Turley on Trump Mar-a-Lago raid: 'Disconnect' to see 'heavy-handed' operation
GWU Law professor Jonathan Turley joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the FBI's 'unprecedented' raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and lingering questions over the search.
EXCLUSIVE: Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is questioning how "detached" President Biden is from "his own administration," after the White House said it was not given "notice" of the FBI’s raid on former President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s private residence in Palm Beach, Florida, was raided by the FBI Monday morning, when the former president was in New York City. The raid was connected to an investigation into classified records Trump allegedly took with him from the White House to home when he left office in January 2021.
When asked for comment Monday, a White House official told Fox News Digital: "We did not have notice of the reported action and would refer you to the Justice Department for any additional information."
FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland were aware of the raid, per standard protocol, and would have been fully briefed on it, a source told Fox News.
Johnson, R-Wis., who has been conducting oversight of the FBI throughout his time in the Senate, slammed the raid and the U.S. justice system, while questioning whether the White House was being truthful.
"Our two-tiered justice system is becoming more obvious and outrageous," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "The White House claims it had no knowledge of the Mar-a-Lago raid, which raises even more questions."
Sen. Ron Johnson slammed the raid and the U.S. justice system, while questioning whether the White House was being truthful. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"Are they lying to us (again), or have the FBI and DOJ become partisan rogue agencies?" Johnson asked. "At the very least, President Biden should have been made aware of the unprecedented FBI raid on a former president."
He added: "Is he truly that detached from his own administration?"
The White House did not comment further on Tuesday, referring Fox News Digital back to the original statement that they "did not have notice" of the raid.
The White House says they did not get "notice" of the FBI's raid on former President Trump's private residence at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
TRUMP SAYS MAR-A-LAGO HOME IN FLORIDA 'UNDER SIEGE' BY FBI AGENTS
A FBI source confirmed that FBI agents from Washington, D.C., who are on the bureau's Evidence Response Team, conducted the raid and notified the Miami Field Office just before.
A source familiar told Fox News that agents brought a "safe cracker" and cracked a "relatively new" safe in Mar-a-Lago. The source told Fox News there was "nothing in it."
Donald Trump leaves New York City after the FBI raid on his private Mar-a-Lago resort. (Felipe Ramales: Fox News Digital)
A source familiar told Fox News that FBI agents went to Mar-a-Lago and looked in every single office and safe, and grabbed documents and boxes without going through them on the property. They took boxes and documents to go through them later.
"They were not being judicious about what they took," the source told Fox News.
Trump made the raid public Monday evening, saying in a lengthy statement that "nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before."
"After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate," Trump said. "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."
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"Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries. Sadly, America has now become one of those Countries, corrupt at a level not seen before," Trump said.
"What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee?" he continued. "Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States."
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