Melania Trump rips FBI for Mar-a-Lago raid over alleged classified documents: ‘A warning to all Americans’
Former first lady Melania Trump tore into the FBI for the 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago during the bureau’s investigation into her husband’s alleged retention of classified documents.
She characterized the search and seizure at her home as a privacy violation and cautioned that the raid should be a “warning to all Americans.”
“I never imagined my privacy would be invaded by the government here in America,” the former first lady recounted in a video message. “The FBI raided my home in Florida and searched through my personal belongings.”
“This is not just my story, it serves as a warning to all Americans, a reminder that our freedom and rights must be respected.”
Leading up to the FBI’s Aug. 8, 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago, authorities had been in contact with former President Donald Trump’s team seeking to recoup outstanding classified material.
In May of that year, the Justice Department served a subpoena for those files. They retrieved material from Trump in June 2022 and one of the former president’s lawyers signed a letter with caveats attesting that authorities had recovered the last of the classified documents to the best of her knowledge.
But officials were unconvinced that they had recovered the last of the former president’s stash of classified documents and conducted the raid as a result.
Authorities ultimately confiscated hundreds of pages worth of material from Mar-a-Lago with classification markings, according to court documents.
Donald Trump was later charged with 40 counts over his alleged hoarding of classified documents and conspiring to undercut investigators by special counsel Jack Smith.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon ultimately tossed out that case back in July, but Smith’s team has been working to revive it.
The 45th president is looking to sue the DOJ for over $100 million in damages, over its alleged “clear intent to engage in political persecution.”
The former president is still facing 14 counts pending against him spanning two indictments. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all of them.
Throughout her husband’s third bid for the White House, Melania Trump had largely remained out of the spotlight, making seldom public appearances with the former president and rarely speaking out.
Her video post on Saturday marks the second of its kind in recent days and comes on the heels of a video message in which she opened up about the assassination attempt on her husband.
“The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience,” she said in that video message. “Now, the silence around it feels heavy.”
“I can’t help but wonder, why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech?” she went on. “There is definitely more to the story and we need to uncover the truth.”
She is promoting her upcoming book, “Melania,” which is poised to share “behind-the-scenes stories from her time in the White House, shedding light on her advocacy work and the causes close to her heart.”
It will also “stories and images never before shared with the public,” per the description.
Melania Trump’s son Barron recently began college at New York University. Her forthcoming book is slated to hit bookshelves on Oct. 1.
