MIAMI – Federal law enforcement is on high alert after an unprecedented number of threats against them after searching former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
A joint intelligence bulletin sent to law enforcement across the country warned of “…a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI headquarters” and “..general calls for ‘civil war’ and ‘armed rebellion'”…and other threats.
The threats, circulating online, also included the name of two FBI agents who took part in the search.
The warrant, unsealed Friday, detailed agents retrieved close to two dozen boxes of material containing eleven sets of classified documents, some marked top secret. The warrant revealed Trump was under possible investigation for violations of the Espionage Act; obstruction; and theft of government documents.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has defended the FBI operation, and noted, “I personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter.”
CBS News has learned that weeks before the search, a Trump lawyer signed a document certifying that all classified materials had been removed from Mar-a-Lago, according to two sources familiar with the timeline of events and the decision to seek the search warrant.
But after the Trump attorney certified that all classified materials had been removed from Mar-a-Lago, investigators gleaned that in fact, there might still be more classified documents at the residence because they had spoken with a handful of individuals familiar with where and how the documents are stored at the compound. It is not clear if these individuals are staffers for Trump or for the Mar-a-Lago club.
Trump and his allies have denounced the search as a politically motivated raid carried out by the Justice Department.
Since the search, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have demanded more transparency.
Former FBI agent and now criminal defense attorney Stuart Kaplan agrees.
“The FBI has lost its compass meaning its executive staff. I think that they have bought into the politics of going after not only someone who was running for office, meaning then Donald Trump as a candidate but certainly throughout his candidacy and then, of course, we saw throughout the four years and now carrying into a year and half after he’s left office, the FBI continuing to target this individual,” he said.
The former president, who has not been charged, is demanding that the documents taken from his home be returned immediately.
