FBI lacked 'probable cause' for warrant to raid Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, bombshell files reveal

WASHINGTON, DC: Internal reports released by Sen Chuck Grassley (R–Iowa) on Tuesday, December 16, revealed that FBI agents did not believe they had probable cause to raid Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022, yet the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden pushed forward with the search.

The files include communications in which FBI officials, after six “counterproductive” weeks of investigation, expressed doubt about the grounds for the warrant, only to be reportedly overruled by a top DOJ official who “frankly didn’t give a damn about the optics.”

Emails show FBI doubts over probable cause for Mar-a-Lago search

The newly released records reveal skepticism among FBI agents regarding the Mar-a-Lago search warrant.

Emails show agents struggling for weeks to establish sufficient probable cause, with one official from the FBI’s Washington Field Office complaining in a July 13, 2022, email, “We haven’t generated any new facts, but keep being given draft after draft after draft.”

The official went on to question, “Absent a witness coming forward with recent information about classified on site, at what point is it fair to table this?”

These communications highlight that witness interviews failed to produce evidence that sensitive files remained at the estate following the June 3, 2022, return of documents.

DOJ under Biden admin pushed raid despite FBI objections

Despite internal misgivings within the FBI and efforts to find “a second path” for the search warrant, the Department of Justice was determined to move forward.

According to the records, DOJ officials wanted a search warrant ready as early as June 6, 2022, and were “adamant that no accommodation” be given to extend an earlier May deadline for the return of documents.

The urgency was evident, as Special Counsel Jack Smith’s deputy, Jay Bratt, reportedly did not expect to “negotiate” with Trump’s attorney when serving an earlier grand jury subpoena because DOJ officials did not anticipate compliance.

When discussing the recovery operation, senior DOJ National Security Division attorney George Toscas reportedly said he “frankly didn’t give a damn about the optics” of the search. The decision ultimately led Attorney General Merrick Garland to sign off on the raid over the objections of FBI leadership, including Washington Field Office chief Steven D’Antuono.

Mar-a-Lago search expanded to Trump’s private quarters

Prior to the raid, the search parameters were “widened” in July to include “all boxes/containers present in the storage room, the 45th Office at MAL, MAL Owner’s Quarters,” as well as possible off-premises storage.

While FBI communications, including an exchange with Washington Field Office Special Agent in Charge of Counterintelligence Tony Riedlinger, expressed a desire for the warrant to be executed “in a professional, low key manner … mindful of the optics of the search,” the reality was different.

Trump later claimed that dozens of agents “raided, and occupied” his home, reportedly even entering Melania Trump’s master bedroom and using a professional safecracker to access his office.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the unannounced raid, which lasted more than nine hours, “was not necessary or appropriate” given his cooperation.