Former FBI agent on the search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The search of former President Donald Trump's home in Mar-A-Lago has caused a stir across the internet. Some of that chatter includes violent threats to FBI agencies across the country.
Former FBI agent Harry Trombitas said, based on his experience, the FBI must’ve had good reason for conducting a search on former President Trump's home. He also said this is not the first or last time an incident like this will cause people to make threats to law enforcement.
“When a search of this magnitude was conducted, everybody knew there was going to be a real firestorm,” Trombitas said.
Trombitas said based on what he knows, he can’t find any wrongdoings on the FBI's part in the search of the former president's home. As for the way the situation played out, he has one small criticism.
“Our lack of response for three days was disappointing, and I think it allowed the people who get their information from the internet that may or may not be accurate and I think that allowed that to perpetuate itself to the point where people were very angry,” Trombitas said.
He said those three days allowed people to think the search was politically motivated, resulting in threats being made toward the FBI and even one materializing in Cincinnati where 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer tried to break into the FBI office armed with a rifle and a nail gun.
NBC News is reporting that Shiffer's motive behind the attack stems from anger about the search. This is due to Shiffer's posts on social media leading up to and during the attack.
“After an incident like the search of Mar-A-Logo, it really can cause people to ratchet up their hatred about what's going on and, again, I don’t know if that's what happened in Mr. Shiffer’s case, it appears to based on the accounts,” Trombitas said.
Trombitas said what could’ve helped is the bureau making a statement Monday like the one U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland gave Thursday.
“That kind of reassured people that hey we acted appropriately we followed the rule of law,” Trombitas said. “More information will become available at some point, but everybody needs to take a deep breath and just understand that you can’t know everything right now."
Trombitas said it is not easy to obtain a search warrant for a former president's home, so the FBI must’ve gone through a serious process to make sure the search was justified. We still don’t have many specific details on the recovered documents. Trombitas said that will come out if the affidavit is released.
“The affidavit will speak for itself when it becomes available, if it becomes available, I guess so that the American people can understand what led up to the search at Mar-A-Lago, when they conducted the search, why they conducted the search. I think all those things will be answered,” Trombitas said.
Trombitas said the FBI does their best to be independent and not show any favoritism. He wants to assure the public the FBI is here to protect and not hurt.