(CNN)Since the FBI searched for Donald Trumpin the past 72 At his Mar-a-Lago home at the time, the former president spat out a number of allegations about what happened and why. It said it raised the possibility that investigators planted evidence without providing evidence for the allegations.
It is worth noting here that Garland did not intervene completely with Trump and did not release the affidavit outlining all the details required for the investigation.
According to CNN's senior legal analyst Ellie Honig, the search warrant and receipts provided a limited view of what happened in Marr's Lago on Monday. For example, a receipt detailing what was removed from a resort is unlikely to include page-by-page records to give clues as to where the Justice Department is headed in its investigation. , noted that search warrants may be accompanied by attachments outlining the specific charges the agency is investigating in the warrant.
The important thing to know here is that Garland is a What you're asking for is exactly what Trump and his lawyers have had since Monday night...so anything Trump could have released at any point between then and now.
Trump did not. Instead, he hurled blame at the FBI and the broader Justice Department, and how a raid on his property would be politically good news for him considering a third run for president in 2024.
What Garland says to Trump: Do you want to play hardball? I am here for that.
Now, Garland's hands are somewhat restrained here as well. He oversees an ongoing investigation into the handling of classified documents by the former US president. Trump is launching his social his media his website, Truth Social. They don't play by the same set of rules. Garland is bound by his long-standing policy of not commenting on ongoing investigations. Trump can basically say whatever he wants — true or not, supported by evidence or not — with impunity.
So neither Garland saying anything on Thursday, nor issuing a search warrant, nor receiving anything taken from Mar-a-Lago, a) Trump's allegations that he was wronged. is not delayed. Targeted, or b) alters his followers' belief that he is a believer.
Garland knows that. But he also wanted to make it clear to Trump that he wasn't going to sit on the sidelines in the face of a near-nonstop string of attacks against the DOJ and those who work for it. In case the message was missed, Garland said shortly after breaking the news calling for the search warrant to be unsealed:
"Fidelity to the rule of law is a fundamental principle. The Department of Justice and our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying it fairly without fear or favor.
