The FBI raid on Trump’s residence is unprecedented. But it’s not unjustified

In order for a search warrant of this nature to have been legally executed, a judge had to rule there was probable cause that a potential crime had been committed

A Secret Service agent stands outside Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

After years of flouting norms and disregarding the law, it appears Donald Trump may be facing his first taste of DOJ accountability.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was raided last night as part of the Justice Department’s ongoing probe into his handling of classified documents. The Presidential Records Act requires administrations to preserve and hand over all documents to the National Archives when they leave office. Trump didn’t do that. It’s also illegal to destroy or mishandle those documents. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) initially asked the DOJ to probe whether Trump violated the Presidential Records Act when he took 15 boxes of documents with him to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House. And now here we are.

There are still a lot of questions left to be answered. Most of what we know about the FBI’s visit comes from Trump and his allies. In a statement, the former president claimed the raid was a “witch hunt” and “political persecution.” Given Trumpworld’s history of disseminating disinformation, I won’t be giving his claims any undeserved credibility.

Here’s what we actually know so far, if we take the accounts of people who are not known to be allied with Trump. On Monday, the FBI initiated a raid at Mar-a-Lago that lasted for hours. Communication reportedly occurred between the FBI and the Secret Service, who allowed the FBI the access they needed for the raid. Boxes were taken out.

This came after DOJ investigators reportedly met with Trump’s lawyers at Mar-a-Lago in June, where they were shown the basement where Trump was storing these documents, including some marked “Top Secret.” On June 8, the DOJ sent Trump’s lawyers a letter requesting the documents be “secured.”

In order for a search warrant of this nature to have been legally executed, a judge had to rule there was probable cause that a potential crime had been committed. This search would have also required approval at the highest levels of the Justice Department and FBI. Contrary to Trump’s claims that this is a Democratic witch hunt tied to the upcoming election, the current FBI Director Christopher Wray was appointed by Trump himself. Many are speculating there may have been a national security risk that the DOJ felt warranted such an unprecedented move like this.

Perhaps there was a concern Trump would destroy documents if a subpoena was issued instead of an unannounced raid. Trump’s tendency to rip up records has been robustly reported. In fact, just yesterday, Axios reported on New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s upcoming book in which she obtained photos of White House records literally floating in the toilet.

Trump’s history of mishandling classified documents is no secret. In February of 2017, he coordinated the US response to a North Korean missile test in plain view at a dinner table in Mar-a-Lago with then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The scene was striking, as resort guests and staff used phone flashlights to illuminate sensitive documents. How do we know this? Because photos of the entire debacle were all over Facebook.

We also can’t forget Trump’s infamous May 2017 White House meeting with Russian officials, Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Kislyak, where he reportedly revealed classified Israeli intelligence about Isis. And then there’s that time he tweeted out a classified image of an Iranian rocket site, not to mention the time when he reportedly had his personal iPhone calls spied on by Russia and China.

But her emails...

The party that yelled “Lock her up!” over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, in which probes found no deliberate mishandling of classified information, is now crying “Leave him alone!” over Trump’s actual mishandling of classified information.

Trump supporters protested outside of Mar-a-Lago in reaction to the news of the FBI raid, and Republican lawmakers at all levels condemned it. In a statement, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) promised retribution. McCarthy ironically called on Garland to “preserve” his documents, proclaiming: “When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned.”

Other high-profile Trump allies are openly calling for “war” on social media. They’re claiming that this is an unprecedented attack on a former president that needs to be answered with unprecedented violence. This is misguided and dangerous rhetoric that could lead to more attacks from right-wing extremists. It is, of course, deeply irresponsible.

While such a raid was certainly unprecedented, it is by no means unjustified. There is a clear pattern of behavior on the part of Trump when it comes to classified material, and if it’s determined he violated the law, then he should be held accountable for it.

Trump has never seen a law that he didn’t think he was above. His legacy of corruption extends far beyond his presidency and well into his business life as a private citizen. Along with this DOJ probe into Trump’s handling of classified material, the DOJ is also actively investigating his effort to overturn the 2020 election. As I’ve written before, if the DOJ finds compelling evidence of a crime and refuses to prosecute Trump, that would be a far more political decision than objectively upholding the rule of law, no matter the culprit.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said just a few weeks ago, “No person is above the law in this country.” At the moment, that is an aspirational statement that will need to be proven with action. I’d add to that statement by saying: No one should be above the law, especially the president. American history is riddled with certain people being prosecuted to differing extents of the law depending on their race and class. Justice has never been consistent. It’s time we change that.