An FBI official has raised concerns regarding the agency’s conduct during its search on the Mar-a-Lago residence of former President Donald Trump last August.
On Tuesday, Trump was arraigned after being indicted on multiple counts of mishandling classified information. Trump has asserted his lack of wrongdoing.
In a 9 June letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, who heads the House Judiciary Committee, detailed the FBI official’s concerns. In the letter, Jordan gave Garland until Friday to produce “[a]ll documents and communications referring or relating to meetings between FBI and Justice Department officials prior to the execution of the search warrant on President Trump’s private residence” and “[a]ll documents and communications referring or relating to the execution of a search warrant on President Trump’s private residence.”
The letter stated that on June 7, during a transcribed interview, former Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, Steven D’Antuono, “expressed strong concerns with the Department’s pursuit of the raid and noted several unusual features in the Department’s handling of the case.”
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 9, 2023
Regarding the search, D’Antuono predicted in the letter that the FBI would be “left holding the bag again.”
D’Antuono indicated in the letter that it was a violation of standard procedure for the Washington field office and not the Miami field office to conduct the search.
According to the letter, D’Antuono stated that the FBI “learned a lot of stuff from [the] Crossfire Hurricane” investigation, which was a discredited probe into allegations of ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
The letter said D’Antuono said one principle was that “the [FBI] Headquarters does not work the investigation, it is supposed to be the field offices working the investigations,” the letter said, adding that his “concern is that [the] DOJ was not following the same principles.”
The letter continued by noting that Special Counsel John Durham’s report indicated that the FBI itself stated that investigations should be conducted from the field rather than Washington.
Concern was also expressed regarding the absence of a U.S. attorney designated to the investigation. The letter said D’Antuono “raised this concern a lot” with Justice Department officials but “never got a good answer.”
More on this story via The Western Journal:
The letter said D’Antuono was concerned that no attempt was made for a consensual search of the property.
“D’Antuono indicated a belief that either you or Director Christopher Wray made the decision to seek a search warrant, despite opposition from the line agents working this case,” the letter to Garland said. CONTINUE READING…