Judiciary Committee Says ‘Everything on Table’ if DOJ Fails to Produce Docs on Mar-a-Lago Raid ‘Abnormalities’
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is requesting copies of Department of Justice (DOJ) documents regarding the FBI's raid on Mar-a-Lago. A senior FBI official involved in the planning and execution of the raid disclosed several "unusual features" and "abnormalities" to Jordan.
The committee spokesman stated that they are considering all options, including issuing a subpoena or charging FBI Director Christopher Wray or other top DOJ officials with contempt if the requested documents are not provided. Jordan has been persistently seeking these documents from Garland and Wray for several months but has yet to receive them.
During a transcribed interview with Steven D'Antuono, the former assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office, he highlighted concerns about the raid and noted various abnormal aspects of the DOJ's handling of the case. Jordan relayed D'Antuono's frustrations, as he believed that the FBI would once again be left accountable for the search of President Trump's residence.
One of the abnormalities mentioned by D'Antuono was that the FBI's Washington Field Office, instead of the Miami Field Office, conducted the Mar-a-Lago raid, which is geographically closer. D'Antuono expressed his confusion about why this decision was made and questioned why the Miami Field Office was not leading the operation.
Furthermore, it was unusual that no U.S. Attorney was assigned to the case, deviating from standard FBI procedures. D'Antuono voiced his concerns about this departure from protocol but received no satisfactory explanation, only being informed that the National Security Division would handle the matter.
Jay Bratt, the lead prosecutor from the DOJ's counterintelligence division, took charge of the case, even though he had previously faced allegations of pressuring a lawyer representing a Trump employee.
D'Antuono also highlighted that FBI line agents opposed the use of a search warrant and instead preferred obtaining consent from Trump before entering Mar-a-Lago. This disagreement suggests that either Attorney General Merrick Garland or Director Christopher Wray made the decision to seek a search warrant against the advice of the line agents.
Another abnormality was the absence of a Trump lawyer when the FBI agents entered his residence. D'Antuono disagreed with excluding the attorney and testified that the FBI intentionally sought to keep them out of the search.
Based on D'Antuono's testimony, Jordan demanded all relevant documents and communications related to meetings between FBI and DOJ officials prior to the execution of the search warrant, as well as those pertaining to the search itself. He specifically requested documents involving Washington Field Office agents and employees, as well as the U.S. Secret Service's discussions regarding a potential search of President Trump's residence.
Recently, Wray narrowly avoided a possible congressional contempt citation by allowing members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to review an unclassified FBI document. The document described an informant's account of alleged bribery involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter with a Ukrainian energy executive during Biden's vice presidency.
