Judicial Watch Uncovers FBI Records Showing FBI Objections to Planned Mar-a-Lago Raid

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained 207 pages of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records that reveal the FBI’s concerns about the legal basis for the raid of then-former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. The records expose deep concerns within the FBI itself, including explicit objections from field agents who warned the U.S. Department of Justice that the unprecedented August 8, 2022, raid on Trump’s home lacked probable cause.

The documents were uncovered in response to a March 11, 2026, Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed with the FBI regarding the counterintelligence investigation codenamed Plasmic Echo—a “sensitive investigative matter” launched following a referral from the National Archives and Records Administration.

The records include a July 13, 2022, email between FBI field agents explicitly stating they did not believe probable cause existed to search Mar-a-Lago and urging the Justice Department to cooperate with Trump’s attorney instead of insisting on a raid:

WFO [Washington Field Office] has made numerous suggestions to DOJ [Justice Department] over the course of this investigation that the most expedient way to ensure recovery of all classified documents would be to go through Mr. Corcoran [then-Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran]. DOJ has persistently disagreed. * New NARA Referral for all PRA vs. classified. If NARA pursued “presidential records” which are likely to still be located at Mar a Lago, they could recover any additional records which may, upon review, identify additional classified material. WFO has been rebuffed in this request by DOJ.

WFO does not believe (and has articulated to DOJ CES [Counterintelligence and Export Control Section]), that we have established probable cause for the search warrant at Mar a Lago. DOJ has opined that they do, requesting a wide scope including residence, office, storage space.

Finally, if the goal is to identify and recover classified records quickly, so as to protect the information, the 5 weeks spent fixated on probable cause for a search warrant have been counterproductive.

A separate internal communication reinforces that agents rejected the legal basis and scope:

DOJ has inquired as to an Ops [operations] Plan for a SW of MAL. WFO relayed that we are not in agreement for PC [probable cause] on the SW [search warrant]. WFO has an Ops Plan in place that will/can be quickly updated between FBI/MM [Miami] and FBI/WF, however, [Redacted] does not believe we have PC for the 45 [Trump] Office or the bedroom due to recency and issues of boxes versus classified information. Therefore, as we are in disagreement on the SW and its scope, we are not yet finalizing a SW as we are missing relevant logistics and details.

A May 10, 2022, FBI email shows direct coordination with the Biden White House Counsel’s Office and identifies a Trump aide as a target: “Coordination with DOJ and WH Counsel are in work to start the process to confirm and interview current administration employee Walt Nauta (former WH Valet).”

An August 4, 2022, FBI email documents Justice Department officials dismissing optics:

Because the search warrant operational plan has contact with FPOTUS’s [Trump’s] attorney as the first step, I’d respectfully request that the contact be handled by FBI, not by DOJ. As the ASAC [assistant special agent in charge] who will be responsible for the execution of the warrant, this first contact will set the tone for the day. The FBI intends for the execution of the warrant to be handled in a professional, low key manner, and to be mindful of the optics of the search. Safety of the search team is always of a concern during any such operation. Since we heard Mr. Toscas say yesterday in the call that “he frankly doesn’t give a damn about the optics” and Mr. Bratt already has built an antagonistic relationship with FPOTUS’s attorney [redacted] I think it is fair to say that the DOJ contact with Mr. Corcoran just prior to the execution of the warrant will not go well.

A May 24, 2022, FBI email indicates that the press had advance knowledge of the investigation’s actions: “an inquiry from the Washington Post seeking confirmation on two items from the FBI WFO Public Affairs team.”

A February 24, 2022, FBI report shows the left-wing advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) helped spur the investigation into President Trump:

Letter to AG and Director from [redacted] Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and [redacted] National Security Archive, dated 2/8/2022, writing regarding President Donald Trump and other White House officials demonstrating a serious disregard for their recordkeeping responsibilities under the Presidential Records Act. Requesting DOJ investigate whether former President Trump violated federal criminal law by willfully mutilating and destroying critical records of his presidency before leaving office.

FBI Director Wray sent a bureau-wide email the day after the search stating the FBI does not cut corners and does not play favorites, while the WFO’s own internal documents show field agents had formally disputed the probable cause basis for the search. Director Wray’s August 11, 2022, bureau-wide message—filed into the Plasmic Echo case file—states the investigative steps taken were measured and scrupulously consistent with national security obligations. This was sent the day after WFO’s internal emails documenting its disagreement with Justice Department over probable cause had already been filed into the same case record:

As always, the way we maintain the trust and confidence of the American people isn’t by joining 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.

“These documents show the FBI knew there was no probable cause, yet Biden’s Justice Department pushed forward with an abusive raid on President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “This is a historic abuse of power that demands full accountability. Judicial Watch will continue pursuing additional disclosures to uncover the full truth behind one of the most controversial federal investigations in American history.”

Judicial Watch is at the forefront of the court battles for transparency regarding the Biden administration’s targeting of former President Trump.

In June 2023, Judicial Watch uncovered records from the Justice Department that show top officials of the National Security Division discussing the political implications of Trump allowing CNN to use closed-circuit TV (CCTV) footage of the raid on his Mar-a-Lago home. The documents confirm that the Justice Department had asked that Mar-a-Lago CCTV be turned off before the raid.

A separate Judicial Watch lawsuit against the National Archives and Records Administration resulted in the release of 1,276 pages of records about the unprecedented document dispute between the National Archives and Trump. Click here or here to review the records.

In August 2022, Judicial Watch sued to unseal the search warrant affidavit used to justify the unprecedented raid on the home of former President Trump.

In September 2022, Judicial Watch filed lawsuits against the DOJ for its records and the FBI’s records about the Mar-a-Lago raid search warrant application and approval, as well as communications about the warrant between the FBI, Executive Office of the President and the Secret Service.

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