Report: Trump Is Suing the US Over Mar-a-Lago Raid

Fox News reports on $100M suit against Justice Department
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 12, 2024 8:54 AM CDT
Report: Trump Is Suing the US Over Mar-a-Lago Raid
Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Bozeman, Mont., Friday, Aug. 9, 2024.   (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Donald Trump has long called the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022 a direct result of political bias against him. Now he's making the same argument in a $100 million lawsuit against the Justice Department, reports Fox News. The surprise search for classified documents was done with "clear intent to engage in political persecution," according to a legal memo obtained by the outlet. The memo by Trump attorney Daniel Epstein also cites "tortious conduct by the United States against President Trump."

  • Protocol argument: Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI chief Christopher Wray "should have never approved a raid and subsequent indictment of President Trump because the well-established protocol with former U.S. presidents is to use non-enforcement means to obtain records of the United States," Epstein writes. "But notwithstanding the fact that the raid should have never occurred, Garland and Wray should have ensured their agents sought consent from President Trump, notified his lawyers, and sought cooperation."
  • The Trump case: The search turned up documents that led to 37 felony counts against Trump brought by special prosecutor Jack Smith. Federal judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Smith's case last month, though Smith plans to appeal.
  • Context: Trump likes to sue and sometimes overreaches. In 2023, a federal judge ordered him to pay $1 million to Hillary Clinton, former FBI chief James Comey, and other political enemies over a lawsuit in which he alleged a massive political conspiracy against him. The judge deemed the suit frivolous and accused Trump of a "continuing pattern of misuse of the courts."
(More Mar-a-Lago indictment stories.)

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