Former President Donald Trump is planning to sue the Justice Department for $100 million in damages over the 2022 FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago resort property, claiming it was illegal and politically motivated.
The complaint, submitted under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleges that the raid approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray constituted an "intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process," according to a memo obtained by the Washington Examiner.
"President Trump is continuing to fight against blatant Election Interference by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden's weaponized Department of Justice," Trump 2024 election campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
The notice seeks $100 million in damages for the harm caused during the Aug. 8, 2022, raid, including legal costs incurred while defending against what the filing describes as a politically motivated and unconstitutional prosecution and overall "tortious conduct by the United States against President Trump."
Despite Garland's defense that the raid was authorized by him and a magistrate judge who signed off on the operation, the memo contends that the search violated established protocols, including the failure to seek consent from Trump's attorneys or use nonenforcement means to retrieve documents. The filing claims that these actions were not discretionary but rather a targeted effort to harm Trump politically.
Following the raid, Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith to investigate the case. Smith brought 37 felony counts against Trump the following summer, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump and two other co-defendants charged in the case have pleaded not guilty to all counts.
However, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon decided last month to dismiss Smith's case against Trump outright. She ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed and funded, citing the appointments and appropriations clauses of the Constitution. Smith has appealed that decision, though it is unlikely to be resolved in time for a trial before the election.
Daniel Epstein, a lawyer for Trump, filed the notice on Monday, which gives the DOJ 180 days from the date of receipt to respond to the notice and come up with a resolution. Without a resolution, Trump plans to move the case forward to the federal court in the Southern District of Florida.
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"As the complaint powerfully details, the raid on Mar-a-Lago was Illegal and Unconstitutional, as are all of the Democrat Witch Hunts that are now falling apart like the rotten house of cards that they are, and which should be immediately dismissed in order to bring unity back to our Nation," Cheung said.
The Washington Examiner contacted the DOJ for comment.
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