Outrage as it's revealed FBI agents who raided Mar-a-Lago in 2022 had permission to use 'deadly force' while retrieving classified docs

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: The Department of Justice had approved "the use of deadly force" for FBI agents who raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022 in search of classified documents, as per court filings released on Tuesday, May 21.

An operations order turned into evidence in the 77-year-old MAGA figurehead's criminal case in Florida regarding the alleged mishandling of classified documents, per the New York Post.

The order states that FBI agents in the August 8 raid were tasked with obtaining "classified information, [National Defense Information], and US Government records."

Per the filing from the former president's attorneys, the officials were also instructed to hide their "law enforcement equipment" and arrive equipped with "ammo," "handcuffs," and "medium and large sized bolt cutters."

“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,” the federal agency said in a statement. “No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter.”

DA 'didn't give a damn' about optics of raid on Trump's property

The nearly 10-hour "unconstitutional" search reportedly went into the Palm Beach estate's kitchen and gym area, as well as the bedroom suite of the couple's teenage son Barron Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump, according to Trump's attorneys Todd Blanche and Christopher Kise.

The FBI only uncovered classified documents in a basement storage room, the former president's office, and rooms next to the office.

In a phone conversation in the days preceding the Mar-a-Lago raid, Deputy Assistant Attorney General George Toscas is reported to have said that he “frankly [didn’t] give a damn about the optics” of the recovery operation.

According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, he "personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant."

The court filing includes evidence of an earlier conversation between Trump's lawyer and a prosecutor working for Special Counsel Jack Smith concerning the classified documents’ retrieval.

However, during an appearance with the House Judiciary Committee last year, Steven D'Antuono, the assistant director-in-charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office, stated that he was concerned about carrying out the search warrant without getting approval from one of Trump's attorneys.

Following the FBI raid, Special Counsel Jack Smith proceeded to file an indictment against Donald Trump on 37 felony counts in June 2023.

The allegations included the former president's purported retention of over 100 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, which he had concealed from both his attorney and the federal authorities seeking them.

In a separate motion filed on Tuesday, Trump's attorneys requested the suppression of the aforementioned evidence as well as audio recordings made by Evan Corcoran, which supported the claims of prosecutors regarding obstruction of justice.

Jack Smith responded with court filings of his own as the prosecution prepared to face hearings before US District Judge Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Judge Cannon issued an order in which she declared that adhering to the May 20 deadline would “be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court's duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions... and additional pretrial and trial preparations necessary to present this case to a jury."

This effectively put an indefinite hold on the classified documents trial surrounding the ex-POTUS.

Internet seethes at revelation FBI was prepared to use force

One X user remarked, "This is all getting more and more upside down every single minute we get closer to the election. What’s next???"

Another claimed, "That was staged for a reason. Nothing would have made them happier than if agents on either side would have gotten killed because it would have furthered the BS narrative they started with J6."

Someone else wrote, "Ah yes, the BidEN DOJ is now trying to justify a shooting conservatives over some documents. Imagine if Trump did this to Biden. They would label him a dictator."

One X user claimed, "Arrest Left Wing Lunatic, Merrick Garland for authorizing the setup raid on Mar-a-Lago."

Another tweeted, "Translation: The Mar-a-Lago raid was an assassination attempt on Trump."

Someone else claimed snarkily, "Nothing unusual happening here, just Joe Biden giving his FBI permission to use deadly force at Trump's residence. All perfectly normal."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.