A CNN panel questioned the FBI’s reasoning for raiding Mar-a-Lago during a segment Tuesday, speculating that there is likely a larger reason for the raid.
The FBI raided former President Donald Trump’s home Monday evening in connection to 15 boxes of classified White House documents moved to his private residence. CNN legal analyst Paul Callan said a presidential records violation is “not enough to warrant” the raid on the former president’s property.
“No, it’s not enough to warrant all this, and this is a daring and dangerous move by the Department of Justice to serve a warrant on a former president and to raid his personal residence. I have to think that the Department of Justice must have something more than an argument about what kind of records have to be saved for a presidential library or the Library of Congress at some future date. There’s more to this than meets the eye.”
CNN senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe said the Department of Justice (DOJ) will likely not directly share any details about the raid unless they hand down an indictment. He agreed with Callan that there must be more to the investigation than what is publicly known.
“This is such a bold, such a disruptive, such an aggressive mood, the idea that they would do this simply because they weren’t getting the sort of compliance they were looking for out of securing the room with the documents and things like that seems really unimaginable to me,” McCabe said. “I hope they had more than just that.” (RELATED: ‘It Seems Political’: Andrew Yang Condemns FBI Raid On Mar-A-Lago)
CNN senior White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins pointed out that many of Trump’s allies believe the raid could “bolster” his chances at winning the 2024 presidential election if he decides to run for a second term. Eric Trump claimed on Fox News’ “Hannity” Monday that the FBI carried out the raid as they held a grudge against his father’s victory in 2016.
Donald Trump accused the DOJ of political weaponization due to “Radical Left Democrats” attempting to prevent him from running in 2024 in a statement Monday evening.
“It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections,” the former president said.
Political figures from both sides of the aisle have condemned the raid as a political act. Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on the DOJ to justify the raid on the former president’s home. He suggested that a refusal by the DOJ to answer for the raid will turn the raid into a “political tactic.”