The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi">FBI</a> used knowledge from an informant to justify its raid on former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/florida">Florida</a> residence in a warrant application to a federal judge.
An FBI confidential human source informed the bureau of classified documents that the former president was keeping in Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort which he moved into after leaving the White House in 2021. The FBI’s warrant application to search Trump’s residence was based largely off of information fed to the bureau from the source, down to what the documents contained and where they were being kept, two senior government officials told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-informer-told-fbi-what-docs-trump-was-hiding-where-1732283">Newsweek</a>.
The officials, who were not named, said that the FBI planned the raid to take place while Trump was away from the property. Bureau officials believed that searching Mar-a-Lago when Trump is away would help keep the raid low-profile and avoid unwanted attention in the press. The raid had the opposite effect. The unprecedented FBI raid, the first ever conducted on a former U.S. president, brought down a firestorm of criticism on the FBI, Department of Justice (DOJ), and President Joe Biden.
“What a spectacular backfire,” a DOJ official told Newsweek. The official maintained that the raid was not political persecution, as Trump and others have claimed. The official asserted that the FBI raid was part of “a routine law enforcement action.”
Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan was on scene and described the raid to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mara-a-lago-fbi-search-lawyer/">CBS News</a>. Dozens of FBI officials, not in uniform to avoid attention, worked with the Secret Service, still responsible for the former president’s security, to gain access to Trump’s residence. Agents paid special attention to a bedroom, a storage area, and an office.
The informant reportedly told the FBI that confidential documents were stored in specific locations around Trump’s residence. The FBI relayed that information in its warrant application to federal magistrate judge, believed to be Bruce Reinhart of Florida. The warrant apparently specified that certain documents were kept in Trump’s safe, however, Eric Trump has <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/eric-trump-safe-breached-fbi-mar-a-lago-search-empty">said</a> that the safe the FBI searched was empty.
The relationship between the raid informant and the FBI is unclear. The FBI’s use of confidential human sources is rife with controversy and critics say that the informants are too often <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/01/31/how-the-fbi-conceals-its-payments-to-confidential-sources/">motivated</a> by money rather than public service. Informants can make tens of thousands, or possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars from the FBI during investigations. Confidential human sources may <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/fbi-informant-michigan-double-agent">commit</a> illegal acts themselves in service of the FBI or obtain information through dubious means to push an investigation forward.
Reports say that the FBI agents took away 10-15 boxes away from Trump’s residence, though it is unclear what was contained in those boxes.
The warrant referred to possible violations of the Presidential Records Act, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-search-of-trumps-florida-home-mar-a-lago-is-criticized-by-republicans-11660049490">according to</a> Trump attorney Christina Bobb. The FBI was after classified documents Trump allegedly improperly took from the White House when he vacated in January 2021.
Late last year, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), in charge of preserving government records, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-vs-national-archives-timeline-leading-mar-a-lago-raid">contacted</a> Trump about the records he took. Trump turned over 15 boxes-worth of document to the archives in January. DOJ officials met with Trump in June about additional documents, but talks between the two sides apparently broke down until the FBI raided Trump’s residence on Monday.

Donald Trump

Report: Informant Fed FBI Information Used To Get Warrant For Trump Raid

Department of Justice

Florida

Mar-a-Lago

An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/iran">Iranian</a> national and member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was charged by federal law enforcement officials on Wednesday for allegedly attempting to assassinate former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Shahram Poursafi, aka Mehdi Rezayi, 45, of Tehran, Iran, allegedly attempted to arrange for Bolton&#8217;s assassination in response to the Trump administration killing notorious terrorist Qasem Soleimani who was the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF).
Poursafi attempted to pay individuals $300,000 to carry out the assassination in or around the nation&#8217;s capital, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/member-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-irgc-charged-plot-murder-former-national">said</a> in a statement.
Poursafi told a confidential human source that if they carried out the mission successfully, he would pay them $1 million for a second target. Poursafi said that surveillance conducted from methods on the ground in the U.S. had already been carried out on the second target.
Poursafi was officially charged with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire and with providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot. If convicted, Poursafi faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000 for the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, and up to 15 years imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000 for providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot.
Top U.S. law enforcement officials responded to the charges in statement:
<ul>
<li>Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division: “The Justice Department has the solemn duty to defend our citizens from hostile governments who seek to hurt or kill them. This is not the first time we have uncovered Iranian plots to exact revenge against individuals on U.S. soil and we will work tirelessly to expose and disrupt every one of these efforts.”</li>
<li>Larissa L. Knapp, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s National Security Branch: “Iran has a history of plotting to assassinate individuals in the U.S. it deems a threat, but the U.S. Government has a longer history of holding accountable those who threaten the safety of our citizens. Let there be no doubt: The FBI, the U.S. government, and our partners remain vigilant in the fight against such threats here in the U.S. and overseas.”</li>
<li>Matthew M. Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia: “Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, through the Defendant, tried to hatch a brazen plot: assassinate a former U.S. official on U.S. soil in retaliation for U.S. actions. Iran and other hostile governments should understand that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will do everything in our power to thwart their violent plots and bring those responsible to justice.”</li>
<li>Steven M. D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office: “An attempted assassination of a former U.S. Government official on U.S. soil is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The FBI will continue to identify and disrupt any efforts by Iran or any hostile government seeking to bring harm or death to U.S. persons at home or abroad. This should serve as a warning to any others attempting to do the same – the FBI will be relentless in our efforts to identify, stop, and bring to justice those who would threaten our people and violate our laws.”</li>
</ul>

US National Security Advisor John Bolton Press Conference In Kiev

Member Of Iranian Military Charged With Attempting To Assassinate Former Trump Official: DOJ

Iran

United States

Former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">President Trump</a> on Wednesday claimed that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice">Department of Justice</a> (DOJ) and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi">FBI</a> had asked his legal team in early June to put an extra lock on the door to the room where boxes of documents reportedly marked as classified were stored.
Trump contended in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/108800239458187823">statement</a> on Truth Social the feds saw the boxes at his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida two months before Monday&#8217;s dramatic raid. If true, the claim could call into question why the government agents would need to use such heavy-handed tactics to seize documents they knew about.
&#8220;They were shown the secured area, and the boxes themselves,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;Then on Monday, without notification or warning, an army of agents broke into Mar-a-Lago, went to the same storage area, and ripped open the lock that they had asked to be installed. A surprise attack, POLITICS, and all the while our Country is going to HELL!&#8221;
Trump was at his Manhattan home in Trump Tower at the time of the raid. FBI agents reportedly examined all offices and his safe at his Mar-a-Lago private residence before removing the boxes and taking them to their local South Florida FBI field office.
According to Trump’s son Eric, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi">FBI agents</a> who raided his father’s home broke into a safe only to find it empty. The younger Trump told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fox-news">Fox News Channel&#8217;s</a> Brian Kilmeade that 30 members of the FBI were involved in the raid, and that it was to find documents that should have gone to the National Archives. It was not known if they retrieved the documents, but whatever they sought was not in the safe, according to the 45th president&#8217;s son.
Trump confirmed that FBI agents broke into his safe in a lengthy statement released after the raid Monday.
“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1556777920336728064">said</a>. &#8220;It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024 &#8230; Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries.”
“Sadly, America has now become one of those Countries, corrupt at a level; not seen before,” he continued. “They even broke into my safe! What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States.”

US-POLITICS-JUSTICE-FRAUD-TRUMP

Trump Says DOJ, FBI Asked Him To Put Lock On Door Leading To Documents In Early June

A federal magistrate judge has ordered the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice">Department of Justice</a> (DOJ) to respond to requests to make public the warrant authorizing the FBI’s unprecedented Monday raid of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump’s</a> residence.
Federal Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the DOJ to “file a Response to the Motion to Unseal” the warrant Wednesday following requests made by the Times Union, a news outlet located in Albany, New York, and the conservative legal action group Judicial Watch. Reinhart said the DOJ must respond no later than August 15.
According to Trump attorney Christina Bobb, Reinhart <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/09/judge-mar-a-lago-epstein-00050739">signed off</a> on the warrant application for the FBI raid. Before Reinhart became a judge, he was as a defense attorney and at one time <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-who-repped-epstein-cronies-reportedly-signed-off-on-trump-raid">worked</a> on behalf of several individuals connected to the late sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Magistrate Judge Reinhart is asking for DOJ to respond to Judicial Watch&#39;s unsealing request for (what I presume is) the Mar-a-Lago warrant by COB on Aug. 15. <a href="https://t.co/Y4uJV3TGoz">pic.twitter.com/Y4uJV3TGoz</a>
&mdash; Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) <a href="https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1557447820583526402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The FBI sent roughly two dozen agents and technicians to Mar-a-Lago, Trump&#8217;s Florida resort, on Monday morning to carry out a search warrant reportedly over classified documents the former president improperly took with him from the White House in January 2021.
&#8220;These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents. Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before,&#8221; Trump said in a <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/news/news-bu8dvmyvvp2342">statement</a> Monday confirming the raid. &#8220;The political persecution of President Donald J. Trump has been going on for years, with the now fully debunked Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so much more, it just never ends. It is political targeting at the highest level!&#8221;
Trump was in New York at the time of the raid. New York Attorney General Latisha James deposed Trump on Tuesday in connection with her office&#8217;s ongoing civil investigation into his business and tax affairs. Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/nyregion/trump-letitia-james-deposition.html">pleaded</a> his Fifth Amendment protections to all of James’ questions but one: confirming his name.
The FBI&#8217;s unprecedented raid against the former U.S. president, who is one of the leading candidates considering challenging President Joe Biden for office in 2024, set off a firestorm of criticism against the DOJ and Biden. The White House claimed ignorance about the raid; Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/white-house-claims-biden-was-not-briefed-on-fbi-raid-at-mar-a-lago/">said</a> the West Wing found out about the raid in the news like the rest of the United States.
Lawmakers and others have called for the DOJ and FBI to explain the raid against Trump, warning about the politicization of the Justice Department and the FBI&#8217;s crumbling reputation among many Americans. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on Christopher Wray to answer questions about the raid quickly and in depth.
&#8220;If the FBI isn’t extraordinarily transparent about its justification for yesterday’s actions and committed to rooting out political bias that has infected their most sensitive investigations, they will have sealed their own fate. The FBI’s mission and the many patriotic agents who work hard to carry it out will be forever overshadowed by the distrust the bureau has sown,&#8221; the Iowa senator said in a <a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-fbi-must-immediately-explain-itself-after-years-of-politicization-and-loss-of-public-trust">statement</a>.

Judge Orders DOJ To Respond To Requests For Trump Raid Warrant

Some <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration">Biden administration</a> officials in the U.S. Justice Department slammed the FBI&#8217;s raid on Mar-a-Lago this week, saying that the situation backfired big time and the bureau ended up creating the very situation that it sought to avoid.
Newsweek <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-informer-told-fbi-what-docs-trump-was-hiding-where-1732283">reported</a> that the FBI specifically targeted three rooms at former President Donald Trump&#8217;s residence — a bedroom, an office, and a storage room — and that the information used to obtain the warrant &#8220;was based largely on information from an FBI confidential human source.&#8221;
The report said that the confidential informant told the bureau what documents were taken and where the documents were located.
The report said that federal officials waited until Trump was out of state to execute the search warrant at the property because they wanted to be as low-key as possible. Agents were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-details-emerge-about-fbi-raid-on-mar-a-lago-what-they-took-from-property-report">reportedly</a> at the property the entire day and were dressed in plain clothes, leading staff to believe that they were U.S. Secret Service agents, which is why news of the executed search warrant did not leak.
&#8220;What a spectacular backfire,&#8221; a DOJ official told the publication. &#8220;I know that there is much speculation out there that this is political persecution, but it is really the best and the worst of the bureaucracy in action. They wanted to punctuate the fact that this was a routine law enforcement action, stripped of any political overtones, and yet [they] got exactly the opposite.&#8221;
Another senior U.S. official told the publication that the FBI &#8220;created the very firestorm they sought to avoid&#8221; by &#8220;ignoring the fallout.&#8221;
The agents rooted through the personal belongings of former first lady Melania Trump as they executed the search warrant.
Lawyers for the Department of Justice present during the raid reportedly informed Trump’s representatives that the search warrant gave them “full access to everything” on site.
Reports have claimed that Trump’s lawyers were not allowed to observe agents searching the property, although this has not yet been confirmed.
Federal agents executed the search warrant because they reportedly believed that Trump withheld turning over all the classified material that he was supposed to send back to the National Archives earlier this year.
Federal prosecutors opened a grand jury <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-open-grand-jury-investigation-into-trump-over-activities-at-his-florida-home-report">investigation</a> back in May into Trump over whether classified material that ended up at his home in Mar-a-Lago was mishandled.
The main purpose of these types of investigations is usually for federal authorities to determine if any classified material was compromised so that intelligence officials can take steps to protect sensitive sources and methods. Prosecutors are seeking to learn every aspect of how the documents were handled from the time the documents left the White House until they were returned to the National Archives.
For prosecutors to be able to prove that a crime was committed, they would need evidence showing that the parties involved in removing the documents from the White House knew that the documents were classified and knew that removing them would violate the law.
“These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-fbi-raids-trumps-home-at-mar-a-lago">said</a> in a statement. “After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate.”
“They even broke into my safe!” Trump said. “It is political targeting at the highest level!”

Aerial view of Mar-a-Lago, the oceanfront estate of billiona

‘Spectacular Backfire’: Biden Officials Blast FBI’s Raid On Mar-A-Lago As Report Reveals Rat On Inside

Biden Officials Blast FBI’s Raid On Mar-A-Lago As Report Reveals Rat On Inside

Biden Administration

Senate Minority Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mitch-mcconnell">Mitch McConnell</a> (R-KY) responded Tuesday afternoon to the FBI&#8217;s raid this week on the Florida home of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> by demanding that federal officials provide the American public with an immediate explanation for their actions.
FBI agents executed a search warrant on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Trump’s</a> Florida Mar-a-Lago residence because they reportedly believed that Trump held back turning over all the classified information that was supposed to be sent back to the National Archives earlier this year.
&#8220;The country deserves a thorough and immediate explanation of what led to the events of Monday,&#8221; McConnell said in a <a href="https://www.republicanleader.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/statement-from-leader-mcconnell?peek=EaWe%2Bsn0ycnhoRNZyRSn2jZb4aHG3SrCns1nvsrGHVZGjArv">statement</a>. &#8220;Attorney General Garland and the Department of Justice should already have provided answers to the American people and must do so immediately.&#8221;
The strongest statement by far came from National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (FL) who echoed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy&#8217;s (R-CA) strong <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-leader-kevin-mccarthy-sends-blistering-message-to-bidens-attorney-general-over-fbi-raid">statement</a> on Monday.
&#8220;If Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray do not make public statements today explaining to the American people exactly what they did at Mar-a-Lago and why, they will have lost what little public trust they may have had and no longer deserve to remain in office,&#8221; Scott <a href="https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2022/8/sen-rick-scott-on-fbi-raid-of-mar-a-lago-americans-are-watching-biden-garland-wray-must-provide-answers-today">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;All related records must be made available to Congress NOW and every Republican must demand accountability. Since President Biden claims he didn’t know, he needs to come out today and demand that all facts be presented to the American people.&#8221;
&#8220;When Republicans retake the majority in the Senate, there will be a thorough and aggressive investigation,&#8221; Scott added. &#8220;Everything needs to be on the table for AG Garland, including impeachment if he doesn&#8217;t come out today and explain what happened. Today, the nation is watching and we demand answers.&#8221;
The rest of the Senate Republican leadership put out much <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-senate-republicans-begin-weigh-trump-fbi-raid-slower-response-house-counterparts">weaker statements</a> that were all similar in nature.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune (SD) said that the &#8220;FBI needs to provide answers as to why they raided the home of a former American president.&#8221;
&#8220;Complete transparency is the only way to dispel the American people&#8217;s worst suspicions about the agency&#8217;s motives,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Like every other American, I await their timely explanation. Delay is not an option.&#8221;
Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (WY) tweeted: &#8220;Raiding a former president’s home is unprecedented. The Justice Department needs to quickly and transparently tell the American people who approved this raid and why it occurred.&#8221;
Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairman Joni Ernst (IA) tweeted: &#8220;A totally unprecedented action by the DOJ and FBI — the same agencies who labeled parents domestic terrorists and sat on the sidelines while Justices were threatened and churches were vandalized. The American people deserve answers, now.&#8221;

Capitol Hill

McConnell, Senate Republican Leaders Respond To FBI Raid On Trump Home

Merrick Garland

Mitch McConnell

Federal agents confiscated the personal cellphone of Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) while he was traveling on Tuesday with his family, the lawmaker says.
&#8220;This morning, while traveling with my family, 3 FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone,&#8221; Perry said in a statement. &#8220;They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish. I’m outraged — though not surprised — that the FBI under the direction of Merrick Garland’s DOJ, would seize the phone of a sitting Member of Congress.&#8221;
&#8220;My phone contains info about my legislative and political activities, and personal/private discussions with my wife, family, constituents, and friends. None of this is the government’s business,&#8221; he added.
Perry invoked former President Donald Trump, who was raided by the FBI on Monday, in his statement.
&#8220;As with President Trump last night, DOJ chose this unnecessary and aggressive action instead of simply contacting my attorneys,&#8221; Perry said. &#8220;These kinds of banana republic tactics should concern every Citizen — especially considering the decision before Congress this week to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to further persecute law-abiding Citizens.&#8221;
It&#8217;s unclear what the seizing of Perry&#8217;s cellphone was related to, but Fox News did note that Perry had been a target of the Democrats&#8217; January 6 House select committee because he is a loyal Trump ally who was in frequent contact with the Trump White House.
FBI agents executed a search warrant on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Trump’s</a> Florida home at Mar-a-Lago because they reportedly believed that Trump held back turning over all the classified information that was supposed to be sent back to the National Archives earlier this year.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI executed the search warrant “in part because they believed additional classified information remained at the private club.”
The report said that federal agents removed more than 10 boxes of material from the property, which is being sorted at a local FBI field office.
Agents were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-details-emerge-about-fbi-raid-on-mar-a-lago-what-they-took-from-property-report">reportedly</a> at the property the entire day and were dressed in plain clothes, leading staff believe that they were U.S. Secret Service agents, which is why news of the executed search warrant did not leak.
Trump’s Secret Service agents were notified about the raid only moments before it occurred. Trump had lawyers present during the raid while he was at his residence in New York City.
FBI agents looked in all offices and safes on the property and took numerous boxes full of documents for them to sort out at the local South Florida FBI field office. “They were not being judicious about what they took,” a source <a href="https://twitter.com/BrookeSingman/status/1556793544215474176">told</a> Fox News.
Federal prosecutors opened a grand jury <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-open-grand-jury-investigation-into-trump-over-activities-at-his-florida-home-report">investigation</a> back in May into Trump over whether classified material that ended up at his home in Mar-a-Lago was mishandled.
The main purpose of these types of investigations is usually for federal authorities to determine if any classified material was compromised so that intelligence officials can take steps to protect sensitive sources and methods. Prosecutors are seeking to learn every aspect of how the documents were handled from the time the documents left the White House until they were returned to the National Archives.
For prosecutors to be able to prove that a crime was committed, they would need evidence showing that the parties involved in removing the documents from the White House knew that the documents were classified and knew that removing them would violate the law.
This report has been updated to include additional information.

US-CRIME-shooting-SUSPECT

FBI Confiscates Cell Phone Of Republican Congressman

FBI Confiscates Cell Phone Of Republican Congressman Scott Perry

cell phones

Republican Party

Agents with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi">Federal Bureau of Investigation</a> (FBI) executed a search warrant on former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump&#8217;s</a> Florida home at Mar-a-Lago because they reportedly believed that Trump held back turning over all the classified information that was supposed to be sent back to the National Archives earlier this year.
The former president delayed returning 15 boxes of material, which included documents marked as &#8220;top secret,&#8221; until there was a serious risk of legal action being taken.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI executed the search warrant “in part because they believed additional classified information remained at the private club.”
The report said that federal agents removed more than 10 boxes of material from the property, which is being sorted at a local FBI field office.
Agents were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-details-emerge-about-fbi-raid-on-mar-a-lago-what-they-took-from-property-report">reportedly</a> at the property the entire day and were dressed in plain clothes, leading staff to believe that they were U.S. Secret Service agents, which is why news of the executed search warrant did not leak. “They were not being judicious about what they took,” a source <a href="https://twitter.com/BrookeSingman/status/1556793544215474176">told</a> Fox News.
Trump’s Secret Service agents were notified about the raid only moments before it occurred. Trump had lawyers present during the raid while he was at his residence in New York City.
Federal prosecutors opened a grand jury <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-open-grand-jury-investigation-into-trump-over-activities-at-his-florida-home-report">investigation</a> back in May into Trump over whether classified material that ended up at his home in Mar-a-Lago was mishandled.
The main purpose of these types of investigations is usually for federal authorities to determine if any classified material was compromised so that intelligence officials can take steps to protect sensitive sources and methods. Prosecutors are seeking to learn every aspect of how the documents were handled from the time the documents left the White House until they were returned to the National Archives.
For prosecutors to be able to prove that a crime was committed, they would need evidence showing that the parties involved in removing the documents from the White House knew that the documents were classified and knew that removing them would violate the law.
“These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-fbi-raids-trumps-home-at-mar-a-lago">said</a> in a statement. “After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate.”
“They even broke into my safe!” Trump said. “It is political targeting at the highest level!”
This article has been expanded after publication to include additional information.

US-POLITICS-INVESTIGATION-TRUMP

New Report Sheds Light On Reason FBI Raided Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Home

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house">White House</a> claims it only learned of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-details-emerge-about-fbi-raid-on-mar-a-lago-what-they-took-from-property-report">FBI’s stunning raid</a> on former President Trump’s home in Florida on Twitter, at the same time the media did, according to multiple reports.
As improbable as it may seem that the Department of Justice would execute a search warrant on a former president and political opponent of the administration without Biden&#8217;s knowledge, that’s what <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york-times">New York Times</a> reporter Jonathan Martin tweeted Monday night. Trump was not home during the raid at the mansion known as Mar-a-Lago.
“Senior White House officials found out about the FBI’s Mar a Lago raid on Twitter, had no notice, per source familiar,” Martin tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Senior White House officials found out about the FBI’s Mar a Lago raid on Twitter, had no notice, per source familiar
&mdash; Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) <a href="https://twitter.com/jmartNYT/status/1556783614582571008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
CBS News reporter Ed O&#8217;Keefe said a top Biden official told him the same thing.
“No advance knowledge. Some learned from old media some from social media,” O’Keefe quoted a senior administration official when <a class="x5l" href="https://twitter.com/edokeefe/status/1556790991570538496" target="_blank" rel="noopener external">asked</a> about the raid.
The dramatic raid was initially announced by Trump himself, in a lengthy statement decrying what he characterized as a political move.
“These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump wrote. “Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.”
Other conservatives, including many not aligned with the 45th president, said the raid sets a dangerous precedent.
The search was reportedly for material that Trump brought with him to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House in 2021, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/us/politics/trump-fbi-mar-a-lago.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur">reports</a>. Trump allegedly delayed returning more than a dozen boxes of material to the National Archives which included documents that were reportedly marked as classified.
Republican strategist Scott Jennings, on a CNN panel hours after the raid, said the political implications of Biden’s Justice Department raiding his predecessor cannot be ignored.
“I mean, they’ve raided the guy’s house,” said Jennings. “There’s no reconciliation here when you raid somebody’s house. And so because of the political implications of that, I’m curious to know about what did the White House know?”
David Axelrod, former top adviser to President Obama, said Attorney General Merrick Garland has gone beyond the point of no return, at least politically.
“He has crossed a rubicon here — if you are going to prosecute a former President of the United States, you’d better be pretty darn sure that you have an open-and-shut case,” Axelrod said.

Chinese Woman With Malware Nearly Breaches Security At Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Resort

White House Claims It Was Blindsided By FBI Raid On Trump’s Mar-A-Lago: Reports

White House Claims It Was Blindsided By FBI Raid On Trump's Mar A Lago: Reports

Biden Admin

White House

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi">FBI</a> has sounded the alarm about white supremacists and far-right extremists, but the bureau&#8217;s own Top 10 “most wanted domestic terrorists” list includes at least two Communists, three black nationalists, one anti-war activist, and a vegan eco-terrorist.
While the diverse roster doesn&#8217;t purport to capture the breadth of domestic terror, it seems at odds with federal law enforcement&#8217;s claims that white supremacists pose the biggest threat facing the nation. Some skeptics are accusing the bureau of exaggerating the threat by adopting a misleading definition of such ideologies.
&#8220;In the FBI’s view, the top domestic violence extremist threat comes from racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, specifically those who advocated for the superiority of the White race,&#8221; Attorney General Merrick Garland <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/jim-jordan-says-whistleblower-disclosures-193200323.html">said last year</a>.
A top Department of Justice official <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-official-threat-of-domestic-violent-extremism-remains-elevated-/6678204.html">doubled down</a> on the claim during a Congressional hearing last week. But Rep. <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/jim-jordan-says-new-whistleblower-disclosures-reveal-scandalous-push-by-fbi-to-pad-domestic-terrorism-data/ar-AA102t6k">Jim Jordan</a>, an Ohio Republican, said a whistleblower has come forward to cast doubt on the data.
“These whistleblower allegations that the FBI is padding its domestic violent extremist data cheapens actual examples of violent extremism,” Jordan wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
In any case, white supremacists, militia members, and far-right extremists are conspicuous in their absence from the FBI&#8217;s list of &#8220;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/dt">Most Wanted</a> Domestic Terrorists.&#8221; Here&#8217;s who is on the list:
Donna Joan Borup: &#8220;A member of the May 19th Communist Organization, a Marxist-Leninist organization which advocated the armed revolution and violent overthrow of the United States Government,&#8221; reads the bureau&#8217;s bio of her. Borup is a reputed genius with a photographic memory who allegedly threw acid in the eyes of a police officer, blinding him, during a violent protest. Members of the group bombed the National War College, the Washington Navy Yard, and the U.S. Capitol in the early 1980s.
Elizabeth Anna Duke: An 81-year-old former teacher and philanthropist who was also a member of the May 19th Communist Organization, which brought together the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground and was named after Communist Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh&#8217;s birthday.
Cheri Laverne Dalton, also known as Nahanda Abiodun: A black nationalist and far-Left radical who also was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/21/nyregion/turmoil-continues-at-brink-s-hearing.html">involved</a> in M19CO. She was tied to the deadly 1981 robbery of a Brinks truck, alongside Kathy Boudin, Susan Rosenberg, and other notorious radical leftists. The robbery resulted in the death of two police and one guard. She fled to Cuba where she is &#8220;involved with the hip-hop music culture.” Dalton <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/nehanda-abiodun-black-nationalist-and-godmother-of-cuban-hip-hop-dies-at-68/2019/02/12/d8ed0e2c-2edb-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html">died</a> in 2019, but oddly remains on the list.
Josephine Sunshine Overaker: An eco-terrorist linked to the Earth Liberation Front or Animal Liberation Front. She was charged in Oregon with involvement in seventeen acts of terrorism, including arson and destruction of an energy facility. &#8220;Overaker may have a light facial moustache. She was a vegan and may still be,&#8221; the FBI notes, and may work as a midwife or sheep tender.
Catherine Marie Kerkow: A white woman from Oregon who belonged to the Black Panthers and <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2019/09/how-coos-bays-all-american-girl-became-a-daring-skyjacker-then-disappeared-into-1970s-underground.html">hijacked</a> a plane alongside her black nationalist boyfriend, demanding $500,000 and the release of Angela Davis, a Communist black militant accused of murder. They demanded that the plane fly them to North Vietnam. After smoking joints in the cabin, they changed their mind and demanded that the pilot take them to Algeria, where they were granted political asylum among other Black Panthers.
Leo Frederick Burt: Allegedly participated in the 1970 bombing of the University of Wisconsin to protest the Vietnam War. Local news said the campus&#8217; <a href="https://madison.com/news/local/sterling-hall-bombing-aug-24-1970-a-day-of-change-for-the-world-as-we/article_b49d5197-2a5e-54fc-8c0b-8398ea5674c9.html">leftist activism</a> &#8220;matched University of California-Berkeley on the political Richter scale,&#8221; and the bombing targeted a Department of Defense project going on in one of its buildings. A physics researcher was killed. In 1995, Fred Harvey Harrington, president of the university from 1962 to 1970, &#8220;said the explosion was a violent response to increasing repression by authorities against protesters,&#8221; local news reported.
Ishmail Muslim Ali: A black nationalist serving time for eight murders when he hijacked a plane transferring him to a New York jail and directed it to Cuba, where he became a public school <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/world/americas/cuba-trump-extradition-hijacker-assata-shakur.html">teacher</a>.
George Edward Wright: A black man who was convicted of murder, escaped from prison, and hijacked a plane. He pretended to be a reverend and hid a gun inside of his Bible.
Jose Espinosa Cabellero: A Hispanic man who hijacked a plane flying from New York to Florida, and demanded to be flown to Cuba.
Ambrose Henry Montfort: A black man who hijacked a plane and demanded to be flown to Cuba.
Members of the group most represented on the Most Wanted list – the Weather Underground/May 19 Communist Organization faction – who are not on the lam have been actively protected by Democrat politicians. Bill Clinton <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-107shrg76344/html/CHRG-107shrg76344.htm">pardoned</a> two members tied to the bombing of the Capitol, Susan Rosenburg and Linda Sue Evans, on his last day in office. Judith Clark, one of the getaway drivers in the Brinks robbery, had her sentence <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/08/24/a-weatherman-his-da-son-and-cuomos-shameful-pardon/">commuted</a> by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The other getaway driver, Kathy Boudin, became a professor at Columbia University, and her son, Chesa Boudin, was elected district attorney of San Francisco, then recalled earlier this year.
In February 2021, days after Biden took office, a Department of Homeland Security-linked &#8220;fusion center,&#8221; a liaison office for the receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of intelligence, issued a <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/video/right-wing-extremists-responsible-for-majority-of-deadly-terrorist-attacks-181352019.html">report</a> saying that there was a “rarity of targeted left-wing extremist attacks,” and that right-wing domestic violent extremists, chiefly &#8220;anti-authority extremists&#8221; and &#8220;militia extremists,&#8221; &#8220;were responsible for the majority of deadly domestic terrorist activity.&#8221;
It cited three examples: the &#8220;Boogaloo movement,&#8221; said to be a group of white men who wear Hawaiian shirts; a plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan, which later resulted in acquittals after the defense showed that undercover <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/04/08/michigan-whitmer-verdict-governor/">FBI operatives</a> entrapped the defendants; and a man who set off a bomb near a telecommunications hub in Tennessee, even though the fusion center admitted, &#8220;the motive remains under investigation.&#8221; The <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/alleged-nashville-bomber-anthony-quinn-warner-hated-cops-and-loved-weed-former-co-worker">Daily Beast</a> reported that the bomber was &#8220;kind of a hippie&#8221; with long hair who liked smoking weed and hated cops.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-tells-congress-it-hasnt-prosecuted-anyone-for-scotus-protests-but-is-still-going-after-parents">DOJ Tells Congress It Hasn’t Prosecuted Anyone For SCOTUS Protests, But Is Still Going After Parents</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/capitol-police-seek-to-hire-their-own-prosecutor-overseeing-allegations-against-congressmen-and-trespassers">Capitol Police Seek To Hire Their Own Prosecutor Overseeing Allegations Against Congressmen And Trespassers</a>

most-wanted

Leftists Dominate FBI Top 10 Domestic Terror List, Despite Warnings About Far Right

January 6

Jim Jordan

Joe Biden

Political Violence

Terrorism

Former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/puerto-rico">Puerto Rico</a> Governor Wanda Vázquez was arrested on Thursday on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bribery">bribery</a> charges, according to a statement by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice">Department of Justice</a> (DOJ).
The federal charges are connected to the financing of Vázquez’s 2020 gubernatorial campaign. Between December 2019 and June 2020, Vásquez allegedly received $300,000 from a banker and a former FBI agent to pay political consultants for her campaign. Authorities believe that in return for the donations, Vázquez would have appointed the donors’ desired candidate to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF).
Vázquez and other accused participants in the scheme have been charged with conspiracy, federal programs bribery, and honest services wire fraud, and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
&#8220;The alleged bribery scheme rose to the highest levels of the Puerto Rican government, threatening public trust in our electoral processes and institutions of governance,&#8221; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/americas/puerto-rico-wanda-vazquez-governor-arrested/index.html">said</a> in a statement.
Vázquez had previously served as Puerto Rico’s secretary of justice and as a district attorney, and she became governor in 2019, after her predecessor, Ricardo Rosselló, was forced to step down by island-wide protests after a <a href="https://www.latinorebels.com/2019/07/15/telegramgatescandal/">scandal</a> of his own.
The DOJ also <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-governor-puerto-rico-arrested-bribery-scheme">named</a> Herrera Velutini, Frances Diaz, John Blakeman, and Mark Rossini as accused participants in the corruption scheme. Velutini, 50, is a dual Venezuelan-Italian citizen and the owner of an international bank, and Diaz, a 50-year-old resident of Puerto Rico, was the bank’s president. Rossini, 60, was a former FBI special agent and a consultant for Velutini, and Blakeman, 53, is a political consultant who worked on Vázquez’s 2020 campaign.
Velutini’s bank was reportedly audited in 2019 by the OCIF. Velutini and Rossini are accused of reaching out via third parties to various political candidates and offering bribes and campaign support in exchange for the replacement of the current commissioner of the OCIF with a former consultant of Velutini’s. After Vázquez lost her party primary in 2020, the group allegedly attempted to reach out to her successor; an FBI informant posing as his representative caught them.
Diaz and Blakeman have both pleaded guilty to charges connected to the bribery scheme, according to the indictment.
Peter John Porrata, a member of Vázquez’s legal team, told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/americas/puerto-rico-wanda-vazquez-governor-arrested/index.html">CNN</a> on Thursday that Vázquez will plead not guilty to the charges.
Vázquez’s successor, Governor Pedro Pierluisi, said in response to the ruling that under his administration, there was “zero tolerance for corruption.”
&#8220;No one is above the law in Puerto Rico,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-puerto-rico-governor-wanda-vazquez-arrested-on-bribery-charges/">said</a>. &#8220;Faced with this news that certainly affects and lacerates the confidence of our people, I reiterate that in my administration, we will continue to have a common front with federal authorities against anyone who commits an improper act, no matter where it comes from or who it may implicate.&#8221;

Walter Mercado Funeral

Ex-Governor Of Puerto Rico Arrested On Bribery Charges

Ex-Governor Of Puerto Rico Wanda Vázquez Arrested On Bribery Charges

Bribery

Corruption

Puerto Rico

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice">Department of Justice</a> sued the state of Idaho on Tuesday over its near-universal ban on abortions, the first lawsuit of its kind since the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a> overturned Roe v. Wade.
Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/merrick-garland">Merrick Garland</a> announced the lawsuit in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The Biden administration’s chief prosecutor claimed that the Idaho law illegally restricts access to abortion in some cases where the life of the mother is at risk.
“If a patient comes into the emergency room with a medical emergency jeopardizing the patient’s life or health, hospitals must provide the treatment necessary to stabilize that patient,” Garland said, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-files-lawsuit-challenging-idaho-abortion-law-11659463607">The Wall Street Journal</a>. “This includes abortion when that is the necessary treatment.”
Idaho’s <a href="https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title18/t18ch6/sect18-622/">law</a> is set to take effect later this month, banning all abortions except where the life of the mother is in danger, rape, and incest. Though the state law has an exception for abortion if the life of the mother is in danger, the Justice Department’s lawsuit says the exception is too narrow and runs the risk of forcing doctors to violate federal law.
“The State of Idaho, however, has passed a near-absolute ban on abortion. Once the Idaho law takes effect on August 25, 2022, Idaho Code § 18-622 will make it a felony to perform an abortion in all but extremely narrow circumstances,” the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.idd.50547/gov.uscourts.idd.50547.1.0_1.pdf">lawsuit</a> states. “The Idaho law would make it a criminal offense for doctors to comply with [Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act] requirement to provide stabilizing treatment, even where a doctor determines that abortion is the medical treatment necessary to prevent a patient from suffering severe health risks or even death.”
Governor Brad Little (R-ID) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorLittle/status/1554560383641235456">said</a> the lawsuit amounted to “federal meddling” in the state’s newly-secured authority to set abortion law. Biden “continues to ignore issues that really should demand his attention – like crushing inflation and the open border with Mexico,” Little said.
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden issued a separate <a href="https://www.ag.idaho.gov/newsroom/wasden-issues-statement-following-u-s-doj-abortion-lawsuit/">statement</a> saying the federal government is misinterpreting federal law to find conflict where none exists.
“Contrary to the carefully edited assertion in paragraph 25 of the Department’s complaint that Idaho’s laws are preempted, EMTALA actually states: ‘The provisions of this section do not preempt any State or local law requirement, except to the extent that the requirement directly conflicts with a requirement of this section,’” Wasden said.
“Instead of complying with the requirements of this provision and reconciling Idaho’s law with EMTALA, or even attempting to engage Idaho in a meaningful dialogue on the issue, the federal government has chosen to waste taxpayer dollars on an unnecessary lawsuit,” he added.
The Supreme Court overturned its 1973 decision on Roe in June, ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the constitutional authority to set limits on abortion procedures rests with the states.

Justice Department Sues To Block Idaho Pro-Life Law In First Suit Since Dobbs Ruling

Abortion

Idaho

Supreme Court

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