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THIS THURSDAY, August 11, Attorney General Merrick Garland finally issued his first statement on the FBI’s raid against Donald Trump — which occurred last Monday at the former president’s mansion in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, between 6 pm and 7 pm ET. The Attorney General took personal responsibility for the authorization of the controversial raid and, in addition, affirmed that they provided information to Trump’s lawyers before carrying out the operation.
“I personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter,” Garland said. “Copies of both the warrant and the FBI property receipt were provided on the day of the search to the former president’s counsel, who was on-site during the search.”
Throughout the past three days, various politicians, reporters, and anchors have questioned the FBI and the DOJ for failing to provide details about the sudden raid against Trump — an operation of historic caliber for having no similar precedent and for the secrecy of the authorities to provide information based on the raid.
On this, the attorney general noted that “the Department of Justice will speak through its court filings and its work” and that the agency itself filed “a motion in the southern district of Florida to unseal a search warrant and property receipt.”
“Federal law, longstanding department rules, and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time,” Attorney General Garland remarked before leaving the press conference without taking questions from reporters.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland arrives to participate in a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, USA, 02 August 2022. (EFE)
The harsh criticism against Merrick Garland and the FBI
Republican lawmakers have recently criticized Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray after the raid on former President Trump’s private residence in Mar-A-Lago.
Personalities such as Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Mike Lee (R-UT) are some of the dozens of conservative politicians who questioned both the DOJ and the FBI.
The raid has been so controversial that even liberal politicians such as former Governor Andrew Cuomo have called on the DOJ and the FBI to give concrete details about the raid against Trump. This arguing that if the operation does not have clear motives, it will be seen as political persecution against the former Republican president.
“DOJ must immediately explain the reason for its raid & it must be more than a search for inconsequential archives, or it will be viewed as a political tactic and undermine any future credible investigation & legitimacy of January 6 investigations,” Cuomo said on Twitter.
Attorney General Merrick Garland’s recent remarks have yet to answer questions about the legal basis for the raid against Trump. However, many media outlets have reported that the operation would be related to investigating a potential breach of the Presidential Records Act and taking classified materials from the White House by the former president.
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
Contacto: [email protected]
Daniel is a Political Science and Economics student from the University of South Florida. He worked as a congressional intern to Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) from January to May 2020. He also is the head of international analysis at Politiks // Daniel es un estudiante de Cs Políticas y Economía en la Universidad del Sur de la Florida. Trabajo como pasante legislativo para el Representate Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) desde enero hasta mayo del 2020. Daniel también es el jefe de análisis internacional de Politiks.