Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, December 17, 2025 Real World News

According to memos recently turned over to Congress, FBI underlings repeatedly raised concerns that “no probable cause” existed for the August 2022 raid on President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

As a reminder to those aligned with conventional wisdom, this was the home of a man twice elected president of the United States of America.

To the Biden-Harris regime and its attack dog Department of Justice, that was just a minor detail as it pressed ahead with the lawfare campaign targeting Trump for allegedly absconding with top secret documents at the end of his first term.

“WFO [FBI’s Washington Field Office] has conducted approximately [Redacted] interviews related to this matter. Very little has been developed related to who might be culpable for mishandling the documents,” a June 1, 2022 FBI memo declared. “From the interviews, WFO has gathered information suggesting that there may be additional boxes (presumably of the same type as were sent back to NARA [National Archives] in January) at Mar-a-Lago.”

“WFO has been drafting a Search Warrant affidavit related to these potential boxes, but has some concerns that the information is single source, has not been corroborated, and may be dated. DOJ CES [Counterintelligence and Export Control Section] opines, however, that the SWs [search warrants] meet the probable cause standard,” the memo read.

Over a month later, FBI agents raised more concerns, including about the legality of searching Trump’s personal residence at the Mar-a-Lago residence, the memos released on Dec. 16 by the Senate Judiciary Committee show.

“DOJ has inquired as to an Ops Plan for a SW of MAL [Mar-a-Lago]. I let them know we are not in agreement for PC [probable cause] on the SW [search warrant] and that we already had an Ops Plan in place that will [sic] can be quickly updated between FBI/MM [Miami Field Office] and FBI/WF [Washington Field Office],” a redacted FBI agent in the nation’s capital wrote in a July 12, 2022 email. “However, WF-[Redacted] does not believe we have PC for the 45 Office or the bedroom due to recency and issues of boxes versus classified information. Therefore, as we are in disagreement on the SW and its scope, we are not yet finalizing a SW as we are missing relevant logistics and details.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote in a post to X on Tuesday: “Received shocking new docs 2day from DOJ & FBI showing FBI DID NOT BELIEVE IT HAD PROBABLE CAUSE to raid Pres[ident] Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, but Biden DOJ pushed for it anyway. Based on the records, Mar-a-Lago raid was a miscarriage of justice.”

The emails were turned over to the Senate and House Judiciary committees, ahead of a planned deposition Wednesday from former special prosecutor Jack Smith, who inherited the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case just months after the August 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago.

DOJ official Jay Bratt was key in pushing for the Mar-a-Lago raid, the memos show. An FBI official sent an email on June 2, 2022 stating that “we learned from Jay Bratt that he did not intend to ‘negotiate’ with [Trump lawyer Evan] Corcoran, or have any further discussions with him.”

Brett Reynolds, a trial attorney at the DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES), appeared to send a draft of a search warrant on July 8, 2022. Michael Thacker, an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida, appeared to send another draft version of a search warrant on July 13, 2022.

“We haven’t generated any new facts, but keep being given draft after draft after draft. Absent a witness coming forward with recent information about classified on site, at what point is it fair to table this? It is time consuming for the team, and not productive if there are no new facts supporting PC?” an FBI official wrote in a July 13, 2022 email.

“As everyone is tracking, WFO does not believe (and has articulated to DOJ CES) that we have established probable cause for the search warrant for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago,” an FBI official wrote in another email dated July 20, 2022. “DOJ has opined that they do have probable cause, requesting a wide scope including residence, office, and storage space. In WFO’s opinion, if a primary goal of this investigation is to identify and recover classified records quickly, so as to protect the information, the six weeks spent fixated on probable cause for a search warrant have been counterproductive.”

The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 with the authorization of then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The question is, will anyone ever be held accountable?

Like the use of the false dossier in the Trump-Russia investigation, the Deep State has long known that it can do pretty much as it pleases and get off scot-free.

Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social:

Can anyone believe that the Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs illegally and criminally deleted and destroyed all information having to do with their “investigation” into January 6th? The reason they did this is because it all came out my way. I was proven innocent, and they were proven to be liars and cheats. They must be held accountable, and pay A VERY STEEP PRICE!

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  Minor detail? ‘No probable cause’ for raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, WorldTribune.com