Donald Trump.Photo: James Devaney/GC Images
While a federal judge determines whether to sign off on the release of the search warrant and property receipt, sources reportedly toldCBS Newsthat Trump and his legal team are weighing whether to release their copy of the documents, as well as security footage, themselves.
As some critics point out, Trumpcould have already publicized what the warrant soughtand what was seized from the search.
Instead, he hasstirred outrage among his supporters, lambasting the law enforcement officers of the FBI and Department of Justice, and accusing the search of being political (this despite the White House saying itonly learned of the search via news reports).
As Trump has spun the search into ahim-versus-the-FBI narrative, threats against agents have proliferated onextremist, far-right corners of the webin the days since the FBI executed the warrant on Monday at the home of the former president.
On Thursday, a man was fatally shot aftertrying to break in to an FBI field officein Ohio and getting in a standoff with state police. Prior to his attempted attack, he had taken to Truth Social to write: “If you don’t hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I., and it’ll mean either I was taken off the internet, the F.B.I. got me, or they sent the regular cops while.”
Trump’s statement demanding the release of the documents came in response to U.S. Attorney GeneralMerrick Garland’s brief, last-minute Thursday afternoon speech. In it, Garland announced that the Department of Justice hadfiled a motion to unseal the search warrant and property receipt, so that the public can see basic details of their search.
He also noted that Trump’s counsel was provided with copies of those documents on the day of the search.
It is believed that the FBI’s search was conducted in order to retrieve classified documents that Trump allegedly failed to turn over to the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of his presidency, though Garland did not confirm that detail in his speech.
The attorney general also revealed that he personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant and that it was not a decision taken lightly, but was viewed as a necessary last resort in their investigation.
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Trump’s statement approving the release of the documents comes amidreportsthat federal agents were looking forhighly classified recordsrelated to nuclear weapons as part of the search.
The specifics of those documents and whether any were recovered remains unknown, although new reports have emphasized the potential danger of such classified information falling into the wrong hands.
A source with knowledge of the subpoena tells PEOPLE, “I can’t tell you anything about nuclear documents. But this is why it’s important for the subpoena to be made public. The public needs to know what is or is not in that subpoena.”
source: people.com
