Former President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he would be filing a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the FBI’s unprecedented raid of his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, in August 2022.
According to Fox Business, Trump’s legal team has threatened to sue for a staggering $100 million over the federal government’s invasion of his privacy, malicious prosecution and abuse of process.
President Donald Trump is set to sue the DOJ for $100 million in damages over the government’s unprecedented 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago
WAY TO GO MR. PRESIDENTTHOUGHTS? pic.twitter.com/JuQPWodKcI
— JOSH DUNLAP (@JDunlap1974) August 12, 2024
Trump and his legal team have argued that the Biden administration specifically ordered this raid to stop Trump from running in the 2024 presidential election — pointing to the timing of the raid, roughly 1.5 years after he left the White House and right when he was considering running again.
“That’s what President Trump believes the entire special counsel investigation was about, interfering with his ability to get elected,” said Trump attorney Daniel Epstein.
Following the unprecedented raid, Attorney General Merrick Garland illegally appointed special counsel Jack Smith to investigate Trump’s handling of classified documents. That classified documents case was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon last month, citing the unconstitutional appointment of Smith.
🚨BREAKING: Judge Aileen Cannon has DISMISSED the Trump/classified documents case saying that Jack Smith’s appointment by Biden’s DOJ was unconstitutional. pic.twitter.com/hINiZW84DG
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 15, 2024
Beyond Smith’s appointment, there were several other controversial decisions made throughout the investigation that led analysts to believe that the case was tainted with political bias — including the FBI’s decision to ignore established protocol during the raid, as they dressed in plainclothes and did not notify Secret Service, Trump or his lawyers ahead of time.
Trump’s legal team also pointed to internal FBI emails showing that agents had questioned whether there was probable cause to conduct the raid. In a letter to Garland, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) cited comments from Steven D’Antuono — the former assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office — who “expressed strong concerns” to the committee about “the Department’s pursuit of the raid and noted several unusual features in the Department’s handling of the case.”
In the lawsuit, Trump’s attorneys point out that it should have been obvious to Garland that, as a former president, Trump has immunity from prosecution related to his handling of classified documents. Garland also should have known that Smith could not be appointed as special counsel. Either Garland was fully aware of these facts and maliciously took these actions anyway, or he is woefully inept at his job. The Biden administration now has six months to settle Trump’s claim for $100 million or he will move forward with the lawsuit.
