Trump Set To Sue Federal Government For $100M Over Mar-A-Lago Raid

Former President Donald Trump has informed the federal government that he intends to sue over the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, alleging it was conducted to interfere with his 2024 election bid, Fox Business reported on Monday.

Trump’s legal team is threatening to sue for $100 million, alleging the federal government is guilty of invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process. The unprecedented raid of Trump’s estate took place just a year and a half after he left the White House and resulted in Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing special counsel Jack Smith to go after Trump over his handling of classified documents.

Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against Trump last month after ruling that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional. Trump’s lawyers argue that the federal government’s goal for the Mar-a-Lago raid was to stop Trump from running for the White House in 2024.

“That’s what President Trump believes the entire special counsel investigation was about, interfering with his ability to get elected,” said Daniel Epstein, counsel to the former president.

Trump’s legal team has also argued that the FBI ignored established protocol by conducting the raid without notifying Trump or his lawyers. Earlier this year, the FBI released a statement saying that the Biden administration authorized the “use of deadly force” during the raid on Trump’s estate, arguing that the authorization was in line with standard operating procedures. Agents were reportedly instructed to dress in a way that would hide “law enforcement equipment.”

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“The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter,” the bureau said in a statement responding to reports about the raid instructions.

Trump’s lawyers are pointing to internal FBI emails that allegedly show agents questioning whether they obtained the required probable cause to proceed with the raid on Mar-a-Lago, Fox Business reported. Less than a year after the raid, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) revealed that Steven D’Antuono, the former assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, “expressed strong concerns with the Department’s pursuit of the raid and noted several unusual features in the Department’s handling of the case.”

The lawyers argue that Garland should have known that as a former president, Trump would have immunity from prosecution over his handling of the classified documents in question and that Smith could not be appointed special counsel. The federal government now has six months to decide if it will settle Trump’s claim for $100 million. If the government does not settle with Trump, the former president can move forward with a lawsuit.