Former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker told Newsmax on Wednesday that it's "outrageous" that the FBI authorized the use of deadly force against former President Donald Trump during a raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, in August.
"The FBI has tried to walk this back since this came out, but I was with President Trump yesterday in Manhattan at the courtroom," Whitaker said on Newsmax's "Newsline." "I was with him when he found out this information and the reaction, not only from Donald Trump, just sort of realizing the gravity of what happened, but also his Secret Service agents, who realized that somehow they were viewed as not co-equal federal law enforcement agents by the FBI.
"I think that's just completely inconsistent with how I've done cases as a prosecutor, and I just really think that the traditions of federal law enforcement would never allow that. So, the fact that they even considered it I think is a complete travesty."
Whitaker said that the raid on the former president's home "was unnecessary," as "the Department of Justice always tries to use the least amount of intrusiveness. So I just think this whole situation is corrupt."
Court documents unsealed Tuesday revealed that the FBI was authorized under Justice Department policy to use "deadly force" during the search at of Trump's home. In an attempt to quell the ensuing uproar, the FBI released a statement Tuesday that the agency "followed standard protocol in this [Mar-a-Lago] search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force."
The statement also said that "no one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter."
"There was nothing standard about this, and to suggest that they didn't think through the fact that there wouldn't be need for deadly force, and it shouldn't be authorized, and there should be deconfliction among federal law enforcement agents, which is exactly ultimately what happened when they arrived at Mar-a-Lago," Whitaker said. "The thought that somehow they got themselves spun up in this left-wing narrative that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, it's just sad."
Whitaker contrasted the treatment of Trump with that of President Joe Biden, who was also investigated for mishandling classified documents but was not prosecuted.
"He had similar records at his various places of business and residence and they [the National Archives] just called them up and said, 'Hey, you mind if we stop by and pick those up?'" Whitaker said.
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