In the aftermath of the FBI raid at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, a Justice Department official stated that the operation had backfired after drawing the ire of many on the right and that the FBI had no goal of creating a political disaster.

Newsweek claimed that on Monday, FBI officers with a search warrant came at Trump’s Florida property to seize any government documents the former president may have in his hands.

A former president is obligated by the Presidential Records Act of 1978 to turn over official papers to the Archives upon leaving office.

Two officials told Newsweek that the operation was predicated on information the FBI got from a confidential source that Trump was hiding classified papers.

According to these two persons with whom Newsweek contacted, the FBI attempted to conceal the raid.

It was planned to occur while Trump was away from Mar-a-Lago.

One Justice Department officer, who spent 30 years with the FBI, told Newsweek that FBI officials wished to avoid Trump the notoriety associated with a raid.

However, the attempt to keep the raid quiet failed.

The anonymous DOJ official reportedly told Newsweek, “What a spectacular backfire.”

The official stated, “I know that there is much speculation out there that this is political persecution, but it is really the best and the worst of the bureaucracy in action.”

They continued, “They wanted to punctuate the fact that this was a routine law enforcement action, stripped of any political overtones, and yet [they] got exactly the opposite.”

According to both of Newsweek’s official sources, the FBI raid had no political motives.

Supposedly, the bureau only desired to recover critical, secret White House documents that had been illegally removed.

According to the officials, the FBI had spent several weeks preparing for the operation at Mar-a-Lago.

More on this story via The Western Journal:

Meanwhile, the FBI Miami Field Office and headquarters were planning around Trump’s scheduled return to Florida from his New York and New Jersey homes.

“They were seeking to avoid any media circus,” Newsweek’s second source said.

This source is a senior intelligence official and was briefed on the investigation and operation concerning the recovery of the classified documents.CONTINUE READING…