Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke Thursday afternoon for the first time since FBI agents raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
Citing “substantial public interest in this matter,” Garland said the government had filed a motion to unseal the warrant authorizing Monday’s search, which Trump has strongly criticized as a partisan attack.
It was not immediately clear how quickly the judge assigned to the case could release the warrant and federal prosecutors noted in their request, filed Thursday, that it should only be granted “in the absence of objection from former President Trump”.
Garland said Trump’s lawyer received a copy of the warrant and a list of what was taken from Mar-a-Lago by officers on Monday – contradicting past statements by Trump’s son Eric.
In his four-minute remarks, Garland did not discuss any details of law enforcement’s work or the broader Trump-related investigation.
“Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the fundamental tenet of the Department of Justice and our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law uniformly without fear or favour,” he said. “Under my watch, that’s precisely what the Department of Justice is doing.”
Sources previously told ABC News that Monday’s search was linked to documents Trump took with him when he left Washington, including some documents the National Archives said were marked as classified.
Garland said Thursday he “personally approved” of the unprecedented move to seek a search warrant for a former president, but stressed that “the department does not take such a decision lightly.”
“Whenever possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search and to narrowly limit any search,” he said.
ABC News reported earlier Thursday that sources say Trump had already received a subpoena in the spring for documents related to what he allegedly failed to turn over to the National Archives, which had recovered 15 boxes of material from Mar- a- Lake in January.
Garland acknowledged there was still a lot he couldn’t say – given the department’s longstanding policy of not commenting on ongoing investigations and unduly harming those caught in the wake of the law enforcement before charges, if any, are laid.
The search of Trump’s home marked an important development in one of the many legal issues Trump faces. (He denies wrongdoing in each.)
“All Americans are entitled to the impartial application of the law, to due process and to the presumption of innocence,” Garland said. “Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. We do this to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations.”
Finally, he said, he wanted to “address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors.”
Mar-a-Lago’s research has drawn a resounding chorus of criticism from Republicans and some others over what critics have called a lack of clarity about why such a move was necessary.
“The American people want transparency when you raid the house of a former president,” Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said Wednesday. “The FBI Raids the Home of a Former President. The American People Deserve to Know Why.”
Speaking at a separate event on Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said of the search: “I’m sure you can understand that it’s not something I can talk about.”
As Trump has done many times before, he and his allies framed the federal inquiry as a partisan sham. Trump said research was ‘not necessary or appropriate’; he did not release any information about the court-authorized search warrant.
“These are dark times for our nation. … This is prosecutorial misconduct, the militarization of the justice system and an attack by radical left-wing Democrats who desperately do not want me to run for president in 2024,” he said. Trump said in a statement late Monday, in the first public confirmation of a raid Garland said Thursday that officials worked to stay out of sight.
He also rejected the denunciation of the police.
“The men and women of the FBI and the Department of Justice are dedicated, patriotic public servants, every day,” Garland said. He “would not remain silent when their integrity is unjustly attacked”.
“They protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their security while protecting our civil rights,” Garland said. “They do so at great personal sacrifice and at great personal risk. I am honored to work alongside them.”
“That’s all I can say at this time,” Garland concluded, fending off questions from reporters in the room. “More information will be made available as appropriate and at the appropriate time.”
In its request to unseal the search warrant, filed Thursday in federal court in Florida, the Justice Department wrote that its decision was made in light of “the clear and powerful interest of the public in understanding what is happened under these circumstances”.
The government filing notes that the warrant was signed on Friday and also calls for the unsealing of a redacted inventory of what was taken by agents at Mar-a-Lago.
Prosecutors wrote that Trump “should be given the opportunity to respond to this motion and make objections, including with respect to any ‘legitimate privacy interests’ or potential for other ‘harms’ if these materials are made public”.
Court records show that answers will be expected on the matter by August 25.
About an hour after Garland spoke, the judge handling the case ordered prosecutors to speak with Trump’s attorneys and report back by 3 p.m. ET Thursday to find out if Trump objects. to the motion to unseal the warrant.
Justice Department Counterintelligence and Export Controls Section Chief Jay Bratt is one of two DOJ officials who approved the unsealing request — along with U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Juan Gonzalez.
DOJ National Security Division Chief Matt Olsen was also in the room for Garland’s remarks on Thursday, reflecting the NSD’s leading role in the investigation.
Luke Barr, Jack Date, Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin Isabella Murray and ABC News’ John Santucci contributed to this report.