In his first public statement since federal agents searched the former president’s home Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday that the Justice Department had filed a request with the court for the search warrant to be open.
Garland also said that she “personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter.”
He commented that the department did not talk about the search the day it took place. He pointed out that the search was confirmed by Trump that night.
Garlando said copies of the warrant and the warrant receipt were provided to Trump’s lawyers who were at the scene during the search.
“The Department filed the motion to make the warrant and receipt public in light of the former President’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances, and the substantial public interest in this matter,” Garland said.
“Faithful adherence to the rule of law is a fundamental principle of the Department of Justice and our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law uniformly, without fear or favor. Under my supervision, that is exactly what the Department of Justice is doing.”
The statement comes after days of silence by the Justice Department regarding the search, as is normal department practice for ongoing investigations. Garland emphasized that some of the department’s work must take place out of public view.
“We do this to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations,” he said, explaining that he would not provide further details on the basis of the search.
See photos of Donald Trump’s Florida residence:
The Justice Department was instructed by the court to speak with Trump about his request to release certain warrant documents from the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search and report to the court by Friday at 3 pm. ET if he opposes his release.
Ministry of Justice asks for the release of documents
The FBI executed a search warrant on Monday at the Palm Beach, Florida resort as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including confidential documents, that may have been brought there.
Newly filed court documents outline what the Justice Department officially decided to do on Thursday.
“On August 8, 2022, the Department of Justice executed a search warrant, issued by this Court upon the necessary finding of probable cause… at the facility located at 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida 33480, a property of the former President Donald J. Trump,” the motion reads.
“At the time the warrant was initially executed, the Department directly notified former President Trump’s attorney. The Department has not made any public statements about the search, and the search has apparently attracted little or no public attention. That same day, former President Trump issued a public statement acknowledging the execution of the warrant,” he writes.
The Justice Department then defends opening the search warrant, citing “the intense public interest presented by a search of a former president’s home.”
The filing confirms that the search warrant was “signed and approved by the Court on August 5th.” On Thursday, the DOJ filed “the edited property receipt listing the items seized pursuant to the search,” according to its motion to dismiss.
“Former President Trump, through an attorney, received copies of each of these documents on August 8, 2022, as part of the execution of the search,” the document adds.
Earlier this year, officials at the National Archives arranged for the recovery of 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago. In June, federal investigators served a grand jury subpoena and removed classified national security documents.
Then, according to sources, prosecutors developed evidence that there were potentially classified documents with national security implications remaining on the property.
FBI officials under attack
Republican lawmakers attacked the department, calling the search politically motivated. Several right-wing lawmakers have called for greater oversight from the department, and some have even suggested defunding the FBI or having agents plant evidence on Florida property.
Violent threats have also exploded online since the search. Posters wrote things like “Garland needs to be murdered” and “Kill all the feds.”
The biography and contact information of a federal judge who appears to have signed the search warrant used to carry out the Mar-a-Lago search was deleted from a Florida court’s website after he also became the target of violent threats.
In a message reviewed by CNN on Thursday, moments before the public statement, FBI Director Chris Wray told department officials that their “safety and safety” was his “primary concern right now.”
“There have been a lot of comments about the FBI this week questioning our work and motives,” Wray said. “A lot of this comes from outside critics and experts who don’t know what we know and don’t see what we see. What I know – and what I see – is an organization made up of men and women committed to doing their jobs professionally and by the rules every day; this week is no exception.”
In her public comments, Garland also drew attention to “baseless attacks on the professionalism of FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors.”
“I will not remain silent when your integrity is unjustly attacked. The men and women of the FBI and the Department of Justice are dedicated patriotic public servants,” he said.
“Every day, they protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their security while protecting our civil rights. They do this at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. I am honored to work alongside them.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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