Tom Fitton@TomFitton
BREAKING: @JUDICIALWATCH FOIA UNCOVERS FBI OBJECTIONS TO MAR-A-LAGO RAID! The documents also how leftist groups helped spur the targeting of President Trump over presidential records, FBI objections over there was "probable cause" to justify the planned raid on Trump's home, and evidence of leaks to left media about the investigation. The documents were produced in response to a Judicial Watch FOIA on "Plasmic Echo"--the code name for the secret investigation of the Trump records issue.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
•FBI’s Washington Field Office explicitly told DOJ it did not believe probable cause existed for a search warrant of Mar-a-Lago—including the former president’s residence and bedroom—yet DOJ proceeded anyway. Internal WFO emails dated July 12–13, 2022, state that WFO does not believe probable cause has been established for the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, and that the case agent does not believe there is PC for the 45 Office or the bedroom due to recency and issues of boxes versus classified information. Despite this documented objection, DOJ directed the search to proceed on August 8, 2022.
•A senior FBI WFO official raised concerns about DOJ’s handling of the pre-search contact with Trump’s attorney, citing a DOJ official’s statement that he “frankly doesn’t give a damn about the optics.” In an August 4, 2022 email, the WFO Assistant Special Agent in Charge requested that the FBI—not DOJ—make first contact with Trump attorney Evan Corcoran before the search. The official cited the “antagonistic relationship” built by DOJ with Trump’s counsel and quoted a DOJ official’s indifference to the optics of the search.
•WFO repeatedly proposed less confrontational alternatives to a search warrant and was rebuffed each time by DOJ. Internal WFO documents outline multiple alternative courses of action rejected by DOJ: contacting Trump or his counsel directly; requesting DOJ contact Evan Corcoran; pursuing a consent search; and seeking a new NARA referral for presidential records. WFO wrote that five weeks fixated on probable cause for a search warrant have been counterproductive.
•The investigation was opened as a Sensitive Investigative Matter on February 11, 2022 following FBI Headquarters direction, after coordination with the FBI’s Deputy Director, OGC, and DOJ. Multiple Import Forms document that on February 11, 2022, the Counterintelligence Division Associate Director met with the FBI Deputy Director, OGC, and DOJ and then directed WFO to open PLASMIC ECHO as a SIM. Named HQ participants included Lisa Gentilcore and Alan Kohler of the Counterintelligence Division.
•Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the National Security Archive sent a letter to the Attorney General and FBI Director requesting a criminal investigation—and that letter was routed into the PLASMIC ECHO case file and acted upon within days. A February 24, 2022 Import Form records that WFO was notified of a letter from CREW and the National Security Archive, dated February 8, 2022, requesting DOJ investigate whether former President Trump violated federal criminal law by willfully mutilating and destroying critical records of his presidency. It was assigned to the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division with a Sentinel due date of March 17, 2022.
•The Washington Post was seeking confirmation of FBI outreach to witnesses in “Trump’s orbit” months before the August 8, 2022 search, and the WFO Public Affairs Officer documented the inquiry in the case file. A May 12, 2022 Import Form documents that the WFO Public Affairs Officer received a call from The Washington Post seeking confirmation that DOJ had issued subpoenas to NARA and that the FBI had begun reaching out to and/or interviewing individuals in Trump’s orbit related to the investigation. The officer provided no comment. [pp. 86–87 of 212]
•CD Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. sent an all-hands email to Counterintelligence Division staff the day after the search, defending the investigation and stating it was conducted by the book in the most professional manner possible. Kohler’s August 10, 2022 email acknowledged erroneous press reporting but stated agents were prevented by DOJ and FBI policy from sharing investigative details, and that he vowed not to repeat the mistakes of the past. The email was forwarded into the PLASMIC ECHO case file the next day.
•Director Wray sent a bureau-wide email the day after the search stating the FBI does not cut corners and does not play favorites, while the WFO’s own internal documents show field agents had formally disputed the probable cause basis for the search. Director Wray’s August 11, 2022 bureau-wide message—filed into the PLASMIC ECHO case file—stated the investigative steps taken were measured and scrupulously consistent with national security obligations. This was sent the day after WFO’s internal emails documenting its disagreement with DOJ over probable cause had already been filed into the same case record.
