Everything we know so far about the FBI's Mar-a-Lago raid
What's in the box?
FBI agents executed a search warrant at Donald Trump's Florida mansion on Monday, sending the former president and his allies into a rage. The search is a "major escalation" into the myriad investigations into Trump's presidency, The New York Times reports, and it certainly escalated the always-intense rhetoric surrounding Trump. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vowed to investigate the Department of Justice, while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) likened the search to the methods of "3rd world Marxist dictatorships."
What the FBI was searching for hasn't been publicly revealed, but it appeared to be part of an inquiry into whether classified government documents were taken to Mar-a-Lago "instead of being sent to the National Archives when Trump left office," John Wagner reports for The Washington Post. Trump has reportedly been ignoring the requirements of the Presidential Records Act for years — repeatedly tearing up official documents and even (allegedly) flushing them down White House toilets during his presidency.
But would the FBI really go after a former president over document issues? And what happens next?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This is just a good start for Attorney General Merrick Garland
"FBI agents don't get to waltz into a former president's home" without a good reason, Timothy L. O'Brien writes at Bloomberg. They had to get a federal judge to approve the search warrant — and no judge would have done so in this particular instance unless investigators made a convincing case "there was evidence of crime there." That's not the kind of Watergate-style scandal that Trump alleged when he announced the FBI's raid. "That's how a proper federal investigation unfolds." The question isn't so much whether the investigation is justified, but whether Attorney General Merrick Garland "has the resolve to place all of that damning evidence before a jury, and whether that jury can be convinced that Trump broke the law." And that question has a pretty obvious answer. "Allowing Trump to end-run the law also threatens to shred the fabric of American democracy and justice."
If the FBI overreached, heads must roll
Many pundits say the existence of a search warrant suggests there's a there there, crime-wise, but "what if that isn't true?" Charles C.W. Cooke asks in National Review. While "there's nothing per se wrong with investigating presidential candidates," there is a real problem if the FBI overreached and ends up with nothing to show for it. That would be "the greatest law enforcement mistake in history." And that raises a question about the consequences for all involved in approving the raid. "Do we just move on — as if nothing ever happened?" For transparency's sake, the federal government should immediately make the warrant public. It will only be justified if officials can demonstrate that "if the target was not named Donald Trump, a similar operation would have been launched." If that's not the case, "Merrick Garland must resign or be impeached, as must the head of the FBI."
The GOP's rhetoric is irresponsible
"Trump has marshaled his army of supporters to declare, in knee-jerk fashion, any legal scrutiny of him a deep-state operation," Aaron Blake writes at The Washington Post. That's pretty hypocritical: Remember that the Trumpist movement once delighted in "lock her up" chants about Hillary Clinton. Now Republicans and their Fox News allies are telling the former president's supporters that "if they could go after Trump like this, nobody is safe." But it's important to understand "that this investigation hardly comes out of nowhere." Trump's handling of classified government documents has long been under question — the National Archives had to retrieve 15 boxes of material he took to Mar-a-Lago — and the Department of Justice isn't dumb. Its leaders know "this decision will be harshly scrutinized." The Republican Party's decision to automatically shout "witch hunt" at the investigation "bodes very poorly for whatever comes next in this process."
Trump just got a boost for his 2024 campaign
The FBI raid "has been manna from heaven politically for Trump," Conn Carroll writes at the Washington Examiner. If this ends up being about a paperwork mixup — and if Trump ends up convicted because of it — "mishandling classified documents is not listed as a bar to the office" in the Constitution. Instead, the whole thing smells of political abuse, especially when the Department of Justice "chooses to ignore Hunter Biden's laptop and lets far-left activists harass Supreme Court justices in their homes." While "there is still a lot we don't know" about the raid, we do know Trump stands to benefit as he prepares for a likely run for the White House in 2024: "This raid has the potential to turn Trump into a martyr."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Epic meltdown'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
The World of Tim Burton: a 'creepy, witty and visually ravishing' exhibition
The Week Recommends Sprawling show at the Design Museum features over 600 exhibits from across the directors' five-decade career from early sketches to costumes and props
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: October 31, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Donald Trump sees himself as 'protector' of Israel
The Explainer What does that mean for the war in Gaza?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'Empowered' Steve Bannon released from prison
Speed Read Bannon was set free a week before Election Day and quickly returned to his right-wing podcast to promote Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump promises a rollback of the green energy revolution
The Explainer A pro-fossil fuel agenda dominates the GOP nominee's climate change policies
By David Faris Published
-
'We might need to fiddle with our technology more than we think'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'I am not a Nazi,' Trump says amid MSG rally fallout
Speed Read Trump and his campaign are attempting to stem the fallout from comments made by speakers at Sunday's rally
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why might The Washington Post's nonendorsement matter more?
Today's Big Question The Jeff Bezos-owned publication's last-minute decision to rescind its presidential preference might not tip the electoral scales, but it could be a sign of ominous things to come
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Presidential campaign enters final week with big rallies
Speed Read The race is still tied nationally and in the swing states, where the candidates are spending time
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published