Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago Raid: Ex-White House Adviser Steve Bannon, Lara Trump Blast FBI Attack on Former POTUS' Home
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Trump allies claimed that authorities are scared that Donald Trump would soon return to the White House.

Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon and Lara Trump reacted to the FBI raiding former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home Monday, which both called a weaponization of America's justice system.

On Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Steve Bannon blasted the incident claiming that the FBI have "weaponized the Justice Department" in what he called "a political and ideological war."

"This had to go up through the chain of command, through Merrick Garland to Ron Klain, at least [FBI Director Christopher] Wray and these guys. This is about pure power politics. They're scared to death about Trump. They're absolutely petrified terrified that he'll announce in a couple of weeks, win the Republican nomination and win the White House," Bannon said.

The former Trump adviser added that a "full investigation" is needed "to get to the bottom" of the issue.
"The FBI is the Gestapo, whether it's out in Colorado, putting a gold star mother in chains, Peter Navarro in chains. It's absolutely obscene. This is insanity," Steve Bannon noted.

FBI Raid Shocks Donald Trump

Lara Trump said on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that her father-in-law Donald Trump was "as shocked as anybody" following the FBI raid on the former president's Mar-a-Lago residence.

She said: "If this is what they're able to do to the former president of the United States, think about what they could do to you, to anybody in America. The bottom line here is that these documents that have been in question have been, everybody's been cooperating."

The former television producer added that the Mar-a-Lago Raid has to do with using the judicial system as a weapon against someone with an opposing political viewpoint.

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Lara Trump also claimed that Donald Trump is despised by Democrats and the "general establishment" because "he doesn't play their game."

"They are terrified he's going to announce any day that he's running for president in 2024 and this is a very convenient way to just throw a little more mud on Donald Trump as though they haven't already done enough," she commented.

Former US President Donald Trump claimed that the FBI searched his Florida property and that a safe was forced open during the search.

Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, according to a statement from Mr. Trump, was "occupied by a large group of FBI agents."

According to reports, Monday's search was related to a probe into how Mr. Trump handled government documents.

In a statement, Donald Trump said: "These are dark times for our nation. Nothing like this has ever happened to a president of the United States before."

White House Denies Knowledge of the Raid Before It Happened

BBC reported that the Secret Service was informed just before the warrant was served, around 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT), according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to CBS News. The official also said that agents securing Mr. Trump assisted the FBI investigators.

The source stated that several boxes were confiscated and that no doors were kicked down during the raid, which was finished by late afternoon.

The White House claimed that it was unaware of the FBI's search before it occurred. Officials from the Justice Department declined to comment on any aspect of the search, including whether they had notified the White House beforehand, whether attorney general Merrick Garland had authorized the court-issued search warrant, or even if he had been informed about the raid.

According to The Guardian, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer noted that he was only aware of the information he had read in the media.

Related Article: Trump Supporters Rage on FBI's Mar-a-Lago Raid, Point to Contrast Treatment to Hillary Clinton Years Earlier