Trump hints at legal action in response to Mar-a-Lago search

Former President Trump on Friday hinted at taking legal action in response to the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago property last week. 

Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that a “major motion” related to the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution will soon be filed related to the search. He claimed his rights have been violated at a level “rarely seen” before. 

The Fourth Amendment protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures. 

Trump’s post comes after a federal judge said on Thursday that he might be willing to unseal parts of an affidavit that was used to establish probable cause for the FBI to search the Palm Beach, Fla., property.

Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the search warrant, said he did not believe the Justice Department (DOJ) proved why the document should remain entirely private and instructed officials to suggest redactions to the document. 

Reinhart unsealed the warrant itself and some related documents following the search after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the DOJ supported publicizing it, given the significant public interest in the situation and that Trump had revealed the search took place. 

Garland also strongly defended the DOJ and FBI in a rare public statement about an ongoing investigation, saying that their integrity has been “unfairly attacked.” 

Trump and his allies have lambasted the search and accused DOJ officials of acting on political motivation against Trump, who is considering a third run for the presidency in 2024. 

Garland said DOJ and FBI officials are “dedicated, patriotic public servants.” 

The unsealed warrant revealed that the FBI suspected Trump violated multiple laws, including the Espionage Act. Eleven sets of classified items were seized during the search. 

Trump argued that he declassified the documents at Mar-a-Lago while serving as president, but legal experts have said that Trump may still have violated the Espionage Act if he did so because classification status is not relevant to the provisions of the law.