FBI Refusal to Discuss Mar-a-Lago Plays Into Trump Hands

The FBI search of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home Monday has prompted days of global news coverage and commentary on motivations, implications and ramifications. Silence from the FBI and its parent Justice Department has leading demanding an explanation from Attorney General Merrick Garland and criticizing the operation as politically motivated overreach. Trump's lawyers haven't provided key details such as which documents agents took from the Palm Beach property. As a result, the public is in the dark about basic facts and key questions that the operation raised in one of the most controversial and high-profile FBI actions in years, reports the Wall Street Journal. The search, was backed by a warrant from a federal magistrate, related to potential violations of laws on storage of presidential records and handling of classified information. Asked about the search Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said, “That’s not something I can talk about." Wray also condemned threats made against agents and law enforcement. “Any threats made against law enforcement, including the FBI, as with any law enforcement agency, are deplorable and dangerous,” he said. Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said that without transparency from the Justice Department, Trump has been able to rally Republicans around him: “The FBI raid has really breathed life into Trump’s potential campaign and oxygen into the fire of his supporters. It’s DOJ policy, but the politics of it is really playing in Trump’s favor.” Justice Department press conference “would just make things worse,” said Alan Rozenshtein, a former Justice Department national-security lawyer now teaching law at the University of Minnesota.