Donald Trump

Federal authorities would have needed to meet an extraordinarily high threshold for probable cause to sign off on such a high-profile, politically explosive ...

If Republicans are in the majority, they would have subpoena power to compel Garland to testify. Federal agents searched the Florida home of the former president in what Trump described in a statement as a “siege” on his private property. “The fact the search apparently didn’t leak until basically when word came from Donald Trump himself shows the FBI and the Justice Department conducted this search by the book and a high degree of integrity. A federal magistrate judge in Florida signed off on the search warrant, the Miami Herald reported. Still, Republicans in Congress are calling for investigations into the search, which they could kick off if the party takes control of the House next year. “That would be, I guess at this point, shocking but not surprising.” See the program. Garland released a memo requiring department leadership to approve of steps “involving a political figure” earlier this year. Cruz expressed a similar sentiment in his tweets, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, retweeted McCarthy’s statement. The operation marks the first time in history federal agents have searched a former president’s home. The head of FBI, Christopher Wray, was appointed by Trump in 2017. Impressive,” tweeted historian and journalist Garrett Graff, who recently wrote a book on the Watergate scandal.

The FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate raises questions about whether a statute that.

But prosecutions close to Election Day are not unheard of: Officials announced the indictment against Caspar Weinberger, the former defense secretary under President Ronald Reagan, for misleading Congress in June 1992, but a judge threw out the indictment. Eugene Debs, convicted of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 for an anti-war speech, was in a federal prison when he ran for president as a socialist in 1920. The memo does not expressly ban the filing of charges but says prosecutors should consult public integrity guidelines. "That statute cannot trump the Constitution, which sets the exclusive qualifications for President," Hasen wrote on his election law blog. A previous case suggests the defendant must know that the documents are public records. That’s why it was surprising when FBI director James Comey during the final days of the 2016 campaign apprised lawmakers of new emails potentially relevant to the investigation of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Lyndon LaRouche was convicted in 1988 of tax and mail fraud conspiracy and ran for president multiple times between 1976 and 2004. The Constitution's list of criteria to run for president mentions only age, citizenship and residency — there is no mention of criminal charges or convictions. Social media users noted that the FBI executed the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, the same day that President Richard Nixon announced his resignation in 1974. Federal statute 18 U.S. Code 2071 had long banned the removal, concealment or destruction of presidential records. Whether Trump is ultimately charged by prosecutors is a matter of speculation. Spokespersons for the FBI and Justice Department told PolitiFact they had no comment.

at former President Donald J. Trump's Florida home, a law enforcement action with explosive legal and political implications, was the culmination of a lengthy ...

After Mr. Bratt and other officials visited Mar-a-Lago, they subpoenaed the Trump Organization for a copy of Mar-a-Lago’s surveillance tapes, a person with knowledge of the matter said. It is unclear whether the department conveyed that concern to Mr. Trump’s team. The archivists also discovered that Mr. Trump had not returned several documents that they believed the former president had in his possession. Mr. Trump’s lawyers also sifted through his records at Mar-a-Lago to determine whether he still was holding onto anything classified or sensitive. Mr. Trump’s unwillingness to quickly hand over the documents frustrated archives officials, who had grown deeply skeptical throughout the Trump administration that he and his aides followed federal record keeping laws. In the meantime, Mr. Trump would wave things like the North Korean leader’s letters at people, as if they were collectors’ items he was showing off. Throughout his presidency, Mr. Trump was disdainful of record-preservation laws, and was known to tear up documents and in some cases to flush them down toilets. His habit of transporting material around in cardboard boxes, with either a personal aide or a valet carrying them, was well known, but the contents were not always clear. The agents carried out the search in a relatively low-key manner, people with knowledge of the matter said; by some accounts they were not seen donning the conspicuous navy-blue jackets with the agency’s initials emblazoned on the back that are commonly worn when executing search warrants. On his social media site on Tuesday, Mr. Trump cast the search as part of “a coordinated attack” that also includes local and state prosecutors, alluding to investigations into him being carried out in Georgia and New York. It is not clear what the agents were looking for or what they took. Another person familiar with the search said agents began going through a storage unit, where items like beach chairs and umbrellas are kept, in the basement.

Search warrant executed by FBI agents suggests investigation comes with potentially far-reaching political ramifications for former president.

Trump was not there at the time of the raid and learned about it while he was in New York. The justice department is understood, at some point since the investigation was opened in April this year, to have asked for the return of classified materials. Corcoran declined to comment. The officials asked to see where the White House records were being kept. For years, Trump has ignored the statute. And the extraordinary search, the sources said, came after the justice department grew concerned – as a result of discussions with Trump’s lawyers in recent weeks – that presidential and classified materials were being unlawfully and improperly kept at the Mar-a-Lago resort.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to be deposed by lawyers from New York Attorney General Letitia James' office Wednesday, people familiar with the ...

"I would give my opinion," Trump said in the deposition. Last year he provided videotaped testimony for a lawsuit involving an assault outside of Trump Tower. The case is set to go to trial in the fall. A special grand jury hearing evidence in the case expired in April, but a new one could be seated in the future. "I think everybody" exaggerates about the value of their properties, he testified, adding: "Who wouldn't?" In his statement Wednesday, Trump said, "Now I know the answer to that question" and decried James' investigation. James left at the lunch break and Trump shook her hand as she was leaving. Trump said in a post on Truth Social earlier Wednesday morning that he would be "seeing" James "for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history! Under oath, Trump confirmed that he wanted to testify but he would not answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. When an individual declines to answer a question by "taking the Fifth," he or she invokes that right. Another consideration that had been discussed, the people familiar say, is the political implications of not answering questions as Trump is widely expected to announce that he will run for president in 2024. The Fifth Amendment guarantees that an individual cannot be compelled by the government to provide information that might be incriminating against themselves. But once the questioning began, with the state attorneys saying he could repeat the "same answer," the atmosphere turned professional and cordial.

Trump is set to be grilled in Manhattan by lawyers for New York's attorney general, Letitia James. James has accused Trump of misstating property values to win ...

But those dates were delayed with the attorney general's consent because of Ivana Trump's death on July 14. Not long after Insider's story published, Trump suggested on his social-media platform, Truth Social, that the deposition would go ahead Wednesday. Trump will be grilled in person in Manhattan on what New York's attorney general, Letitia James, has alleged is a decade-long pattern of financial misstatements on documents used by the Trump Organization to win hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks and bank loans.

Former President Donald Trump will sit down with attorneys for New York Attorney General Letitia James' office at an undisclosed location agreed by the ...

The AG’s office did not confirm nor deny the information and declined to comment. So far, tax fraud charges have been brought against the company and its longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg, who are fighting the accusations at an upcoming trial. The depositions had been scheduled to take place the next day. Trump will be sitting down with attorneys for Letitia James’ office at an undisclosed location agreed by the parties and behind-closed-doors. Seeing racist N.Y.S. Attorney General tomorrow, for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history!" "In New York City tonight.

Attorney General Letitia James finally will have the chance to question Donald J. Trump, a high-stakes interview that comes at a pivotal moment for the ...

In his April remarks on the matter, Mr. Bragg said new witnesses had been questioned and additional documents had been reviewed, although he declined to provide details. In January, Mr. Trump asked a judge in New York to strike down a subpoena from Ms. James seeking his testimony and personal documents. While Ms. James has contended in court papers that the Trump Organization provided bogus valuations to banks to secure favorable loans, Mr. Trump’s lawyers might argue that those were sophisticated financial institutions that turned a hefty profit from their dealings with Mr. Trump. But if she ultimately sues Mr. Trump — and if Ms. James prevails at trial — a judge could impose steep financial penalties on Mr. Trump and restrict his business operations in New York. Two days after his home was searched by the F.B.I. in an unrelated investigation, Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right while openly questioning the legitimacy of the legal process — as he has with the nation’s electoral system — and insulting a law enforcement official sitting just a few feet away. If Mr. Trump deviates from his plan to remain quiet, the attorney general’s office could argue that he opened the door to answering some questions and they may later ask a judge to compel him to answer. A misstep by Mr. Trump would have been a boon for Manhattan prosecutors, but it is unlikely that they were counting solely on the interview to change the course of their investigation. For years, the district attorney’s office has been investigating whether Mr. Trump fraudulently inflated the value of his properties to gain loans and tax breaks, and prosecutors were presenting evidence to a grand jury in the case early this year. Relying mostly on footage from a rally Mr. Trump held last month in Alaska, the video features his America-in-decline message that has become mostly standard boilerplate in his speeches and rallies. It was not the first time, however, that Mr. Trump had taken the fifth in a civil proceeding. Ms. James would most likely seek a settlement that includes some financial penalty for Mr. Trump and that possibly forces his company to adopt changes to the ways it operates. Now, he’s doing so with the New York attorney general because “it’s legally useful to him to do so and two, he knows painting himself as the victim is powerful to people in his camp,” Mr. O’Brien said.

The former president is set to testify in an investigation into his business, as experts note he can publicize the search warrant on his home himself.

"Donald Trump has a copy of the search warrant. Neal Katyal, former U.S. Acting Solicitor General, said: "Search of Trump abusive? He'd show us the warrant if he were so wronged. Secrecy rules are designed to protect the person under investigation. Banana Republic," Trump wrote. "In New York City tonight.

A federal search warrant like the kind carried out at the home of former President Donald Trump would require detailed evidence and sign-off at the highest ...

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Donald Trump's presidency at times threatened to tear America apart, and the country's democracy, institutions and equilibrium staggered away from his ...

And the vitriol was pouring out on social media, recalling the violent speech that led up to the Capitol attack. And it demonstrated how many Republicans with aspirations of winning elections know they must show total loyalty to the former President, whatever his alleged transgressions. This new national nightmare is sure to color yet another election since Trump is already a front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination and millions of supporters will buy into his storylines. The unhinged rhetoric was, if anything, more extreme on conservative media outlets that supported and enabled Trump while he was president. The former President met 12 of his closest House allies at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club on Tuesday and got nothing but support for a bid to get his old job back. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who raised a fist in encouragement to Trump's mob before it stormed the Capitol on January 6 said that, at a minimum, Garland should be impeached or resign. The FBI search on Monday represented a remarkable development in just one of the legal fronts bearing down on Trump. It recently emerged that his lawyers are in discussions with Justice Department prosecutors conducting a probe into the circumstances surrounding the January 6, 2021, insurrection. And because government prosecutors don't typically talk about ongoing investigations unless they reach a decision to charge someone -- to ensure the integrity of the probe and the privacy of those under investigation -- it is unlikely there will be clarity on the situation anytime soon. And he is set to be deposed on Wednesday While the furious reaction from Trump world builds, his defenders are ignoring one key fact: The FBI didn't just turn up at his Palm Beach residence on a whim. That includes FBI Director Christopher Wray (a Trump appointee), Attorney General Merrick Garland and the former President himself, who has not said what was written in the search warrant. Such procedures are how it's supposed to work in the justice system, which rests on the principle that no one -- not even former presidents -- are above the law.

Trump attorney Christina Bobb said the FBI removed about a dozen boxes from the former president's Florida residence on Monday. Image: Former U.S. President ...

A source close to Trump who is familiar with the search said there are no plans to release a copy of the warrant. Bobb told NBC News that the Justice Department officials said they did not believe the storage unit housing the documents was properly secured. Bobb said she and Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran met later with a senior Justice Department official whose name she could not recall.

Donald Trump says he will sit for a deposition by the office of Attorney General Letitia James, who is examining his business practices and property ...

Congressional hearings: The House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol has conducted a series of hearings to share its findings with the U.S. public. This person said Pompeo was asked about the 25th Amendment, which allows for the removal of a president if they are unfit for duty, among other topics. And the work of the House panel probing Jan. 6 continues. The former president has a week to appeal the ruling before it takes effect. “This is one of the best outcomes they could have hoped for going into this,” said Snell, who worked on the state’s case against Trump University, which resulted in a $25 million settlement. The Fifth Amendment is invoked when there is a possibility of incriminating oneself in criminal activity. Separately, Trump partisans have come under scrutiny in an investigation by local authorities in Georgia about his efforts to overturn the state’s election results. Incredibly, his deposition marked just the halfway point of what has been a frenetic week for Trump and his lawyers. Trump emerged from the question-and-non-answer session with praise for the “very professional” way Attorney General Letitia James’s team handled the meeting, in which he refused more than 400 times to answer questions about his businesses, property valuations and loans, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion. James could file a lawsuit against the Trump Organization and its executives if she concludes that their conduct legally amounted to wrongdoing. Their brother Eric Trump, who was also a lieutenant in the company, took the Fifth more than 500 times when he sat for questioning in October 2020 in the same investigation, according to public disclosures made by James. Then, on Wednesday morning, Trump arrived at a Manhattan office building to be deposed in James’s investigation of his business dealings.

Former President Donald Trump will be questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general's civil investigation into his dealings as a real ...

In May, James’ office said that it was nearing the end of an investigation against Trump, his company or both. The top prosecutor who had been handling the probe resigned after Bragg raised questions internally about the viability of the case. The people were not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. Trump has undergone many depositions, dating to his career as a real estate developer. “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,” the statement said. James, a Democrat, is the first Black person to hold her post.

Top Republicans who have spent months trying to dissuade Donald Trump from announcing another presidential campaign before the midterms are coming around to ...

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas wrote on Twitter that the Justice Department had been "weaponized" and called the search "corrupt & an abuse of power." Also referring to a "weaponization" of the department was Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who vowed "consequences" against Garland for the search. Pence, who has spent months trying to find an independent political identity from Trump, tweeted a lengthy response to the search. Across Trump world, Republicans' widespread condemnation of the FBI search appeared to dismantle a divide among his advisers over the timing of his 2024 campaign launch that had long been simmering beneath the surface. And he received a lot of encouragement in the room to get out sooner than later," Banks said. After revealing the FBI had conducted a "raid" of his Palm Beach residence in a statement Monday evening, Trump became inundated with calls from allies wanting him to dive into the 2024 race sooner rather than later, according to a person familiar with the matter. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tempered his criticism by saying it demonstrated "apparent political weaponization" of federal law enforcement. Meanwhile, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have already initiated discussions about the party's oversight response to the FBI search, according to GOP sources familiar with the situation, though these talks remain in the early stages. the persecution of Donald Trump would immediately stop. Not even close," said Michael Caputo, a longtime Trump confidant, who previously urged the former President to wait for the 2022 election outcome before diving into a presidential primary. The former President, who previously told aides he was concerned about not being able to tap into the $121 million war chest he's amassed once he declares his candidacy, is now shrugging off those concerns in the last 12 hours, according to a person close to him. Those conversations were expected to continue well into Tuesday evening, with Trump huddling with Republican Study Committee members for a private dinner at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.

Two of Trump's children, Donald Jr and Ivanka, are believed to have testified in the investigation in recent days.

However, it ran into problems after a new district attorney, Alvin Bragg, raised questions internally about the viability of the case, and its lead prosecutors resigned. Trump’s testimony was initially scheduled for last month but was delayed after the 14 July death of his ex-wife Ivana Trump. He declined to answer questions about the hours-long search Monday at Mar-a-Lago. Fischetti added that Trump’s decision to take the fifth had been made shortly before the interview started. “[She] will pursue the facts and the law wherever they may lead. Trump’s deposition, which took place in lower Manhattan, appears to have lasted roughly four hours.

The former president invoked his right against self-incrimination during a deposition that the New York attorney general's office had hoped would be a ...

In his April remarks on the matter, Mr. Bragg said new witnesses had been questioned and additional documents had been reviewed, although he declined to provide details. In January, Mr. Trump asked a judge in New York to strike down a subpoena from Ms. James seeking his testimony and personal documents. While Ms. James has contended in court papers that the Trump Organization provided bogus valuations to banks to secure favorable loans, Mr. Trump’s lawyers might argue that those were sophisticated financial institutions that turned a hefty profit from their dealings with Mr. Trump. But if she ultimately sues Mr. Trump — and if Ms. James prevails at trial — a judge could impose steep financial penalties on Mr. Trump and restrict his business operations in New York. Two days after his home was searched by the F.B.I. in an unrelated investigation, Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right while openly questioning the legitimacy of the legal process — as he has with the nation’s electoral system — and insulting a law enforcement official sitting just a few feet away. If Mr. Trump deviates from his plan to remain quiet, the attorney general’s office could argue that he opened the door to answering some questions and they may later ask a judge to compel him to answer. A misstep by Mr. Trump would have been a boon for Manhattan prosecutors, but it is unlikely that they were counting solely on the interview to change the course of their investigation. For years, the district attorney’s office has been investigating whether Mr. Trump fraudulently inflated the value of his properties to gain loans and tax breaks, and prosecutors were presenting evidence to a grand jury in the case early this year. Relying mostly on footage from a rally Mr. Trump held last month in Alaska, the video features his America-in-decline message that has become mostly standard boilerplate in his speeches and rallies. It was not the first time, however, that Mr. Trump had taken the fifth in a civil proceeding. Ms. James would most likely seek a settlement that includes some financial penalty for Mr. Trump and that possibly forces his company to adopt changes to the ways it operates. Now, he’s doing so with the New York attorney general because “it’s legally useful to him to do so and two, he knows painting himself as the victim is powerful to people in his camp,” Mr. O’Brien said.

Former President Donald Trump has refused to answer questions by State Attorney General Letitia James as she investigates his resort and real estate ...

“Attorney General Letitia James took part in the deposition during which Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Attorney General James will pursue the facts and the law wherever they may lead. “What happens here will impact our country, the whole world, so we want to see.” “But I didn’t know they do this in the United States. “Have a fantastic company with great assets, very little debt, and lots of CASH. Only in America!” Among the throng was Judith M., a tourist from Argentina who was accompanied by her husband and two children. The former president departed Trump Tower at 8:34 a.m. for 28 Liberty St. as a helicopter trailed him and his multi-car caravan. “Now I know the answer to that question. “In Argentina this is normal, usual, the rule. In a social media post, the 76-year-old Floridian confirmed the meeting, while grousing the probe is a “witch hunt” and claiming James is a “racist.” The party in power tries to put the other side in jail. “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?'” Trump said.

NEW YORK — Donald Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment and wouldn't answer questions under oath in the New York attorney general's long-running civil ...

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NEW YORK (AP) - Former President Donald Trump showed up Wednesday for questioning under oath in New York's civil investigation into his business practices.

In the past, Trump has repeatedly suggested that only people with something to hide avail themselves of the protection against self-incrimination. In a criminal case, prosecutors can't comment on a defendant's refusal to testify, and a jury can't be advised that it's OK to take defendants' silence as a sign of guilt. The defendants have pleaded not guilty in that case, which involves claims of off-the-books compensation. James has said her investigation found evidence that the businessman-turned-politician's company, called the Trump Organization, puffed up the value of real estate assets to snag loans, insurance and tax breaks for land donations. The Supreme Court has said that allowing that inference penalizes defendants for simply availing themselves of a constitutional protection. But even deciding to answer selectively could be risky: Responding to one question can enable the other side to argue that the witness can't refuse to answer other, related questions. Donald Jr. and Ivanka reportedly gave their depositions recently, and it's yet unclear whether they took the Fifth. The Supreme Court has even held that Fifth Amendment rights protected the jobs of public employees who were fired after refusing to testify in investigations unless they got immunity from prosecution. It's a constitutional right that gets high-profile exposure in settings from Congress to TV crime shows, but there are nuances. But it has come to apply in non-criminal contexts, too. There are sometimes disputes over whether the right is being invoked inappropriately. The ex-president issued a statement saying he had done nothing wrong but was invoking the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination.

Former President Donald Trump will sit for a deposition on Wednesday with the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James amid its ongoing probe into ...

They also cited the Fifth Amendment as an option for the president in his deposition. But New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron in February rejected the lawyers’ attempts to dodge the testimony and asserted that Trump and his children all had the right to show up to the depositions and claim their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. The former president’s meeting on Wednesday came just days after the attorney general’s office questioned Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, both of whom did not plead the Fifth. The former president is also the subject of a parallel criminal investigation being conducted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office into whether he fraudulently inflated property values. Trump had tried for months to avoid Wednesday’s deposition — which comes at a high stakes moment for the former president just two days after the FBI raided his Florida home in an investigation into the alleged mishandling of White House records. A crush of media followed the former president from his Midtown Manhattan apartment at Trump Tower downtown to the attorney general’s office around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower to meet with New York Attorney General Letitia James for a civil investigation on August 10, 2022 in New ...

Legal experts say Trump's lawyers are in possession of a copy of that search warrant and that they can disclose its contents if they choose. In other words, James could argue to a jury that it should assume Trump has conceded her claims against him by refusing to answer her questions. But after failing in court efforts to block those subpoenas, Donald Jr. and Ivanka answered questions from James' investigators last week, NBC previously reported. "So there are five people taking the Fifth Amendment. Like you see on the mob, right? Fischetti described the mood in the room as polite and not tense. In Georgia, a special state grand jury is investigating possible criminal efforts by Trump and others to interfere in the 2020 presidential election in that state as part of a nationwide push to overturn Biden's victory in the race for the White House. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., upheld a lower court ruling dismissing an effort by Trump to block the House Ways and Means Committee from obtaining several years of his federal income tax returns and those of a number of Trump business entities from the Treasury Department. In addition to the probe of records at Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department is reportedly investigating events leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot by thousands of Trump supporters, who for hours disrupted the confirmation of Biden's electoral victory by a joint session of Congress. The warrant and a related affidavit in support of it would detail what the FBI was looking for and how the agency believed there was probable cause that a crime or crimes had been committed that related to that evidence. Our investigation continues." But Engoron went on to note that a jury in a civil case is allowed to draw "a negative inference" when a party to the case "invokes that right against self-incrimination." Former President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 440 times Wednesday in refusing to answer questions at a deposition by lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating the Trump Organization's business practices, a source with knowledge of the session told NBC News.

Trump claimed the FBI agents "wanted to be left alone, without any witnesses" when they searched his Florida residence on Monday.

"They know the consequences of an empty handed power move." Seeing racist N.Y.S. Attorney General tomorrow, for a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history!" I don't trust the government and that's a very frightening thing as an American." "Otherwise WHY would they NOT allow his attorneys or anyone watch them while they conducted their unprecedented raid?" "Scam after Scam, year after year, it is all the Radical Left Democrats really know, it is their lifeblood - they have no shame. Habba told Fox News she was "concerned that they may have planted something.

The “Late Show” host also had plenty of barbs for Trump's son Eric: “Did you find a note of him saying how proud he is of me?”

“What is the difference between this and Watergate?” wrote Trump in a memo describing the raid. This was the law breaking in on a dick.” “Did you find a note of him saying how proud he is of me? “Hey FBI, did you find my note telling my dad how proud I am of him?” said Colbert, breaking into a gummy Eric Trump–esque grin. He then mocked and impersonated Eric Trump, whom he called Trump’s “former second first son,” for coming to his father’s defense. “It may be hot outside, but in here, it’s Christmas. Because yesterday, we all got the present we wanted: FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago,” said Colbert, eliciting cheers from the audience.

Pence and Trump have been at political odds for months, with Trump endorsing Republican candidates who embrace his false claims about the 2020 election and ...

One reason that the Mar-a-Lago search might “unite [the] different factions in the party,” as a Trump aide told Politico, is that it isn’t pro-Trump but anti-FBI. Republicans from both the pro- and less-pro-Trump segments of the GOP get to express outrage at a group that Republicans are primed to distrust. Never quite as popular as Trump, he saw his favorability ratings with the GOP tank in the wake of Trump’s criticisms of him. Cast the FBI as the left, and you gain support on the right. In polling released on Tuesday, 2 in 5 Americans said they thought Trump should face criminal charges related to the Capitol riot. Pence’s argument that the FBI was politically motivated certainly derives largely from the narrative that Trump and his allies constructed to backstop that position. Following an example set in part by Trump himself, GOP officials rushed to offer up products in the robust marketplace of social media commentary. More than three-quarters of Republicans still view Trump favorably, down only slightly from the height of the 2020 campaign. The Barr probe led by special counsel John Durham is ongoing but has completely failed to demonstrate that the Russia investigation was not warranted by the facts available at the time. It also had an added benefit: Should the FBI launch further probes, his team would already be conditioned to respond with skepticism. Set aside Pence’s self-incriminating framing (that the FBI was acting on political motivation during the Trump-Pence administration), and remember where this idea originated. “… After years where FBI agents were found to be acting on political motivation during our administration, the appearance of continued partisanship by the Justice Department must be addressed.” The rationale was uncomplicated and now quite familiar: He didn’t want anyone thinking he had lost the race but for Russian involvement.

The FBI likely needed to clear an exceptionally high bar to search the former president's home. But with few firm details about the investigation available ...

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that officials apparently came to suspect Trump and people close to him may still have been holding on to some of the government materials. It has been reported that it is centered on a dispute between Trump and the National Archives, which in February asked the DOJ to investigate the former president’s handling of classified materials after he returned 15 boxes of documents to the agency. That he has not may speak to the damning nature of the evidence the DOJ had against him when they greenlit the explosive move.

Former President Donald Trump is in New York to face a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization inflated real estate values.

"This is a vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition, the likes of which our Country has never seen before." "Now I know the answer to that question," he said. "I'm told has raised more money in the past 24 hours than ever before in recent history," he said in a tweet. Several Republicans in Congress called for answers from the FBI and the Department of Justice after Trump released a statement about the raid Monday evening. "Attorney General Garland and the Department of Justice should already have provided answers to the American people and must do so immediately." "Committee Republicans demand answers about the FBI and NARA's investigation of President Trump and any coordination between the two agencies," the letter said. "NOW is the time to speak up and be LOUD!" Greene said during the Wednesday edition of her MTG:Live livestream that the anonymous informant who tipped the FBI off about classified documents Trump was allegedly hiding at Mar-a-Lago, as exclusively reported by Newsweek, was a "traitor" in service to "the deep state." "We now know that there was an FBI informant at Mar-a-Lago," said Greene. "An FBI informant working at Mar-a-Lago. Who is that and how many other FBI informants are around [former] President Trump on a daily basis? James "will pursue the facts and the law wherever they may lead," the spokesperson said. Trump said in a statement that he would decline to answer any questions during the meeting, invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination. James "will pursue the facts and the law wherever they may lead," the spokesperson said.