Live Updates
By Maureen Chowdhury, Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Melissa Macaya and Meg Wagner, CNN
Updated 7:08 PM EDT, Thu August 11, 2022
Video Ad Feedback
'I will not stand by silently': Garland takes firm stance on allegations against FBI
03:42 - Source: CNN
What we covered here
- Attorney General Merrick Garland said he “personally approved” the decision to seek a warrant for the FBI to search former President Trump’s Florida home at Mar-a-Lago.
- Garland said the Justice Department filed a motion requesting the Trump warrant and property receipt be unsealed.
- The FBI executed the search warrantas part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, that may have been brought to the Palm Beach, Florida, residence.
Our live coverage has ended. Scroll through the posts below to see how the day unfolded.
21 Posts
The attorney general filed a motion to unseal Mar-a-Lago search warrant. Here's what to know.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department has filed a motion requesting the search warrant and property receipt for former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property be unsealed. Trump and his legal team now have until Friday to respond.
The news comes days after the FBI executed the search warrant as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, some classified. Garland’s remarks on Thursday follow days of silence from the Justice Departmentwith regard tothe search, as is the department’s normal practice for ongoing investigations.
Some background on the investigation: TheJustice Department inquiryis about documents that Trump removed from the White House as his term was ending in January 2021. Earlier this year, officials from the National Archives and Records Administration, known as NARA, recovered 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago. Investigators subpoenaed NARAfor access to the classified documents retrieved from the property in May 2022 and visited Trump’s attorneys in June when they asked them to secure the room where the documents were. The search on Monday was an escalation of the investigation.
Here’s what else you need to know:
- About the warrant: Garland said the warrant for federal agents to search Trump’s house was authorized by a federal court on Aug. 5 “upon the required finding of probable cause.” He said copies of the warrant were given to Trump’s attorneys who were at Mar-a-Lago when the search happened on Aug. 8.
- Garland’s decision: The attorney general said he “personally approved” the decision to seek a warrant for the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago. He said the department “does not take such a decision lightly.”
- What could be in the unsealed documents: CNN’s legal analyst Elie Honig said the warrant typically will listlogistical information: place tobe searched, a general description of items to besearched for, the name of thejudge, a deadline by which the DOJhas to execute the search. But it also sometimes has an attachment, which typically willlist the laws thatthe DOJ has probablecause to believe were violated.The second document is the inventory or the receipt which describes the items that were removed.
- Violent rhetoric: In his remarks, Garland also addressed “unfounded attacks on theJustice Department agents andprosecutors,” in the wake of the search in Florida and anattempted breachof the FBI’s field office in Cincinnati on Thursday. FBI Director Christopher Wray sent a message to employees, saying their “safety and security” are a “primary concern.”
- What Trump’s attorneys are saying: In a pair of posts to Truth Social following Garland’s statement, Trump continued to claim that his attorneys were “cooperating fully” and had developed “very good relationships” with federal investigators prior to the search. A source says Trump and his legal team have not yet decided how to respond to the DOJ’s motion to unseal the warrant.
Trump team considering challenging DOJ's motion to unseal search warrant, source says
From CNN's Kaitlan CollinsFollowing the Justice Department’s filingto unseal the Mar-a-Lago search warrant, former President Donald Trump’s team has contacted outside attorneys about how to proceed.
Among the options they are considering is challenging the Justice Department’s motion to unseal the warrant, a source familiar with the discussion says.
Trump’s orbit was caught off guard by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement.
They have until 3 p.m. Friday to respond.
CNN and other news outlets ask court to unseal entire court record related to Mar-a-Lago search
From CNN's Tierney SneedCNN, joined by the Washington Post, NBC News and Scripps, asked a court on Thursday to unseal documents connected to the FBI search of former President Trump’s Florida residence this week – including documents not covered by the Justice Department’s own bid to unseal a selection of the warrant materials.
Specifically, CNN and the other outlets are asking for the US District Court in the Southern District of Florida to unseal the entire record filed with the court, including all probable cause affidavits filed in support of the search warrant.
The request was filed after the Justice Department submitted its own request with the federal court to unseal certain warrant materials. In remarks announcing the request, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department is seeking the release of the “search warrant and property receipt” from the FBI’s search.
But there are other documents that prosecutors file with federal courts when seeking search warrant, including affidavits from investigators laying out why they believe that there is probable cause that a crime was committed and that evidence of that crime existed in recent days at the site where the search was sought.
Garland said Thursday that he would not be “providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time.”The department also declined to comment on why it is not seeking to unseal the affidavits.
In the unsealing filing by CNN and the other outlets with the court, they pointed to “the historic importance of these events.”
Similarrequests filed separately bythe conservative group Judicial Watch, as well as thenews outlets theTimes Unionand the New York Times, have prompted a magistrate judge to order thattheJustice Department respond to the requests by 5 p.m. on Monday. That response can be filed secretly, the court said, but the department will also have to file a redacted version on the public docket.
Trump, legal team have not yet reached a decision on how to respond to unsealing motion
From CNN's Kaitlan CollinsFormer President Trump and his legal team have not yet reached a decision on how to respond to the Justice Department’s motion to unseal the warrant used in the Mar-a-Lago search, a source familiar with their thinking tells CNN.
The motion notes that the government favors unsealing it “absent objection from the former president.”
The federal court in Florida court must be told by 3 p.m. ET on Friday if Trump opposes the release.
Trump says attorneys were "cooperating fully" prior to FBI search
From CNN's Gabby OrrIn a pair of posts to Truth Social following Attorney General Merrick Garland’s statement on Thursday, former President Donald Trump continued to claim that his attorneys were “cooperating fully” and had developed “very good relationships” with federal investigators prior to Monday’s search at his Florida property Mar-a-Lago.
“The government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it,” Trump said. “Everything was fine, better than most previous Presidents, and then, out of nowhere and with no warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided, at 6:30 in the morning, by VERY large numbers of agents, and even ‘safecrackers.’”
The former President did not respond to Garland’s announcement that Justice Department officials had filed a motion to unseal the search warrant that granted FBI agents access to Mar-a-Lago on Monday and the receipt of items that were seized during the search.
Garland's comments come after days of silence by the DOJ
From CNN's Tierney Sneed,Evan Perez,Hannah RabinowitzandZachary CohenIn his first public statement since federal agentssearched former President Donald Trump’s homeat Mar-a-Lago earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday said that the Justice Department had filed in court a request that the search warrant and property receipt from the search be unsealed.
Garland also said he “personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter.”
He noted that the department did not comment on the search on the day that it occurred. He pointed out that the search was confirmed by Trump that evening. He said that copies of the warrant and the warrant receipt were provided to the Trump lawyers who were on site during the search.
“The Department filed the motion to make public the warrant and receipt in light of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circ*mstances and the substantial public interest in this matter,” Garland said.
The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Department with regard to the search, as is the department’s normal practice for ongoing investigations. Garland stressed that some of the department’s work must happen outside of public view.
In filing with the court, the Justice Department said that Trump should have the chance to respond to its request to unseal the documents. Responses to the Justice Department’s request are due by August 25, according to the case’s docket.
DOJ asked to tell court by Friday if Trump opposes its unsealing request
From CNN's Tierney SneedThe Justice Department has been instructed by a federal court in Florida to confer with former President Donald Trump about its request to unseal certain warrant documents from the FBI Mar-a-Lago search.
The court must be told by 3 p.m. ET on Friday if Trump opposes the release.
Read the DOJ motion to unseal the search warrant and property receipt for Trump's Mar-a-Lago home
From CNN staffAttorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday said that the Justice Departmenthad filed a requestin court to unseal the search warrant and property receipt from the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Read the motion:
Justice Department files in court to unseal Mar-a-Lago search warrant
From CNN's Zachary CohenThe Justice Department has officially moved to unseal the search warrant executed by the FBI this week at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, according to newly filed court documents.
“On August 8, 2022, the Department of Justice executed a search warrant, issued by this Court upon the requisite finding of probable cause… at the premises located at1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida 33480, a property of former President Donald J. Trump,” the motion reads.
“At the time the warrant was initially executed, the Department provided notice directly to former President Trump’s counsel. The Department did not make any public statements about the search, and the search apparently attracted little or no public attention as it was taking place. Later that same day, former President Trump issued a public statement acknowledging the execution of the warrant. In the days since, the search warrant and related materials have been the subject of significant interest and attention from news media organizations and other entities,” the Justice Department writes.
The DOJ then argues for unsealing the search warrant, citing “the intense public interest presented by a search of a residence of a former President.”
The filing confirms that the search warrant was “signed and approved by the Court on August 5.” On Thursday, the DOJ filed “the redacted Property Receipt listing items seized pursuant to the search,” according to its unsealing motion.
“Former President Trump, through counsel, was provided copies of each of these documents on August 8, 2022, as part of the execution of the search,” the filing adds.
CNN analyst explains what we could see in unsealed documents related to the Trump Mar-a-Lago search
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that the Department of Justice filed a motion to unseal a search warrant and property receipt relating to the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.
CNN’s legal analyst Elie Honig described the announcement as a “remarkable andunusual move” because “we essentially saw MerrickGarland call Donald Trump’s bluff.”
Inthe wake of this search warrant,Trump and his lawyers have two documents, Honig explained on CNN following Garland’s remarks. “One is the search warrant itselfwith whatever attachments. And theother is this inventory or thisreceipt.”
These documents have important information about the search. Usually, the Justice Department’s policy is to only speak about things that are onthe record with the court. But with this move, Garland is hoping to put these documents in front of Americans, Honig said.
The warrant typically will listlogistical information: place tobe searched, a general description of items to besearched for, the name of thejudge, a deadline by which the DOJhas to execute the search.
But it also sometimes has an attachment, which typically willlist the laws thatthe DOJ has probablecause to believe were violated.
The second document is the inventory or the receipt.
“It’s a listing. The FBI says,‘here are the items that wereremoved from Mar-a-Lago.’Again, degrees of specificityand generality tend to vary.I do not expect that to have apiece of paper by piece of paperbreakdown if they took thousands of pages,” Honig explains.“I think what we’re going to seeis listings like X number ofboxes. If they took any electronicdocuments, if they took anylaptops, cell phones, that kindof thing.”
However, Honig notes that we will not see the affidavit, which is the most detailed document, that can be 20 to 100pages where prosecutors lay outdetails that give them probable cause to believe laws were violated.
That document will remain confidential, and typically, that is released if and when there is a charge, Honig explains.
“If somebody gets searched and thenindicted, then they will begiven a copy of that affidavit … so that that person can thenchallenge it in court,” he said.
WATCH: CNN Elie Honig breaks down how Merrick Garland just called Donald Trump’s bluff
Video Ad Feedback
374a8d7e-6c80-43e1-ad6b-3de89ec17043.mp4
03:27 - Source: cnn
Garland lauds DOJ employees as "dedicated, patriotic publicservants"
Attorney General Merrick Garland also addressed “unfounded attacks on theJustice Department agents andprosecutors,” in the wake of the search of Mar-a-Lago on Monday and an attempted breach of the FBI’s field office in Cincinnati on Thursday.
“I will not stand by silentlywhen their integrity is unfairlyattacked.The men and women of the FBI andthe Justice Department arededicated, patriotic publicservants.Every day, they protect theAmerican people from violentcrime, terrorism and otherthreats to their safety whilesafe guarding our civil rights.They do so at great personalsacrifice and risk tothemselves.I am honored to work alongsidethem,” Garland said.
Garland: "I personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant"
Attorney General Merrick Garland said that he “personally approved” the decision to seek a warrant for the FBI to search former President Trump’s Florida home at Mar-a-Lago.
“The department does nottake such a decision lightly.Where possible, it is standardpractice to seek less intrusivemeans as an alternative to asearch and to narrowly scope anysearch that is undertaken,” Garland said.
Garland says DOJ is applying the law "without fear or favor"
Attorney General Merrick Garland said all Americans are entitled to the “even-handed application of the law” and much of the work of the Justice Department is done out of the public eye in order to protect the integrity of investigations.
“Faithful adherence to the ruleof law is the bedrock principleof the Justice Department and ofour democracy.Upholding the rule of law meansapplying the law evenly, withoutfear or favor,” he said.
He said these are the principles officials at the DOJ are operating under.
“Much of our work is by necessityconducted out of the public eye.We do that to protect theConstitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations,” he said, adding ethical rules prevent him from providing further details about the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.
FBI search warrant was authorized by a federal court, Garland says
The warrant for federal agents to search former PresidentDonaldTrump’s home at Mar-a-Lagoearlier this week was authorized by a federal court, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
“Copies of both the warrant andthe FBI property receipt wereprovided on the day of thesearch to the former President’scounsel who was on site duringthe search,” he added.
Garland says DOJ filed motion to unseal Trump search warrant and property receipt
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Department of Justice filed a motion to unseal a search warrant and property receipt relating to the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.
“Just now, the Justice Departmenthas filed a motion in thesouthern district of Florida tounseal a search warrant andproperty receipt relating to acourt-approved search that theFBI conducted earlier this week.That search was a premiseslocated in Florida belonging tothe former President,” Garland said.
The FBIexecuted a search warrantat Mar-a-Lago on Monday. It came months after federal investigators served an earlier grand jury subpoena and took away sensitive national security documents from Trump’s property during a June meeting, people familiar with the matter tell CNN.
The search was the first time in American history that a former President’s home was searched as part of a criminal investigation.
NOW: Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks from the Justice Department
From CNN's Tierney SneedAttorney General Merrick Garland is delivering a statement from the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
This is his first public statement since federal agents searched former PresidentDonaldTrump’s home at Mar-a-Lagoearlier this week, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Departmentwith regard tothe search, as is the department’s normal practice for ongoing investigations.
FBI director sends message to employees
From CNN's Evan PerezCNN reviewed a message that FBI Director Christopher Wray sent to employees addressing “commentary about the FBI this week questioning our work and motives.”
He assured employees that their “safety and security are my primary concern right now.”
Here’s what Wray said:
“There has been a lot of commentary about the FBI this week questioning our work and motives.Much of it is fromcritics and pundits on the outside who don’t know what we know and don’t see what we see.WhatI know — and what I see — is an organization made up of men and women who are committed to doing their jobs professionally and by the book every day;this week is no exception.
As always, the way we maintain the trust and confidence of the American people isn’t by joining in the public commentary.We do it through our work.By showing, when all the facts come out, we stuck to the process.We don’t cut corners.We don’t play favorites.We ask the tough questions — including of ourselves, making sure among other things that the investigative steps we take are measured and scrupulously consistent with our national security obligations and our role upholding the Constitution. Our focus must remain, as always, on our mission and on doing the right thing, in the right way, no matter how loud the noise gets.
Let me also assure you that your safety and security are my primary concern right now. Security Division is working across the agency as we continue to stay vigilant and adjust our security posture accordingly.
I’m inspired by your extraordinary demonstrations of courage and sacrifice on behalf of the American people. And I remain proud of the rigor, objectivity, and fierce passion for the mission that you bring to the job. It’s an honor to serve alongside you.”
Here's a timeline of the investigation into Trump taking classified documents to Mar-a-Lago
From CNN's Holmes Lybrand,Marshall CohenandHannah RabinowitzThe federal criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s potential mishandling of classified documents ramped up this week in significant and unprecedented fashion, with the FBIexecuting a search warrantat Trump’s home at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
TheJustice Department inquiryis about documents that Trump removed from the White House as his term was ending in January 2021. Earlier this year, officials from the National Archives and Records Administration, known as NARA, recovered 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s lawyers previously worked with NARA to voluntarilyturn over some documents,but the Mar-a-Lago search indicates a new phase of the probe. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and claims the investigation is a politically motivated sham, intended to derail his potential bid to return to the White House.
Here’s a timeline of the key moments from the investigation:
- May 2021: An official from NARAcontacts Trump’s teamafter realizing that several important documents weren’t handed over before Trump left the White House. In hopes of locating the missing items, NARA lawyer Gary Stern reaches out to someone who served in the White House counsel’s office under Trump who was the point of contact for record-keeping matters. The missing documents include some of Trump’scorrespondencewith North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as the map of Hurricane Dorian that Trumpinfamously alteredwith a Sharpie pen.
- Fall 2021: NARAgrows frustratedwith the slow pace of document turnover after several months of conversations with the Trump team. Stern reaches out to another Trump attorney to intervene. The archivist asks about several boxes of records that were apparently taken to Mar-a-Lago during Trump’s relocation to Florida. NARA still doesn’t receive the White House documents they are searching for.
- January 2022: After months of discussions with Trump’s team,NARA retrieves 15 boxesof Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago. NARAsays in a statementthat some of the records it received at the end of Trump’s administration were “torn up by former President Trump,” and that White House officials had to tape them back together. Not all the torn-up documents were reconstructed, NARA says.
- Feb. 9, 2022: News outlets, including CNN, report that NARAasked the Justice Department to investigateTrump’s handling of White House records and whether he violated the Presidential Records Act and other laws related to classified information.The Presidential Records Actrequires all records created by a sitting president to be turned over to the National Archives at the end of their administration.
- Feb. 18, 2022: NARAinforms the Justice Departmentthat some of the documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago included classified material. NARA also tells the department that, despite being warned it was illegal, Trump tore up documents while he was president, and that senior officials in the Trump administration did not properly preserve their social media messages, draft tweets and deleted tweets.
- April and May 2022: On April 7,NARA publicly acknowledgesfor the first time that the Justice Department is involved, and news outlets report that prosecutors have launched a criminal probe into Trump’s mishandling of classified documents. Around this time, FBI agents quietlyinterview Trump aidesat Mar-a-Lago about the handling of presidential records as part of their widening investigation.
- May 12, 2022: News outlets report thatinvestigators subpoenaed NARAfor access to the classified documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. The subpoena, which is part of the process to allow investigators to take possession of the documents from the NARA, is the first public indication of the Justice Department using a grand jury in its investigation.
- June 3, 2022: Four investigators, including a top Justice Department counterintelligence official,visit Mar-a-Lagoseeking more information about classified material that had been taken to Florida. The four investigators meet with two of Trump’s attorneys, Christina Bobb and Evan Corcoran, and look around the basem*nt room where the documents are being stored. Trump briefly stops by the meeting to say hello to the officials, but he does not answer any questions.
- June 8, 2022: Trump’s attorneysreceive a letterfrom federal investigators, asking them to further secure the room where documents are being stored. In response, Trump aides add a padlock to the room in the basem*nt of Mar-a-Lago.
- August 8, 2022: The FBIexecutes a search warrantat Mar-a-Lago — a major escalation of the classified documents investigation. The search focused on the area of the club where Trump’s offices and personal quarters are located. Federal agents remove boxes of material from the property. The search was the first time in American history that a former president’s home was searched as part of a criminal investigation.
Garland will make a statement on unprecedented search of former President Trump's home
From CNN's Evan PerezUS Attorney General Merrick Garland will make his first public statement on Thursday since federal agents searched former PresidentDonaldTrump’s home at Mar-a-Lagoearlier this week, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Departmentwith regard tothe search, as is the department’s normal practice for ongoing investigations.
White House didn't get advanced notice of Garland statement
From CNN's Kevin LiptakA White House official says they did not get advanced notice that Attorney General Merrick Garland would be delivering a statement today.
Garland is expected to make a statement soon. The topic of the statement was not given.
Garlandwill make a statement at 2:30 p.m. ET today
From CNN's Michael CallahanAttorney General MerrickGarlandwill make a statement at 2:30 p.m. ET at the Department of Justice.
The topic of the statement was not given.
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
READ MORE
Ad Feedback
