According to Fox News, Donald Trump and his legal team intend to sue the Department of Justice for $100 million in damages over the government’s 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Trump’s lawyers argue the raid was done with “clear intent to engage in political persecution,” Fox News stated.

Per Fox News:

Fox News has obtained Trump’s memo claiming “tortious conduct by the United States against President Trump.”

Trump and his legal team intend to sue the Justice Department for its conduct during the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022, amid the federal investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records.

After the raid, Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to investigate. Smith ultimately brought 37 felony counts against Trump, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.

But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, last month, dismissed Smith’s case against Trump altogether. Cannon ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed and funded, citing the Appointments Clause in the Constitution.

Trump attorney Daniel Epstein filed the notice to sue the Justice Department. The Justice Department has 180 days from the date of receipt to respond to Epstein’s notice and come to a resolution. If no resolution is made, Trump’s case will move to federal court in the Southern District of Florida.

“What President Trump is doing here is not just standing up for himself – he is standing up for all Americans who believe in the rule of law and believe that you should hold the government accountable when it wrongs you,” Trump attorney Daniel Epstein told Fox Business.

Mediaite reports:

Epstein argues that the decisions made by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray were “inconsistent with protocols” and driven by an agenda to “injure President Trump.”

Epstein’s filing also argues: “The FBI’s conduct in the raid… constitutes a severe and unacceptable intrusion that is highly offensive to a reasonable person.”

The DOJ has 180 days to respond to Epstein’s notice before the case moves to federal court. Epstein further claims that the raid and subsequent indictment were part of a broader scheme to interfere with Trump’s political ambitions, describing it as “very accurate and precise election interference.”

“For these harms to President Trump, the respondents must pay punitive damages of $100 million,” Epstein wrote, according to Fox News. 

 

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