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AG Merrick Garland says HE approved FBI’s Trump raid and hits back at critics for saying DOJ has been politicized: He asks judge to UNSEAL warrant for Mar-a-Lago operation
- Republicans have been pushing Attorney General Garland and FBI Director Wray to speak in the days since the FBI’s unannounced search of Mar-a-Lago
- Donald Trump announced on Monday night that FBI ‘raided’ his Florida home
- A day later, one of his top allies in Congress, Rep. Scott Perry, had his cellphone seized by the FBI while he was traveling with his family
- The FBI operation at Mar-a-Lago was apparently related to National Archives
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The Justice Department has petitioned a judge to unseal the search warrant that led to the FBI’s unannounced operation on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Attorney General Merrick Garland made an in-person statement on Thursday afternoon after growing calls from Republicans for him to speak out about the FBI’s unannounced search.
He said the DOJ moved to make the search warrant public ‘in light of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances, and the substantial public interest in this matter.’
The attorney general also revealed that he personally approved officials’ request to seek a search warrant.
Garland took no questions but went out of his way to criticize the recent verbal attacks and threats against law enforcement in the wake of the ‘raid.’
‘Let me address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors. I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,’ the Biden official said.
‘Men and women of the FBI and the Justice Department are dedicated, patriotic public servants. Every day, they protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. They do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves.’
The Justice Department only announced Merrick Garland will speak roughly an hour before the attorney general’s expected remarks
His last-minute appearance comes after the former president claimed his home was ‘raided’ by federal agents who apparently broke a padlocked door and seized documents sought by the National Archives.
‘The department does not take such a decision lightly,’ Garland explained in an apparent bid to counter accusations of political persecution from Trump’s allies.
Trump has been fuming since revealing news of the search on Monday night, when he said it meant ‘dark times for our nation.’
And a day later, FBI agents seized the cellphone of Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, one of Trump’s top allies in Congress who allegedly aided his efforts to try to steal the 2020 election.
But that seizure was related to another Justice Department investigation of the former president, regarding a ‘fake-electors scheme’ that he and his allies are accused of promoting to stay in power, according to the Washington Post.
The raid on Trump’s home comes months after the National Archives asked the Justice Department to open an investigation into the Republican’s handling of classified records.
Officials from the Archives flew to Mar-a-Lago in January to retrieve 15 boxes of files that were meant to be handed over when Trump left office. Some have since been confirmed to have been labeled ‘classified.’
Garland’s Thursday appearance happened on the heels of a bombshell new CNN report that reveals federal authorities took documents from Mar-a-Lago in June and served a grand jury subpoena while on the grounds.
Trump was not in Florida when the FBI conducted its search but rather in New York City
But his days-long silence on the explosive raid has spurred fury among Republicans, some of whom are even calling for him to be impeached.
‘No one would have ever imagined before that we would be using or one political party would be using the FBI to attack their political opponents,’ Kentucky Senator Rand Paul told Fox News on Wednesday.
‘Now, this is really something that’s going to require an investigation. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the investigation leads to abuse of power that this could even lead to an impeachment of the attorney general.’
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley tweeted that ‘Garland must resign or be impeached’ at the very least, and that FBI Director Chris Wray should be removed altogether.
Monday’s raid was reportedly based on ‘witness claims’ of classified documents within Mar-a-Lago even despite the January collection and June DOJ visit, CNN reported on Thursday.