Former President Donald Trump plans to initiate legal action against the Department of Justice, alleging “political persecution” related to the raid conducted at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, as reported by Fox News.
On August 8, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida, in pursuit of evidence concerning his purported unlawful retention of classified documents.
Fox News has acquired a memorandum in which Trump asserts “tortious conduct by the United States against President Trump.” He aims to claim $100 million in damages for the raid and the ensuing legal proceedings.
Trump faces 37 felony charges, which include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements. The Republican presidential candidate has entered a plea of not guilty to all allegations. Recently, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed all charges against Trump, stating that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unlawful.
“What President Trump is doing here is not just standing up for himself – he is standing up for all Americans who believe in the rule of law and believe that you should hold the government accountable when it wrongs you,” Trump’s attorney Daniel Epstein said.
According to the filing, the “tortious acts against the president are rooted in intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process resulting from the August 8, 2022, raid of his and his family’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Florida.”
He added the decisions made of the DOJ and FBI regarding the raid were “inconsistent with protocols requiring the consent of an investigative target, disclosure to that individual’s attorneys, and the use of the local U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
Epstein characterized the conduct of Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray as constituting “political persecution.”
Their decisions were not about “social, economic, and political policy” but instead, in “clear dereliction of constitutional principles, inconsistent standards as applied to” Trump and a “clear intent to engage in political persecution – not to advance good law enforcement practices.”
Epstein further claimed that the Department of Justice infringed upon Trump’s right to privacy.
Epstein said Trump “had a clear expectation of privacy at Mar-a-Lago. Worse, the FBI’s conduct in the raid – where established protocol was violated – constitutes a severe and unacceptable intrusion that is highly offensive to a reasonable person.”
Epstein additionally referenced the Supreme Court’s decision concerning a president’s immunity from prosecution for actions taken in an official capacity.
“As such, given the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and Judge Cannon’s dismissal of the prosecution on grounds that the Special Counsel’s appointment violated the appointments clause and his office was funded through an improper appropriation, there was no constitutional basis for the search or the subsequent indictment,” Epstein said.
