacked," he said. "While protecting our civil rights, they protect Americans every day from violent crime, terrorism, and other threats." In a statement, he attacked the FBI in a post on Truth Social.
"Everyone was told to leave the facility. They wanted no witnesses to what they were doing and wanted to be alone. ’ or hopefully not,” he wrote. "Why did they insist that we all go out so no one could see?"
Former president friend and CEO of Newsmax One Chris Rudy said the two had not discussed the investigation, but "I think he's pretty shocked." Rudy echoed Trump's attack on the FBI, calling the search a "publicity stunt" and portraying the Justice Department as being politicized. In response to a flurry of criticism from Justice Department officials and alumni who blamed both Garland's silence amidst the unprecedented search for . Continued. Planted evidence.
A former Department of Justice official told his NBC News: But dozens of him have to explain what's going on when they're talking about sending FBI agents into the bedroom of the former US president and looking into his drawers.
Otherwise, this person added, "Everyone would assume the worst."
"This is a completely unprecedented move by US law enforcement and I am frankly surprised that no one has made any effort to explain or justify it.
The White House did not receive advance notice of Garland's remarks, a senior White House official said.
Garland on Thursday held Trump accountable for revealing more about the investigation and deflected criticism that the Justice Department was overly secretive. currently has two options. You can allow the warrant to be made public, or you can keep it secret and risk appearing like you have something to hide.
"I thought it was perfectly appropriate and absolutely wonderful to ask the president's lawyers for their opinion on the decision to unseal," said a former U.S. attorney, Democrat and Republican. said Chuck Rosenberg, his FBI agent who worked there. Administration. "If there's nothing there, you'd expect the president to agree." It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether there was.
The DOJ motion does not seek to release an affidavit of probable cause, including his FBI justification for the Mar-a-Lago search.
A federal judge approved the search warrant last Friday, according to court filings. In the filing, Trump and his attorney have copies of both the warrant and a "redacted property receipt listing the items seized in the search," and can contest the release of those documents. It says it can.
"Given the strong public interest generated by the search of the former president's mansion, the government believes these factors will favor the unsealing of the search warrant." the document says. You should have the opportunity to respond to and challenge this motion, including as to the potential for "legitimate privacy interests" or other "damages" if these materials were made public.
The next step is for Justice Department officials to meet with Trump's attorneys to determine whether they are willing to oppose the disclosure of the warrant and property receipts. We are complying with an order issued by Justice of the Peace Bruce Reinhart on Friday to file a notice by 3 p.m. ET to inform the judge of the Trump team's intentions. Former Presidential Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said that when he met with Trump in the Oval Office or in the adjoining private dining room, the former president often turned to Fox. Said he was working on a combined TV.
"President Trump didn't want any paperwork from us," Shulkin said. Briefing f' And he literally pushed it back with his hand and said, 'I don't want that.' He didn't want to read anything like that. was that there was no paper anywhere. His desk was just Diet Coke.
John Kerry, who served as chief of staff in the Trump administration's White House, said he would instruct his cabinet members to brief Trump directly. "I want to say this to members of the Cabinet," Kelly told NBC News. "Tell him, instead of giving him something to read." He said he was told he had been briefed on the law and its documentation obligations.
He also said he would talk to Trump about the importance of keeping records. I took out the scraps of paper and tried to put them back together so that I could finally turn them over to the archivist.
Yet Trump clearly appreciated some of the paper records that reached his desk. He opened his desk drawer in the Oval Office and showed guests a letter he received from former President Barack Obama when he stepped down as president in January 2017, a former White House official said. said. Or he showed visitors an executive order or a letter he received from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
At his home in Mar-a-Lago, he greeted guests at dinner and had an aide retrieve the executive order to show him, the person said on condition of anonymity. 99}