Did President Biden Authorize 'Deadly Force' During the Mar-a-Lago Raid?

This week, former President Donald Trump claimed that the Biden administration authorized the use of deadly force during the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago in 2022. 

For Context: In August 2022, the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to confiscate classified documents taken when Trump left office. 

The Claim: On Tuesday, Trump posted on Truth Social, “WOW! I just came out of the Biden Witch Hunt Trial in Manhattan, the ‘Icebox,’ and was shown Reports that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE. NOW WE KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. HE IS MENTALLY UNFIT FOR OFFICE — 25TH AMENDMENT!”

How the Media Covered It: Forbes (Center bias) concluded that Trump “sought to gin up sympathy, and donations, for his 2024 presidential bid by suggesting FBI agents who raided his Mar-a-Lago estate were prepared to kill him—exaggerating standard language used in search warrant instructions despite investigators reportedly taking steps to avoid conflict in the August 2022 raid.” Coverage from Fox News (Right bias) reinforced Trump’s claim, reporting, “The Biden administration authorized the use of deadly force during the FBI’s raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.” The Associated Press Fact Check (Lean Left bias) disputed Trump’s claim, stating, “the language Trump referenced is a standard policy statement used for issuing search warrants and was not unique to the FBI’s search of his property. It is actually meant to limit the use of deadly force.”