Trump Plans to Sue DOJ Over Mar-a-Lago Documents Raid

Donald Trump plans to sue the Department of Justice (DOJ) for $100 million over the 2022 search and seizure of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property.

The Details: On Monday, Trump's attorney Daniel Epstein filed a notice of intent to sue the DOJ, calling the raid a "political prosecution" and arguing that it bypassed a "well-established protocol" of using "non-enforcement means to obtain records of the United States" from former presidents.

For Context:

• After leaving the presidency in 2021, Trump worked with the DOJ to return classified documents he had kept. However, the DOJ concluded that some documents containing national security information had not been returned.
• In 2022, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland approved a warrant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to search Trump's Mar-a-Lago property, where the FBI discovered and seized hundreds of documents, 102 of which were classified. The discovery became the foundation of a DOJ felony prosecution of Trump.
• In June 2024, federal judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the DOJ's case on the grounds that the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle the case was unconstitutional.

How the Media Covered It: Right outlets consistently called the DOJ's actions a "raid," while left outlets more often used "search" or "sweep." New Republic (Left bias) ridiculed Trump's "Most Idiotic Lawsuit Yet" and called the FBI's actions a "search." Fox News (Right) quoted Epstein extensively, from his filing as well as a quote he provided to Fox Business (Lean Right), and called the raid/search "unprecedented." Forbes (Center) provided extensive background on the raid/search and quoted Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung.