{"id":2336559,"date":"2024-09-04T11:32:53","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T15:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-top-fbi-official-spills-the-beans-on-biden-harris-doj-says-mar-a-lago-raid-just-didnt-smell-right\/"},"modified":"2024-09-04T11:48:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T15:48:50","slug":"former-top-fbi-official-spills-the-beans-on-biden-harris-doj-says-mar-a-lago-raid-just-didnt-smell-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-top-fbi-official-spills-the-beans-on-biden-harris-doj-says-mar-a-lago-raid-just-didnt-smell-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Top FBI Official Spills the Beans on Biden-Harris DOJ, Says Mar-a-Lago Raid &#8216;Just Didn&#8217;t Smell Right&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-top-fbi-official-spills-the-beans-on-biden-harris-doj-says-mar-a-lago-raid-just-didnt-smell-right%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2336559&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former FBI official \u200dSteve D&#8217;Antuono expressed\u200c concerns regarding the bureau&#8217;s 2022 raid on Donald Trump&#8217;s Mar-a-Lago estate, fearing it could diminish public\u200d trust in the FBI. During his tenure as head\u2063 of the Washington Field Office, D&#8217;Antuono\u2064 indicated he felt the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-palestinian-demonstrators-mob-white-house\/\" title=\"Palestinian supporters swarm White House.\">urgency \u2064surrounding<\/a> the raid was\u2063 inappropriate and aggressive. In a retrospective interview, he suggested that a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-conducted-13-hour-search-of-bidens-home-found-more-classified-material\/\" title=\"FBI Conducted 13-Hour Search Of Biden\u2019s Home, Found More Classified Material\">consensual search<\/a> would have been a better approach to recover any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/roger-stone-announces-he-will-sue-those-who-arrested-him-and-put-him-in-front-of-a-kangaroo-court\/\" title=\"Roger Stone Announces He Will Sue Those Who Arrested Him and Put Him In Front of a Kangaroo Court\">classified documents<\/a> Trump might have retained \u2063after leaving office. Despite his reservations, he noted \u2062that the\u2063 FBI was prepared to respond if documents were removed. D&#8217;Antuono also \u200dremarked that the charges being prepared, particularly those suggesting Trump&#8217;s barring from office, could further fuel the perception that the Justice Department\u2062 was targeting Trump. He ultimately categorized the raid as a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-bill-gates-hung-out-with-jeffrey-epstein-to-leverage-sex-offenders-connections-win-nobel-prize\/\" title=\"Report: Bill Gates Hung Out With Jeffrey Epstein To Leverage Sex Offender\u2019s Connections, Win Nobel Prize\">reputational risk<\/a>&#8221; for the FBI, highlighting\u200b the potential for negative fallout from the operation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> <script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A former top FBI official has revealed that he worried the FBI&rsquo;s 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago would backfire.<\/p>\n<p>In August 2022, the FBI swooped in on the residence of former President Donald Trump as part of its investigation into whether Trump improperly;y kept classified documents in his possession after leaving the White House.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was worried about it increasing distrust in us,&rdquo; Steve D&rsquo;Antuono, the head of the Washington Field Office of the FBI at the time, said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/bitter-personal-battle-top-fbi-doj-officials-mar-lago-rcna169067\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We all thought this posed a risk to us both professionally and personally. I can&rsquo;t impress upon you the pressure,&rdquo; the retired FBI official said.<\/p>\n<p>D&rsquo;Antuono said expressing his reservations during a high-stakes meeting on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/just-biden-admin-authorized-deadly-use-force-mar-lago-raid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">raid<\/a> led to him being scolded.<\/p>\n<p>  <script> \t\t\t\tif( ! getCookie( 'ff_subbed' ) ) if( typeof FFADS.replace_ict !='undefined' ) if( FFADS.replace_ict ) eval( FFADS.replace_ict ); \t\t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I take it to heart to do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They put such urgency into getting into Mar-a-Lago, for the circumstances, it just didn&rsquo;t smell right, it didn&rsquo;t feel right.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>D&rsquo;Antuono said he was worried that Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/shocker-biden-admin-lied-white-houses-involvement-mar-lago-raid-legal-org-finds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prosecutor<\/a> Jay Bratt &ldquo;was being a little overly aggressive.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Bratt made multiple donations to Democratic candidates between 1993 and 2007.<\/p>\n<p>Citing information from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teddy-roosevelts-stolen-watch-returned-to-82-year-old-great-grandson-after-discovery\/\" title=\"Teddy Roosevelt&#039;s Stolen Watch Returned to 82-Year-Old Great-Grandson After Discovery\">book &#038;ldquo<\/a>;Where Tyranny Begins: The Justice Department, the FBI<a href=\"http:\/\/ww.norton.com\/books\/9780393881967\">,<\/a> and the War on Democracy,&rdquo; by David Rohde, NBC News&rsquo; national security editor, NBC painted D&rsquo;Antuono and other FBI agents as trying to recover any documents Trump had without a confrontation. He said a consensual search could get anything back that was in Trump possessed, and said he would only order the raid if ordered to do so.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was trying to be a different voice in the room. Why do we have to be aggressive? We have an attorney in this case,&rdquo; D&rsquo;Antuono said to NBC in his new interview. &ldquo;If it didn&rsquo;t work with Corcoran then fine. We would serve the search warrant and go in. No harm no foul.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He said the FBI was ready to react if documents were removed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In my opinion, there was no harm in doing it that way,&rdquo; D&rsquo;Antuono said.<\/p>\n<p>Suspicions grew due to the charges being prepared, including ones to bar Trump from office for unlawfully having classified documents, he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The barring from office charge. People saw that charge as &lsquo;Aha, is that DOJ&rsquo;s effort to get Trump?&rsquo;&rdquo; he explained.<\/p>\n<p>During his <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.house.gov\/meetings\/JU\/JU00\/20230621\/116122\/HHRG-118-JU00-20230621-SD018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2023 appearance<\/a> before the House Judiciary Committee, D&rsquo;Antuono indicated in an interview the raid was handled in a way he thought left the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/senior-fbi-official-just-blew-3-gaping-holes-agencys-credibility-mar-lago-raid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FBI<\/a> open to criticism.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So it wasn&rsquo;t completely out of the ordinary, but something like this, the severity of this, you know, we were asking for it,&rdquo; he said then.<\/p>\n<p>He said that from his perspective &ldquo;We just did not want a spectacle of this. And so &mdash; and there was no reason to raid or break down a door or anything like that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, he called the raid &ldquo;a reputational risk&rdquo; for the FBI.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I do think there was a good likelihood that we could have got a consent and then we wouldn&rsquo;t have had to &mdash; I think the Bureau &mdash; we left &mdash; we were left holding the bag again, right, and we cut ourselves,&rdquo; he said in the transcribed 2023 interview.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> <label>* Name<\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> <\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> <label>* <\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> <\/div>\n<p> <label>* Message<\/label> <br \/> <textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\">  <\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<p>   <script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former high-ranking FBI official expressed concerns that the agency&#8217;s 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago could have negative repercussions. In August 2022, the FBI conducted a search at the home of former President Donald Trump as part of an investigation into whether he unlawfully retained classified documents after his presidency. Steve D\u2019Antuono, who was leading the Washington Field Office at that time, stated to NBC that he feared this action would increase public distrust in the FBI. He described feeling significant pressure and noted that voicing his concerns during a critical meeting about the raid resulted in him being reprimanded.<\/p>\n<p>D\u2019Antuono emphasized his commitment to doing what is right for valid reasons and felt that the urgency surrounding the Mar-a-Lago operation seemed inappropriate. He expressed concern over Justice Department prosecutor Jay Bratt&#8217;s aggressive approach, mentioning Bratt\u2019s past political donations to Democratic candidates as a potential conflict. According to information from David Rohde\u2019s book &#8220;Where Tyranny Begins,&#8221; NBC portrayed D\u2019Antuono and other agents as preferring a non-confrontational method for retrieving documents from Trump.<\/p>\n<p>He argued for pursuing a consensual search first before resorting to a raid, suggesting it would have been less damaging for both parties involved. D\u2019Antuono also noted growing suspicions regarding charges against Trump related to classified documents, which some perceived as politically motivated attempts by the DOJ.<\/p>\n<p>During his testimony before Congress in 2023, he reiterated that while such actions were not entirely unusual, their severity invited criticism of the FBI. He believed there was no need for an aggressive approach like breaking down doors and labeled the raid as posing reputational risks for the agency. Ultimately, he felt they could have achieved their goals without creating such controversy if they had pursued consent instead of forceful measures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2336560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/police-mar-a-lago.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3620,6733,7076,5591,7075],"class_list":["post-2336559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-biden","tag-controversy","tag-doj","tag-fbi","tag-mar-a-lago"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/police-mar-a-lago.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2336559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2336560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2336559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2336559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2336559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}