OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
When nearly two dozen FBI agents raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last August, an unprecedented move against a former president, his allies decried it as a blatant act of political retribution by a left-wing administration bent on damaging its most likely opponent for the White House in 2024.
Naturally, the Biden administration pushed back against such allegations and claimed that the raid was just the next logical step in what had been an ongoing investigation into a suspect believed to be illegally in possession of sensitive materials.
But now, thanks to the testimony of a senior FBI official, it has become evident that the raid very likely was a politically motivated act to take down President Joe Biden’s chief rival.
Senior FBI official Steven D’Antuono testified recently before the House Judiciary Committee that he had “strong concerns” about several procedural violations that occurred ahead of the August 2022 raid at Trump’s estate.
According to Just the News, D’Antuono — a former Assistant Director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office — pointed out a number of rule violations he says were made by FBI officials during the raid, all of which were detailed in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland from the committee’s chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Jordan “noted several unusual features in the Department’s handling” of the raid in the letter he sent to the head of Biden’s Justice Department.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 9, 2023
The former FBI agent observed “several irregularities” within the Bureau prior to the raid, while noting the apparent lack of concern from the agency regarding stacks of classified documents discovered in President Joe Biden’s garage.
D’Antuono expressed confusion as to why the raid was assigned to the Washington Field Office instead of the Miami office, which is geographically closer to Mar-a-Lago. That decision alone concerns the raid was likely more political in nature than a true law enforcement operation.
The special agent also revealed the bureau had not obtained consent to search Trump’s home before obtaining the search warrant. Additionally, agents who took part did not wait for Trump’s attorney to arrive on-site before forcibly entering by cutting locks and conducting the search.
Finally, the Justice Department did not assign a U.S. attorney to oversee the raid, which is highly unusual.
In sum, Jordan is demanding an explanation from Garland.
There are other problems with the raid as well that strongly indicate a political motivation.
In April, for instance, it was revealed that President Joe Biden and the White House had provided false information regarding their involvement in the raid on Trump’s Florida home. Despite Biden’s repeated claims of having no knowledge or participation in the raid, a Freedom of Information Act request conducted by America First Legal revealed that the Biden administration had indeed interacted with the FBI and initiated the raid through a “special access request.”
The organization stated that the records show that “Biden officials in the Executive Office of the President and the Department of Justice unlawfully abused their power and then lied about it to the American people.”
In addition, the FBI visited Mar-a-Lago a couple of months before the raid but for some reason, did not collect the documents then.
What’s more, armed FBI agents did not raid the homes of Biden or former Vice President Mike Pence, both of whom were reportedly in possession of classified materials though they had no prior authority to declassify them. Only Trump’s home was raided in a high-profile fashion.
On Sunday, Trump attorney Alina Habba said she “could not imagine” any scenario where the former commander-in-chief would cop a deal with Biden’s DOJ, because that is akin to “an admission of guilt” and Trump has “done nothing wrong.”
