(CNN)Some Justice Department officials have announced thatthe home of former President Donald Trump and the unprecedented search ofI believe the Department of Justice should issue an official statement on this matter. Florida's club, a view that hasn't changed silence from the top so far.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has severely restricted the Department of Justice's public statements regarding investigations, particularly anything involving his Jan. 6 unregulated criminal investigation and, in particular, the former president. that's right. President Trump's FBI raid on his Lago property on Monday was linked to a criminal investigation into the handling of classified information and is partly a spectacle, according to a person briefed on the matter. It was designed to avoid Agent showed up around 10am ET. It wasn't early in the morning, but plain clothes with his FBI logo jacket commonly seen in searches. Trump was in New York at the time.
It became public with Trump issuing his official statement near the end of the hours-long search, describing it as a "siege."
Garland reiterates why he says so little about ongoing investigations. It's not only the agency's general policy of refraining from commenting, but it also cites it as part of a strategy to protect investigations by not letting potential targets know what the agency is doing. He also cites the importance of protecting the rights of those who have not yet been charged with a crime in order to avoid being tried in public before the Justice Department can file a lawsuit.
However, some Justice Department and FBI officials internally argued that the silence was harmful to the Department and the public interest, in part because Trump and his allies filled the void.
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense dodged questions about Trump's search and released a recorded video statement about a significant criminal case, citing Trump's former national security adviser John. He charged an Iranian military official with trying to assassinate Bolton.
The video statement by Assistant Secretary of State for National Security Matt Olsen and FBI National Security Agency executive Larissa Knapp his assistant his director was unusual.
Such high-profile cases are usually the subject of press conferences by the Attorney General. But this week's press conference will likely be dominated by questions about Mar-a-Lago.
It is not uncommon for the FBI and U.S. attorneys to issue public statements regarding search warrants, at least when investigators' presence is clearly visible to members of the public or citizens. Make sure you were conducting a court-sanctioned search. caught on camera.
In this case, the only comment came from the FBI Agents Association, which obliquely defended the agents' actions without mentioning the Mar a Lago search.
"FBI Special Agents continue to focus on conducting their investigative duties with integrity and professionalism and complying with the law and the Constitution," said Brian O'Hare, president of the FBI Association of Investigators. “As part of this process, all search warrants executed by Special Agents must be issued by a federal district court or magistrate, meet detailed and clear rules of procedure, and must meet the relevant Department of Justice attorneys.
On Wednesday, Omaha FBI Director Chris Wray asked about Trump's accusations that the FBI may have planted evidence during the search and his intimidation of investigators. was taken.
"I hope you understand that's not something I can talk about, so let me introduce you to the department," said Wray, who was Trump's nominee in 2018.
"When it comes to the issue of intimidation, I would say that I am always concerned about violence and threats of violence against law enforcement. The FBI, like any law enforcement agency, is deplorably dangerous.