On Politics

Wed May 22 2024

Sudiksha Kochi | Congress, Campaigns and Democracy Reporter

@KochiSudiksha

Hey OnPolitics readers! Former President Donald Trump riled up his conservative allies by falsely claiming in a campaign fundraising alert that President Joe Biden's Department of Justice was "locked & loaded ready to take me out" during a 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago residence for classified documents.

Trump appeared to be referencing court documents unsealed Tuesday in his federal classified documents case , USA TODAY's Rachel Barber reported. An "Operations Order" for the 2022 search produced in discovery included a routine policy statement on the use of deadly force. It stated "Law Enforcement officers of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary."

❓What did the FBI say about it? The FBI said in a statement to USA TODAY that it "followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter."

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🥊 Allies respond online: Trump and his allies have zeroed in on the "deadly force" language, despite the fact that Trump was not present on the property the day the FBI search took place. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. reposted Trump's comments on Truth Social to X, formerly Twitter, and falsely claimed that the "Biden DOJ and FBI were planning to assassinate Pres Trump and gave the green light."

🗒️What is Trump's classified documents case? Trump is facing dozens of federal charges related to his retention of hundreds of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving the White House in 2021. The former president and his team contend that he declassified the records, they were his personal property, and the criminal trial is part of a larger "witch hunt" meant to interfere with the November election.