FILE – President Donald Trump arrives at the White House in Washington, on Dec. 31, 2020.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:24 AM PT – Monday, August 22, 2022
The president of Judicial Watch, Tom Fitton, said the raid on 45th President Donald Trump’s home is a scam. He asserted that the FBI’s raid of Mara-a-Lago was “baseless” and “political.” On Friday, Fitton said the FBI and the Department of Justice have been hijacked to target political opponents of Joe Biden and the left.
“When you have federal law enforcement being used in this way, not to advance the interest of the public, not to advance rule of law, not to fairly administer justice, but to target the political opponents of the current administration — that way lies the death of the Republic,” Fitton stated.
The Judicial Watch president claimed nothing warranted the raid on Trump’s home. He heavily focused on the Presidential Records Act, which allows the president to designate which records are presidential and which are personal.
Fitton brought up “the Clinton tapes,” where it was discovered President Bill Clinton kept dozens of tape recordings capturing moments through his presidency. Judicial Watch took the National Archives and Records Administration to court, declaring the audiotapes were “presidential records” and be moved to the Clinton Presidential Library.
“The lawyer for the archives told a federal court judge that because a president had certain records after the presidency that he had not turned over to the archives at the end of his presidency, they were presumed to be personal,” Fitton explained.
The Judicial Watch president asserted Trump was open to working with authorities on handing over documents and it’s concerning a court allowed the raid to take place.
“Under the law, no one but the president gets to pick what’s presidential records,” said Fitton. “No one but the president gets to pick what are personal records. And the archivist, which is being used as a cutout for the anti-Trumpers running our government here is D.C., has no authority to second guess him.”
Meanwhile, this comes as President Trump hinted at taking legal action over the raid. In a post to Truth Social, Trump said a motion pertaining to the Fourth Amendment will be filed soon.
“A major motion pertaining to the Fourth Amendment will soon be filed concerning the illegal Break-In of my home, Mar-a-Lago, right before the ever important Mid-Term Elections. My rights, together with the rights of all Americans, have been violated at a level rarely seen before in our Country. Remember, they even spied on my campaign. The greatest Witch Hunt in USA history has been going on for six years, with no consequences to the scammers. It should not be allowed to continue!”
— Donald Trump via Truth Social
The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and Trump said his rights have been violated at a level rarely seen before in this country.