FBI raids Trump Mar-a-Lago home, fuels Republicans ahead of midterms

The FBI conducted a raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago winter residence Monday, reportedly searching for classified information Trump allegedly removed from the White House. Conviction under the criminal law that bars removal of official records could be enough to make Trump ineligible to run for federal office if charges are brought against him.

The law in question is Section 2071 of Title 18 of the United States Code. The law states a crime is committed if someone who has custody of government documents or records “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies or destroys” them. Trump posted a press release on his Truth Social platform to express his disgust and distrust in the Department of Justice.

“It is a 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,” Trump said in a statement Monday. “Such an assault could only take place in broken third-world countries.”

President Trump released an almost four minute video a few hours after the raid on Truth Social. The video ended with “the best is yet to come.” Trump supporters surrounded the Mar-a-Lago residence in solidarity just hours after news broke of the FBI raid. Republican leaders expressed their commitment to investigate the FBI if they take back the majority in November.

“I’ve seen enough,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said in a statement. “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization. When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned. Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”

Christina Bobb, a lawyer for President Trump, said she was present for Monday’s search. She told NBC News Trump and his team have been “cooperative with FBI and DOJ officials every step of the way,” while adding that the bureau “did conduct an unannounced raid and seized paper.”