A former FBI special agent speculated that the Justice Department may have pushed hard for the bureau to conduct raids on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month, implying they did so at the behest of the Biden administration.
On Thursday, ex-special agent Maureen O’Connell, who specialized in forensics, gangs and cartel-level drugs in the Los Angeles area between 1991 and 2016, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) was trying to “push” the FBI. to issue an arrest warrant for the raid on Trump’s residence in Palm Springs, Florida.
“Sometimes I think it’s just a really good idea to sit back and drop the chips where you can,” O’Connell said on Fox News’ special report panel, which was chaired by former White House Chief Correspondent Bret Baier. was moderated.
“But looking at the overall situation here, I really think if we’re talking about lively conversations that’s been going on for a couple of weeks and the DOJ — it seems to me that the DOJ carries the weight in this situation. That they were trying to push that [FBI] to make this warrant. They tried to urge the Bureau to hit this situation really, really hard.’
“And I suspect that the Bureau took action against the DOJ in this particular situation, because given which entity has more to lose — the FBI clearly has a lot more to lose in this situation,” she added.
Ex-FBI special agent Maureen O’Connell, who specialized in forensics, gangs and cartel-level drugs in the Los Angeles area between 1991 and 2016, told Fox News’ Special Panel that the FBI learned from the “hard demands” had been made on the Justice Department to execute a search warrant to search the home of former President Donald Trump on Aug. 8
FBI agents were inside the 128-room Florida property (pictured) for nine hours on Aug. 8 while 30 agents roamed the 3,000-square-foot private quarters
“My guess is that the Bureau took action against the DOJ in this particular situation because given which entity has more to lose – the FBI clearly has a lot more to lose in this situation,” O’Connell added. Pictured: Authorities stand outside Mar-a-Lago, the residence of Donald Trump, where a search for classified documents from the Oval Office took place
O’Connell’s comments come after another retired FBI special agent said a raid of this level of sensitivity had to be approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“I believe there was inside information — call it a whistleblower if you will,” Michael Tabman, who served the FBI for 24 years, told exclusively.
“I think either someone told them something or they came across other information that was kind of conclusive to them that they had to go now to get that or they’re not getting it.”
He further claimed that although there was cooperation between Trump and the FBI at one point, the agency may have come to feel that the former president and his team are “telling them what they want to tell them with limited information.” .
Retired FBI Special Agent Michael Tabman told it was likely an “whistle-blower” leaked information to the FBI that led to the Aug. 8 raid on Trump’s home
According to Tabman, FBI protocol is to proceed with seizures of information once they determine that “voluntary” acquisition is no longer practical.
“You know, everything could disappear,” Tabman said. “You have evidence that you must get before it disappears or moves and you can no longer see it.”
In order to obtain the search warrant, the FBI would need to show a probable cause and conduct the search in a timely manner. Agents can’t just poke around in someone’s home in a case like this, Tabman added.
He also claimed the FBI could have gotten the feeling that Trump was simply no longer “fully cooperative” with the investigation – which led to them seeing the raid permit.
The ex-president was at Trump Tower in New York City when the FBI searched his Florida home. His son Eric Trump told Fox News that he was the one who informed his father about the raid.
Trump and his allies were quick to attempt to portray the search as a weapon of the criminal justice system and a Democrat-driven attempt to keep him from winning another term in 2024 — although the Biden White House said it had no prior knowledge and no current FBI Director. Christopher Wray was appointed by Trump five years ago.
Trump spoke about the raid in a lengthy statement late on the day of the raid, describing it as an “unannounced raid” which he likened to “prosecutorial misconduct.”
“These are dark times for our nation as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida is currently under siege, raid and occupation by a large group of FBI agents,” he said.
“I stood up to America’s bureaucratic corruption, I gave power back to the people, and I truly fought for our country in a way we’ve never seen before.
“The establishment hated it. Now that they’re seeing my supported candidates gaining big victories and seeing my dominance in all the polls, they’re trying to stop me and the Republican Party again. Lawlessness, political persecution and witch hunts must be exposed and stopped.’
Former US President Donald Trump was at his New York residence, Trump Tower, when the FBI searched his Florida home
After the raid was made public, Trump said in a lengthy statement shared on Truth Social that FBI agents broke into a safe and left his office in a mess
Tabman told that in order for the FBI to get the warrant for a raid, they need to show a probable cause and conduct the search in a timely manner. He also claimed the FBI could have gotten the feeling that Trump was simply no longer “fully cooperative” with the investigation – leading to them seeing the Mar-a-Lago raid (pictured) approved
Trump’s Florida home was searched by the FBI – believed to retrieve documents the former president took from the White House when he left in January 2021.
The law requires all Presidential correspondence and documentation to be turned over to the National Archives, but it has been reported that the former President has failed to do so.
FBI agents were reportedly at the 128-room Florida property for nine hours on Aug. 8, with 30 agents roaming the 3,000-square-foot private quarters.
Investigators are said to have ransacked his office for several hours – even going so far as to search Melania’s wardrobe, Trump revealed days later in a social media post.
He wrote that they “searched the first lady’s closets and ransacked her clothing and personal belongings,” adding, “Surprisingly, they left the area in relative disarray.”
The agents also searched a locked basement storage room where 15 boxes of White House materials were stored, the New York Post reported.
Sources told the outlet that Trump’s attorneys, led by Evan Corcoran, worked “extensively” with federal authorities to arrange for the documents to be returned, with the process beginning in May 2021 when some records were found to be missing.
The timeline above shows just some of former President Trump’s struggles with the national archives since leaving office, including an independent court battle with the Jan. 6 committee
In January, some of the documents were returned, but apparently not all. Then, in early June, four senior DOJ officials traveled to Mar-a-Lago to speak with the former president’s attorneys about the documents.
The Justice Department’s counterintelligence and export control branch chief, Jay Bratt, was reportedly among the group that met with Trump’s attorneys.
At one point, the former president himself reportedly stopped by to say hello and make “small talk” before leaving, CNN reported.
During the visit, Trump’s team showed government officials where he kept documents — in a basement.
Days later, the FBI reportedly sent a letter to its staff urging them to secure the room where they were observing the storage of the documents. According to CNN, helpers then cordoned off the area.
It’s unclear what happened between June and this month to lead federal investigators to forcibly collect the documents.
has reached out to the FBI and Justice Department for comment.