Donald Trump Is Absolutely Lashing Out Over The Newly Released Mar-A-Lago Affidavit

The details surrounding the raid of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate are unraveling, revealing greater detail about why the FBI conducted the search and what they found. On August 26, magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart made the unusual move to allow the unsealing of the affidavit, per CNN. Although large portions of it were redacted, the public was able to see the concerns that spurred the federal agency to drastic action.

The affidavit said in part, "There is probable cause to believe that additional documents that contain classified (National Defense Information) or that are Presidential records subject to record retention requirements currently remain at (Mar-a-Lago)." It was also revealed that the investigation began on a tip from the National Archives, which noticed classified records among the 15 boxes of material taken from the estate in January 2022. The FBI also stated that it had reason to suspect a possible obstruction of justice on Trump's part, but any evidence of this within the affidavit was redacted.

Trump appears to be unraveling himself. Shortly after the affidavit was made public, he posted his reaction to his Truth Social platform (via Twitter), using exclamation points and all-caps to emphasize his outrage. "Affidavit heavily reacted!!!" he wrote. "Nothing mentioned on 'Nuclear,' a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI and DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover — WE GAVE THEM MUCH."

Former president Donald Trump went on in his statement to blast Judge Bruce Reinhart. The U.S. magistrate judge from Florida approved the warrant that gave the FBI authority to search the Mar-a-Lago residence for classified materials. The judge, Trump declared (via Twitter), "should NEVER have allowed the Break-In of my home. He recused himself two months ago from one of my cases based on his animosity and hatred toward your favorite President, me. What changed? Why hasn't he recused himself on this case?" Trump concluded with a dig at his predecessor, writing, "Obama must be very proud of him now!"

Critics on Twitter were less than impressed by Trump's rant. "Call me crazy, but I don't think he put America first," remarked a user. Another chimed in, "I love a treasonous, former president in panic mode. It warms my cold, cold heart." 

Over on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Blog, Steve Benen broke down Trump's statement and pointed out the flaws in wording such as "I GAVE THEM MUCH." Benen wrote, "[W]hat this talking point means in practical terms is that Trump took a whole lot of materials he wasn't supposed to take, and he only kept part of his original stash. When suspected burglars defend their actions by effectively saying, 'I gave the police much of what I stole,' that tends to be unpersuasive."