House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is demanding information from the Justice Department about the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago that unveiled more than 100 classified documents in former President Donald Trump's possession.
The Justice Department unveiled a 49-page indictment on Friday of the former president. He is facing multiple federal criminal charges, including a violation of the Espionage Act, making false claims, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, related to mishandling classified documents.
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Ahead of the indictment, Jordan sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday, saying the committee has "grave concerns" that the DOJ's actions toward Trump are "nothing more than a politically motivated prosecution."
He requested all of the documents and communications relating to the FBI's investigation prior to the search, the execution of the search warrant to conduct the raid, and a potential search of Trump's residence. Jordan asked the DOJ to provide the information no later than June 16 at 5 p.m.
In the letter, Jordan said the committee interviewed Steven D'Antuono, a former assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office and one of the senior FBI officials involved with executing the search. Jordan said D'Antuono expressed "strong concerns" with the DOJ's search on Aug. 8, 2022, in an interview.
"During his transcribed interview, Mr. D’Antuono detailed how he disagreed with the Justice Department’s approach to the raid and described several abnormalities about the Department’s actions in pursuing its investigation of President Trump," Jordan wrote.
The chairman said the committee requested information and documents related to the FBI's raid of Trump's home, "which the Department has refused to provide."
Jordan said D’Antuono told the committee that he believed the FBI should have "sought consent" to search the Mar-a-Lago premises and that to have done so would have been "the best thing for all parties involved."
The chairman also claimed that the FBI "refused to wait for Trump's attorney to be present before executing the search." However, federal authorities said the Secret Service was notified just before the search, and at least three lawyers arrived on the scene during the search.
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Jordan added that the federal indictment of Trump creates "at the minimum, a serious appearance of a double standard and a miscarriage of justice." This is in reference to the discovery of classified documents at President Joe Biden's think tank, the Penn Biden Center, in Washington, D.C., in November 2022 and at his home in Delaware. Documents were also found at former Vice President Mike Pence's home in Indiana in February 2023.
The former president is set to appear in court on June 13 at 3 p.m. at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He said on Thursday, before the DOJ's announcement of the charges, that he plans to plead not guilty to all counts.