Lawyers for Donald Trump have filed a $100 million claim with the Justice Department, alleging that the federal search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 was inappropriate and hurt Trump’s reputation, an attempt to keep alive the narrative that the former president has been persecuted by a biased Biden administration.
The administrative claim for alleged damages is unlikely to gain steam given that the search was approved by a federal judge after months of investigation and negotiations with Trump’s lawyers. The claim has been filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows people wronged by government employees to seek compensation from federal agencies.
The search in 2022 came after months of attempts by the Justice Department to have Trump and his lawyers voluntarily turn over hundreds of classified records he kept after leaving the White House.
Before the search, federal investigators developed evidence and testimony that led them to believe Trump was intentionally hiding boxes of documents from them and his own lawyers. A federal judge in Florida signed off on the Justice Department’s approach, giving them a warrant to search the property.
This photo from the US Justice Department shows what the DOJ says are boxes of documents stored on the stage of the White and Gold Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in 2021
US Justice Department via CNN Newsource
The claim made to the Justice Department last week argues that Trump is the victim of “intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process” when the FBI searched his beach resort and collected unsecured national security records there.
Trump says in the claim he’s been harmed by the criminal charges brought several months after the search because he had to spend “tens of millions of dollars defending the case and his reputation.” He also alleges the Justice Department is trying to hamper his reelection campaign.
The claim alleges that Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, who signed off on the search, made the decision inappropriately, with negligence and that Trump and his attorneys said they were surprised by the FBI’s arrival at the property.
“The raid should have never occurred, Garland and Wray should have ensured their agents sought consent from President Trump, notified his lawyers, and sought cooperation,” the claim, which was obtained by CNN, says.
The search ultimately led to nearly three dozen criminal charges against Trump for obstruction of justice and mishandling of national security secrets. He had been fighting the case until it was dismissed by a judge last month.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on Monday.
Trump’s team says the claim highlights questions of political malfeasance inside the Biden administration, a theme he has frequently used on the campaign trail.
“President Trump is continuing to fight against blatant Election Interference by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s weaponized Department of Justice,” Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said in a statement Monday.
District Judge Aileen Cannon in the Southern District of Florida dismissed the criminal case against Trump last month after finding the office of special counsel wasn’t appropriately funded or appointed.
Other federal courts have upheld the Justice Department’s use of a special counsel, and the Justice Department is appealing Cannon’s decision in an attempt to revive the case.
Before issuing her ruling, Cannon had not yet weighed in on many of the underlying legal challenges to the charges against Trump and his two co-defendants.
CNN’s Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
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