Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin on Tuesday said the FBI’s raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property could be the key to him winning the 2024 presidential election.
Griffin, in an appearance on CNN’s “New Day,” said she hoped the investigation is about more than Trump not complying with certain archiving laws and is more significant, or the Department of Justice (DOJ) “handed” Trump the Republican nomination and possibly the next presidential election.
“If it’s seen as some sort of massive overreach and not something incredibly serious, this is a very good day for Donald Trump,” she said.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, with one of Trump’s sons, Eric Trump, saying in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity that the raid was over documents that the National Archives sought.
The DOJ had reportedly asked the National Archives earlier this year to look into Trump’s handling of records after Archives officials recovered 15 boxes that Trump should have provided, including some containing classified information.
Griffin said if the documents that the FBI seized contain “vital national security” information, then they could pose a “grave national security risk” if they fell into the wrong hands or were released publicly.
She said Trump knows how to use the raid in his favor, as he essentially broke the news of the FBI raid, and she has seen consistent Republican messaging calling the country a “banana republic.” She said she hopes the DOJ is “buttoned-up” on the investigation.
Republicans have fiercely slammed the raid since Trump revealed it, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called for an investigation into the DOJ if Republicans retake control of the House in the November midterm elections.
Griffin said the “specificity” of the raid, knowing to look into Trump’s safe and for specific documents, might indicate that a witness who is close to Trump’s inner circle is cooperating and told officials where to look.