First of all, I want to point out that the normally stone-faced Peter Strzok looks like he's just beaming this morning. And who could blame him? He's the career FBI agent who was fired for private texts criticizing Trump, and was targeted again and again at the Mango's rallies as proof of a plot against him.
So enjoy this day, Peter! If anyone earned it, you did.
"Peter, we know some things about this, right? We know there was some coordination ahead of time between the Secret Service and the FBI because there is a small Secret Service presence there. Just walk us through how this would play out in Mar-A-Lago."
"It's really hard to understate the complexity and planning that goes into a search like this. Let's step back to yesterday. CNN reported late last night, that in early June of this year, about two months ago, a team of investigators led by the head of DoJ's counterintelligence and expert control section went down Mar-A-Lago and met with Trump's attorneys. There's some indication that Trump himself stepped in. During that meeting they walked into the area. They went down to the basement, apparently, where documents are stored.
"What's notable about this, seven days after that meeting, DoJ sent a letter to Mar-A-Lago saying you need to secure that room downstairs. They subsequently put a padlock on it. That's important for two reasons, two months ago the DoJ team saw things that concerned them to an extent that they said put a lock on it. But it's also important because it gave investigators an eye on the ground, gave them a chance to see where documents are stored and give an idea of the lay of the land."
He described the search and documentation process.
"All of this is documented by a photographer. and the material that is seized is meticulously cataloged and going to be left with a receipt that is there on the property and given to Trump's attorneys. So what you need to see if former president Trump is, in fact, committed to being open and transparent about what occurred. The first thing he can do is release that property receipt of what was taken on the ground."
He explained that "for something of this magnitude, something this significant, there's little doubt in my mind that the director of the FBI, Chris Wray, was detailed about it, and approved it. And that Lisa Monaco and the attorney general were proving this as well. No search warrant is taken lightly. A judge has to approve it. But when you're talking about the contents of a former president, something never done in history, I have no doubt this was scrutinized in great detail.
"Another thing to note, traditionally, there's a 90-day buffer around Election Day where DoJ does not take steps. Look at the timeline, three months from now, Election Day."
