Former United States President Donald Trump has compared the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to a "common criminal" after the agency conducted a surprise search warrant at the ex-POTUS' Mar-a-Lago estate.
Furthermore, the Republican businessman revealed that the FBI agents at the scene demanded security cameras be turned off during the raid. Trump added that the Department of Justice and the FBI returned passports after the documents were confiscated during the search.
Unsealing of Search Warrant Documents
Trump claimed that the FBI "stole" three of his passports on Monday and called the operation an "assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our country." In a statement, former acting chief of staff for then-President Trump, Mick Mulvaney, said that he hopes the Republican businessman does not run in 2024.
Mulvaney noted that the Republican Party should not be offering Trump and noted that it was also time for the next generation to take over. The official, who resigned from his White House position in January 2021, said he would have a "hard time" voting for the former president if he became the 2024 Republican candidate, as per Fox News.
This comes as U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhard scheduled an in-person hearing to take place on Thursday in Florida regarding the unsealing of FBI records related to the raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate last week.
Furthermore, the hearing is set to be held on Aug. 18 in the West Palm Beach Division and Reinhart will discuss with the government and Trump's legal team the motion to unseal the search warrant materials and attachments. These could potentially include the affidavit for the search warrant.
According to Yahoo News, several media organizations have asked the judge to unseal the affidavit despite objections by the Department of Justice. Prosecutors have also asked Reinhart to keep the affidavit sealed to "protect the integrity of an ongoing law enforcement investigation that implicates national security."
Trump's Mar-a-Lago Situation
The Justice Department said that unsealing the documents could compromise future Investigative steps that the agency will conduct. Officials also noted that information about witnesses is particularly sensitive given the high-profile nature of the matter.
Prosecutors added that the disclosure of the affidavit would "likely chill future cooperation by witnesses whose assistance may be sought as this investigation progresses, as well as in other high-profile investigations."
On the other hand, Trump demanded the unsealing of the affidavit on his Truth Social platform and that it be released in an unredacted form. He said that in the interest of "TRANSPARENCY," he was calling for the immediate release of the completely unredacted affidavit regarding the alleged "break-in."
The Justice Department is investigating Trump for allegedly taking White House documents after his presidency. The criminal charges include possible violations of classified information laws due to the nature of some of the documents.
In a press conference, Attorney-General Merrick Garland said, "The department filed the motion to make public the warrant and receipt in light of the former president's public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances, and the substantial public interest in this matter," CNBC reported.
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