Former justice department and FBI officials have rebuked Donald Trump’s relentless efforts to portray the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago as a political witch hunt, warning that such attacks can spur violence and endanger law enforcement personnel. The ex-president’s cries of a witch-hunt have been echoed by his allies, including Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, senator Lindsey Graham, Steve Bannon, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
The attacks have continued despite strong evidence that Trump kept hundreds of classified documents illegally. Before the 8 August raid, Trump and his attorneys stonewalled FBI and US National Archives requests for the return of all classified documents and did not fully comply with a grand jury subpoena. The FBI search recovered 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified documents, adding to the 200 classified records Trump had earlier returned.
The inflammatory rhetoric has already proven dangerous. On 12 August, Trump supporter Ricky Shiffer posted angry messages about the raid on Trump Social, then armed himself with an assault rifle and attacked an FBI office in Cincinnati before being killed by police. Federal judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the search warrant, reportedly received death threats after his name was cited in press accounts.
Former justice department inspector general Michael Bromwich told the Guardian: “I have never seen the type or virulence of attacks being made every day against the FBI, DoJ lawyers, and judges. It’s a chorus led by Trump but that includes elected officials at every level. It is dangerous and unacceptable.” Chuck Rosenberg, former US attorney, called the attacks “sickening and reckless”.
Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen, noted that Trump’s actions are consistent with an authoritarian leadership style. “It’s very typical of authoritarians to claim that they’re the victims and that there are witch-hunts against them,” she said. The threats have also targeted the National Archives, with a notable uptick reported by the Washington Post.
