Garland defends FBI search for Trump's Mar-a-Lago, unsealed warrant
The Attorney General said he personally endorsed the decision to seek materials from the former president's home.
} Attorney General Merrick Garland announced to the Department of Justice on Thursday, August 11. Arrives and speaks, 2022, Washington. | | Susan Walsh/AP Photo
The Justice Department on Thursday moved to open part of the search warrant executed earlier this week at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.
"The public's clear and strong interest in understanding what happened under these circumstances strongly supports breaking the seal," the prosecutor said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the news shortly after the department filed a complaint in federal court in Florida.
search warrant for the latter," he said. Said. Addressing criticisms of the agency and FBI agents filed by Trump and his supporters, he added:
It is unclear how quickly Florida magistrate Bruce Reinhart will respond to the Justice Department's motion to unseal the warrant. The filing noted that the motion was "a non-existent objection by former President Trump" and could either support or try to prevent the release of the warrant.
It was Garland's first public statement since Monday's raid and his first public acknowledgment that the Justice Department is investigating Trump's handling of classified presidential records. He refused to disclose. He spoke for about five minutes and took no questions.
"All Americans are entitled to the fair application of the laws, due process of law, and the presumption of innocence," Garland said. It is necessarily done out of the public eye, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
A motion to open a portion of the search warrant, including a redacted property receipt listing the items that were stolen, was signed by U.S. Federal Attorney Juan Gonzalez and Jay Bratt, Chief of the DOJ's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. it was done.
The only mention of the subject of the investigation in the Justice Department's motion is a direct quote from one of Trump's attorneys, Christina Bob, who claimed that told the New York Timesthe search was for "presidential records or potentially classified material." It was Trump himself who was the first to publicly acknowledge the search, and it was his agent who issued a statement characterizing what the agent was seeking.
"So the occurrence of the search and the indications of the subject involved have already been made public," Gonzalez and Bratt wrote in the filing. Likewise, Garland said Trump himself spoke publicly only after admitting to the FBI investigation. It lasted for several months indicating that This includes classified material transferred to Maralago on the last day of his presidency. The National Archives acknowledged in February that it had raised concerns about the missing records and referred the matter to prosecutors.
Trump's supporters argued that Trump's lawyers were with Trump himself when the DOJ, Trump's lawyers, and investigators visited Mar-a-Lago in June. 3.
Since the search, Republicans have accused Garland and the FBI of having insight into the rationale for their actions. It attacked as a political hatchet, despite not being there, and put together a vehement defense of the former president. Some are calling for Garland's impeachment, while others simply vow to launch a thorough investigation of the Department if the Republicans regain a majority in January.
