On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland made public comments after historic events recorded on Monday, when the FBI raided former President Donald Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Garland confirmed that he personally approved the decision to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The raid occurred in the context of a Department of Justice investigation around whether the former president illegally removed presidential documents from the White House after the end of his administration.
The investigation is one of a number of legal challenges Trump is facing ahead of the 2024 election cycle.
The Justice Department will soon make public the search warrant and property receipt — a document left with property at the time of the raid — in light of “the former President’s public confirmation of the search” and the “substantial public interest in this matter,” Garland said Thursday.
“Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the justice department and of our democracy,” he said, adding that this means applying the law evenly without fear or favor, which is “precisely what the Justice Department is doing.”
Regarding the secrecy surrounding the investigation, Garland said that much of the Justice Department's work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye to protect the Constitutional rights of Americans and the integrity of investigations.
He said he was unable to share further details, but confirmed that he personally approved the search warrant and “the department does not take such a decision lightly.”
More information will be made available “in the appropriate way and at the appropriate time,” he said.
Screenshot via C-SPAN.
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