gave “reasonable suspicion”
US Attorney General ‘Personally Approved’ Trump Raid
08/11/2022, 10:00 p.m
The US judiciary comments for the first time on the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s villa: Chief prosecutor Merrick Garland declares that he “personally approved” the search warrant. In addition, the Minister of Justice wants to publish the order and the receipt for any confiscated items.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland has “personally approved” the decision to seek a search warrant on former US President Donald Trump’s home. That’s what Garland said in a short-term speech in Washington to journalists. “The search warrant was granted by a federal court following the required determination of reasonable suspicion.”
Garland added, “The Department does not take such a decision lightly. Wherever possible, less intrusive means will be sought as an alternative to a search, and any search will be strictly limited.” The federal police FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in the US state of Florida last Monday.
The process is considered unprecedented in US history. The pressure on Garland had since grown to take a stand. However, it is normal for the judiciary in the USA not to comment on ongoing investigations. Trump was not at his home during the search. He and other Republicans have criticized the search and accused Democratic US President Joe Biden of politicizing the FBI.
Right to equal application of the law
Garland said he could not comment on the details of the search. This is also a standard procedure. In view of the public interest, however, his ministry had applied to a federal court to publish the search warrant and the receipt for any confiscated items – precisely because Trump had confirmed the raid with a statement and made it public. Garland stressed, “All Americans have the right to equitable application of the law, due process, and the presumption of innocence.”
The background to the search was apparently Trump’s handling of documents from his tenure. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the National Archives, which is responsible for storing presidential correspondence, suspected several boxes of confidential material were in Mar-a-Lago. Trump finally handed over several documents to the agency in January.
According to US media reports, there was then a further exchange between investigators and Trump’s lawyers. Officials suspected that Trump or his team were continuing to withhold important documents, the Washington Post wrote, citing anonymous sources. The FBI is said to have taken twelve boxes.