US Attorney General: I "personally" approved the decision to seek a search warrant at the Trump home

Merrick Garland issued his first statement since the Mar-a-Lago search on Tuesday, taking full responsibility for the unprecedented decision in American history: "The Department of Justice does not make decisions like this lightly. When possible, the standard procedure is to request a less intrusive means as an alternative to a search."

Tali Goldstein

11/08/2022

Thursday, August 11, 2022, 10:07 p.m. Updated: 10:35 p.m.

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The Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, today (Thursday) gave a first statement regarding the search made at the home of former President, Donald Trump, in Florida earlier this week.

Garland announced that the US Department of Justice has filed a request for disclosure of documents related to the search of the Mar-a-Lago estate.

The search warrant for the former president's home, given to FBI agents, was upheld by a federal court, Garland said.

"The search warrant was approved by a federal court thanks to the finding of probable cause. Copies of the warrant and another document were delivered on the day of the search to the president's legal advisor who was at the scene during it," he added.

The request to reveal the documents challenges Trump's camp, which claims that the government is "persecuting" the former president, and seeks to show publicly that the search was done legally.

Garland also said he "personally" approved the decision to seek a warrant for the FBI to search Trump's home.

"The office does not make decisions of this type lightly. When possible, the accepted procedure is to request a less intrusive means as an alternative to the search, and to reduce the scope of the search, if one is done."

He praised the FBI and condemned the "baseless attacks on Justice Department agents and prosecutors."

"I will not remain silent when their integrity is unfairly impugned. The men and women of the FBU and the Department of Justice are dedicated public servants and patriots."

The raid on Trump's house (Photo: Reuters)

FBI agents raided the Florida estate of former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

This, as part of the investigation into the transfer of presidential and secret documents to the residence in Mar-a-Lago after the end of his term.

Trump, who is expected to try and contest the elections in 2024, attacked the move and compared it to the "Watergate" affair.

"My house is under siege - the extreme Democrats are not interested in me running for president, they will do anything to stop the Republicans," he said.

The former president found out about the raid while staying at his tower in New York.

"They even broke into my safe," Trump said.

According to sources, the FBI executed a search warrant at 9 a.m. local time at the former president's home.

The search focused on the area where the club is located, where Trump's office and private rooms are located, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The Ministry of Justice is conducting two active investigations linked to the former president, one related to the attempt to bias the results of the 2020 presidential elections, and the other to the taking of the secret documents in violation of the law.

This is in addition to a series of other legal problems that Trump is dealing with, including the investigation into the break-in of his supporters into the Capitol on January 6 last year, which is being conducted by Congress.

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FBI agents searched mainly in the former president's private living area and offices.

Trump's lawyer, Christina Bob, said authorities had confiscated various documents.

"The former president and his lawyers are cooperating with the FBI and the Department of Justice," she said.

According to a senior White House official, President Joe Biden was unaware of the planned raid.

Last February, the National Archives of the United States, which records official presidential documents, confirmed that it found classified information among the material that former President Donald Trump took with him to his Florida home when he left office.

The National Archives and Records Administration stated that "items marked as classified national security information were identified inside the boxes."

This is after information was published about Trump's handling of official documents, and the National Archives confirmed that they returned 15 boxes of documents from his estate in Florida, which he took after leaving the White House more than a year ago.

Among the confiscated documents were official correspondence between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the letter left by his predecessor Barack Obama to him during the change of power between them.

In the letter, written by David S.

Ferreiro, the National Archivist, was told that the information in those boxes included "classified information of national security".

According to the Presidential Records Act, Trump was required to turn over all documents and records relating to official presidential business to the Archives upon the end of his term.

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