Donald Trump is falsely claiming that President Biden was prepared to kill him during the FBI’s search for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago—a nefarious lie given that Trump wasn’t even at the residence on the day of the search.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday evening, the former president said that after his hush-money trial adjourned for the day, he learned that “Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE.”
A former president claiming their successor tried to kill them is unprecedented, according to The Washington Post. It’s no secret that law enforcement will come armed when enforcing a search warrant. But the FBI has already testified that it chose to search Mar-a-Lago on a day that Trump would not be there in order to prevent any conflict.
So why make such a post? The former president is probably trying to distract from the news Tuesday from an unsealed legal opinion that classified documents were found in his bedroom at Mar-a-Lago four months after the FBI’s initial search.
Trump faces 42 felony charges in his classified documents case related to willful retention of national security information, corruptly concealing documents, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. But the judge in the case, Trump appointee Aileen Cannon, seems to be stalling the trial on purpose. Earlier this month, she ordered a stay on Trump’s legal requirement to give the government advance notice of which classified materials will be discussed—but offered no expiration date for the reprieve.
Cannon faces a growing backlash due to her handling of the case, with online petitions calling for her removal or recusal from the case. Even some of her clerks have quit because of her conduct, as well as for creating a hostile work environment. At least one potential witness, former Mar-a-Lago worker Brian Butler, has publicly come forward and criticized Cannon’s handling of the case.
Trump’s federal cases have already been delayed thanks to the Supreme Court, which is currently deciding whether Trump, as a former president, enjoys legal immunity. Some believe that state-level charges against the Republican presidential nominee, whether in New York or Georgia, are the only prospects for him facing real justice.
