Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump and his legal team intend to sue the Justice Department for its conduct during the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022, amid the federal investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records.
JUDGE DISMISSES TRUMP'S FLORIDA CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE
After the raid, Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to investigate. Smith ultimately brought 37 felony counts against Trump, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Epstein's filing states that the "tortious acts against the president are rooted in intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process resulting from the August 8, 2022 raid of his and his family’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Florida." Epstein added that the decisions made by the DOJ and FBI regarding that raid were "inconsistent with protocols requiring the consent of an investigative target, disclosure to that individual’s attorneys, and the use of the local U.S. Attorney’s Office."
Epstein argues the decisions made by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray were not grounded in "social, economic, and political policy" but instead, in "clear dereliction of constitutional principles, inconsistent standards as applied to" Trump and a "clear intent to engage in political persecution – not to advance good law enforcement practices."
FBI Director Christopher Wray listens during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on, Jan. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
"The FBI’s demonstrated activity was inconsistent with protocols used in routine searches of an investigative target’s premises," Epstein wrote, adding that Trump "had a clear expectation of privacy at Mar-a-Lago. Worse, the FBI’s conduct in the raid – where established protocol was violated – constitutes a severe and unacceptable intrusion that is highly offensive to a reasonable person."
Next, Epstein argued "malicious prosecution." He wrote that the Justice Department and the special counsel’s office "brought a lawless criminal indictment" against Trump. Epstein pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling that a president has immunity from prosecution for official acts.
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on Aug. 9, 2024, in Bozeman, Montana. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
Epstein also argued there was an "abuse of process," saying the process used against Trump was "unconstitutional and aimed at politically persecuting the former President, which led to extensive legal costs and negative consequences for him."
Epstein also argued the DOJ’s "malicious prosecution and abuse of process cause President Trump to incur, upon information and belief, $15 million in actual harm due to his legal costs" in defending himself in Smith’s case before Cannon.
Epstein is also planning to sue for punitive damages.
"For these harms to President Trump, the respondents must pay punitive damages of $100 million," Epstein wrote.
Attached with the memo is a certification signed by Trump that Epstein is his legal representative for the notice to the Justice Department.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
"You have clear evidence that the FBI failed to follow protocols, and the failure to follow protocols shows that there was an improper purpose," Epstein told Fox Business. "If the government is able to say, well, we don't like someone, we can raid their home, we can violate their privacy, we can breach protocols when we decide to prosecute them, we can use the process to advance our personal motive--not a motive of justice--if someone doesn't stand against that in a very public way and seek to obtain and protect their rights, then the government will have a mandate to roughshod over every American."
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Epstein added that the case is "very accurate and precise election interference."
"The entire special counsel investigation was about interfering with his ability to get elected," Epstein said.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-sue-doj-100m-over-mar-a-lago-raid-alleging-political-persecution