By Maureen Chowdhury, Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Melissa Macaya and Meg Wagner, CNN
Attorney General Merrick Garland said that he "personally approved" the decision to seek a warrant for the FBI to search former President Trump's Florida home at Mar-a-Lago.
"The department does not take such a decision lightly. Where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search and to narrowly scope any search that is undertaken," Garland said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said all Americans are entitled to the "even-handed application of the law" and much of the work of the Justice Department is done out of the public eye in order to protect the integrity of investigations.
"Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly, without fear or favor," he said.
He said these are the principles officials at the DOJ are operating under.
"Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. We do that to protect the Constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations," he said, adding ethical rules prevent him from providing further details about the search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property.
The warrant for federal agents to search former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week was authorized by a federal court, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
"The search warrant was authorized by a federal court upon the required finding of probable cause," he told reporters on Thursday.
"Copies of both the warrant and the FBI property receipt were provided on the day of the search to the former President's counsel who was on site during the search," he added.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Department of Justice filed a motion to unseal a search warrant and property receipt relating to the search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property.
"Just now, the Justice Department has filed a motion in the southern district of Florida to unseal a search warrant and property receipt relating to a court-approved search that the FBI conducted earlier this week. That search was a premises located in Florida belonging to the former President," Garland said.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. It came months after federal investigators served an earlier grand jury subpoena and took away sensitive national security documents from Trump’s property during a June meeting, people familiar with the matter tell CNN.
The search was the first time in American history that a former President's home was searched as part of a criminal investigation.
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Attorney General Merrick Garland is delivering a statement from the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
This is his first public statement since federal agents searched former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Department with regard to the search, as is the department’s normal practice for ongoing investigations.
From CNN's Evan Perez
CNN reviewed a message that FBI Director Christopher Wray sent to employees addressing "commentary about the FBI this week questioning our work and motives."
He assured employees that their "safety and security are my primary concern right now."
Here's what Wray said:
“There has been a lot of commentary about the FBI this week questioning our work and motives. Much of it is from critics and pundits on the outside who don’t know what we know and don’t see what we see. What I know — and what I see — is an organization made up of men and women who are committed to doing their jobs professionally and by the book every day; this week is no exception.
As always, the way we maintain the trust and confidence of the American people isn’t by joining in the public commentary. We do it through our work. By showing, when all the facts come out, we stuck to the process. We don’t cut corners. We don’t play favorites. We ask the tough questions — including of ourselves, making sure among other things that the investigative steps we take are measured and scrupulously consistent with our national security obligations and our role upholding the Constitution. Our focus must remain, as always, on our mission and on doing the right thing, in the right way, no matter how loud the noise gets.
Let me also assure you that your safety and security are my primary concern right now. Security Division is working across the agency as we continue to stay vigilant and adjust our security posture accordingly.
I’m inspired by your extraordinary demonstrations of courage and sacrifice on behalf of the American people. And I remain proud of the rigor, objectivity, and fierce passion for the mission that you bring to the job. It’s an honor to serve alongside you."
From CNN's Holmes Lybrand, Marshall Cohen and Hannah Rabinowitz
The federal criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's potential mishandling of classified documents ramped up this week in significant and unprecedented fashion, with the FBI executing a search warrant at Trump's home at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The Justice Department inquiry is about documents that Trump removed from the White House as his term was ending in January 2021. Earlier this year, officials from the National Archives and Records Administration, known as NARA, recovered 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump's lawyers previously worked with NARA to voluntarily turn over some documents, but the Mar-a-Lago search indicates a new phase of the probe. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and claims the investigation is a politically motivated sham, intended to derail his potential bid to return to the White House.
Here's a timeline of the key moments from the investigation:
From CNN's Evan Perez
US Attorney General Merrick Garland will make his first public statement on Thursday since federal agents searched former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Department with regard to the search, as is the department’s normal practice for ongoing investigations.
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
A White House official says they did not get advanced notice that Attorney General Merrick Garland would be delivering a statement today.
Garland is expected to make a statement soon. The topic of the statement was not given.
