This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The FBI's stunning armed SWAT-style raid on President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home is coming back into the news, with plans by his lawyers for a $100 million lawsuit that charges that agency, under the administration of Joe Biden, attacked him with "clear intent to engage in political persecution."
The fact that it was a political move is almost without doubt, as the same bureaucracy had let Joe Biden off the hook for the same violation – reportedly keeping government papers, although there were differences.
Trump, as president, had the authority to declassify papers as he wished; Biden's offenses were from his time as senator and vice president, and he did not have the same authority.
Further, the special counsel investigating Biden for having government secrets in his personal offices, his home, even a relatively unsecured garage in a stash next to a classic car, recommended against formal criminal charges because of Biden's declining mental capacities.
But the bureaucrats also let former Vice President Mike Pence off the hook for similar circumstances, making it even more clear that Trump was a political target.
A report at RedState explains Trump's legal team is preparing the $100 million lawsuit against the Department of Justice for the actions on Aug. 8, 2022.
Trump attorney Daniel Epstein has filed a 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, the report explained.
"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," Epstein told Fox.
The case charges the DOJ violated its own policies in attacking Trump and rifling through not only his personal belongings but those of his family.
That, the claim states, is "inconsistent with protocols requiring the consent of an investigative target, disclosure to that individual's attorneys, and the use of the local U.S. attorney's office.'
Further, the DOJ's practice in previous disputes over government papers was to use "non-enforcement means."
The report also said, "The FBI's conduct 'was inconsistent with protocols used in routine searches of an investigative target's premises.' Ordinarily, they shouldn't give shoot-to-kill instructions for premises already protected by the Secret Service and search Melania's underwear drawer for documents."
The New York Post said a memo from the Trump team charges "tortious conduct by the United States against President Trump."
Following the raid, the Biden administration appointed Jack Smith, a private lawyer, as special counsel and he charged Trump with 37 counts, to which Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The case, however, was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon because Smith was appointed and funded illegally, making his position without authority to investigate or bring charges.
Smith has demanded that an appeals court overlook the questions about his own status and restore the case against Trump.
Epstein's filing states that the "tortious acts against the president are rooted in intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process resulting from the August 8, 2022 raid of his and his family's home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Florida."
The report said, "Epstein argues the decisions made by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray were not grounded in 'social, economic, and political policy' but instead, in 'clear dereliction of constitutional principles, inconsistent standards as applied to' Trump and a 'clear intent to engage in political persecution — not to advance good law enforcement practices.'"
Epstein explained that Garland and Wray decided to abandon "established protocol" "to injure President Trump."
Further, the Supreme Court has ruled that a president largely has immunity for his official acts while president, and the Biden-Harris administration action was aimed at an "unconstitutional" process "aimed at politically persecuting the former president."
"For these harms to President Trump, the respondents must pay punitive damages of $100 million," Epstein wrote.
"You have clear evidence that the FBI failed to follow protocols, and the failure to follow protocols shows that there was an improper purpose," Epstein told Fox Business. "If the government is able to say, well, we don't like someone, we can raid their home, we can violate their privacy, we can breach protocols when we decide to prosecute them, we can use the process to advance our personal motive — not a motive of justice — if someone doesn't stand against that in a very public way and seek to obtain and protect their rights, then the government will have a mandate to roughshod over every American."
