The FBI was authorized to use “deadly force” against former President Donald Trump when the Biden administration agency raided Mar-a-Lago in search of classified documents, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Attorney General Merrick Garland personally approved the unprecedented raid on Trump’s Florida home in the summer of 2022, after which special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents.
Authorized to use deadly force at Trump's house?
Be informed, not misled.
This is stunning, particularly in that most of us remember that President Joe Biden also retained classified documents following his tenure as vice president but was not charged by his own Justice Department because prosecutors said he would likely (quote) “present himself to the jury, as he did during our interview with him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Independent journalist Julie Kelly first reported, "Newly unsealed documents in Special Counsel Jack Smith's espionage case against Donald Trump demonstrate the FBI's plans to use deadly force--even if the former president arrived at the scene."
Kelly says, "An exhibit filed today [May 21-yesterday] by Donald Trump in a motion to suppress evidence seized during the FBI’s August 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago revealed shocking new details about the bureau’s plans to use deadly force and even engage the former president and his security detail that day if necessary. The document is just one of many court filings recently ordered unsealed by Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the matter in southern Florida."
Biden's DOJ is brushing off this discovery as "no big deal," claiming it's routine business as usual.
You will recall that the raid involved 25 Miami FBI agents, four Washington FBI agents, one unidentified individual from FBI Headquarters, one DOJ attorney, and the assistant U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of Florida.
The filings also included exhibits indicating agents searched both Melania and Barron Trump’s rooms and were prepared to go door-to-door throughout Mar-a-Lago “to determine occupation status” of each room if the staff did not provide “a list of occupied guest rooms.”
Biden was alerted quite some time in advance of the visit to his house; the timing was coordinated with Biden's people. Although they found boxes of important documents, some classified documents, and boxes of documents in both his garage and various other locations, including at the university, yet there was no action.
Mike Pence also had documents, but again, there was no action taken.
Barack Obama was contacted about having documents in his possession. He essentially told Biden's DOJ not to worry about it, so they haven't.
However, in Trump's case, according to the operations order, law enforcement was not preparing a routine search for presidential papers. One section of the plan described how agents should handle the potential for use of deadly force:
The FBI also considered various scenarios should the former president unexpectedly arrive at his residence during the raid. Agents were also prepared to go door-to-door to terrorize Mar-a-Lago guests if staff refused to turn over room keys.
In addition to lock-picking equipment, FBI agents were armed with “Standard Issue Weapon, Ammo, [and] Handcuffs” as well as “medium and large sized bolt cutters.”
The FBI team also included a medic to tend to anyone “injured” during the raid. The operations order identified a nearby trauma center with directions on how to get there.
Although Newsweek ( link 3 ) claimed that A/G Merrick Garland had no knowledge of the Trump invasion, he did know. He actually signed off on the plan.
According to Newsweek, the Mar-a-Lago search was not approved by Garland; Wray approved it, but Garland was not asked to do so. That strikes me as kinda remarkable. https://t.co/FfxLT3a7qP pic.twitter.com/5fR9TdBIKA
— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) August 10, 2022
In August, Garland admitted that he knew about the planned raid and had signed off on it. This confession nullifies reporting from Newsweek that claimed Garland was not associated with permitting the forced search and remained unaware of the specific date and time of the raid until after.
Garland finally took responsibility for authorizing the raid but later refused to acknowledge that much of the nation’s fault-finding was actually with him.
Instead, in a short speech, he berated Americans for daring to question the DOJ and the FBI’s credibility.
Even though more than half of U.S. voters say bureaucratic agencies such as the DOJ and FBI are too big and too focused on advancing a political agenda, Garland defensively claimed that “attacks” on his agents and prosecutors are “unfounded” and “unfair.”
He 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."
Employees who find the courage to speak out from within the FBI and Justice Department tell a very different story.
Takeaway
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon indefinitely postponed the trial in Smith’s lawfare case against the former president after the DOJ admitted it tampered with evidence. Smith admitted that some of the documents seized during the raid were not kept in the same order in which they were originally found, while others may have been misplaced entirely.
The press—Fortune, Washington Post, NYT., AP, you know the list—is on high alert, telling America and the world that the way the Trump raid was carried out is just "standard procedure." There is nothing here to see.
It comes down to who you believe: Citizen and political candidate Trump, or the State?
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful. Be Engaged.