The House Judiciary Committee initiated an investigation on Monday into the FBI’s conduct during the contentious raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022, as per a report from Just The News.
Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan (R-OH), penned a letter addressed to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) counsel on the office of professional responsibility, raising concerns regarding the handling of seized materials. Jordan’s letter highlighted discrepancies in the handling of boxes taken from Mar-a-Lago, alleging that some were altered or intermingled with other contents, a fact only acknowledged by the FBI following an admission by special counsel Jack Smith’s team in a court filing. Previously, Smith had asserted that all seized materials remained unaltered from their initial confiscation.
#NEWS: @Jim_Jordan investigates Jack Smith’s acknowledgment that some of the evidence in President Trump’s classified documents case was altered or manipulated after it was seized by the FBI in its raid on Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/9Qn6h9D3h5
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) May 7, 2024
Jordan emphasized the gravity of these revelations, questioning the Department’s commitment to impartiality and whether the special counsel’s office misled a federal court or upheld the highest professional standards of the DOJ.
In response, Jordan demanded a briefing on potential actions to investigate Smith, urging the submission of all pertinent documents and communications related to the possible manipulation of evidence. Additionally, he requested documentation concerning allegations of impropriety by Smith or his team and communications pertaining to Jay Bratt’s interactions with the defense.
The DOJ was given a deadline of May 20 to comply with these requests.
The August raid, widely criticized as authoritarian and unconstitutional, saw the FBI seizing at least 33 boxes from the Florida mansion where Trump, a current presidential frontrunner, resides. Smith accused Trump of unlawfully retaining classified documents, despite all documents in question having been declassified during the Trump administration, according to the report.
