Donald Trump threatens to sue the FBI: On what grounds could he take legal action?

Under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, citizens have rights that protect themselves against unwarranted or illegal searches and seizures. In light of the search of his Mar-a-Lago home, former-President Donald Trump, has said he will sue the Justice Department for what he sees as an illegal raid on his Florida property.

Trump has taken to his social media platform, Truth Social to say a suit will be filled to challenge the search and any evidence that was obtained. In his message to his followers he said the breach by federal agents was a violation of rights “rarely seen” in the US and that he would be filing a “major motion” against the Department of Justice.

On 11 August FBI agents entered his home with a legal warrant, signed by a judge and approved by the Attorney General of the United State Merrick Garland.

A week later, the judge who approved the warrant, Bruce Reinhart, said he was considering releasing part of the affidavit which contains more information about the possible crimes committed that prompted the historic search on a former president’s property. According to The Hill, Judge Reinhart, said that the Department of Justice had never gave specific instructions not to release the affidavit. It is the judge’s belief that “there are portions of the affidavit that could be unsealed,” without compromising the Justice Department’s investigation.

Details of the raid behind the scene

The Justice Department approved the search after they obtained evidence that Trump was holding highly classified material in his home which is a breach of federal law. Legal experts have gone back and forth on the legality of such a situation and most believe that even if he had declassified the documents it would not necessarily follow that as a private citizen he should have personal access to them. Some of the documents are so sensitive that they have to be housed in a federal government facility with very high levels of security.

Since the search took place, one poll by Ipsos and Reuters has shown that over half of Republicans believe federal law enforcement acted irresponsibly, which is a major narrative being spread on conservative media. However, around seventy-one percent of Democrats and independnts surveyed said they believed that the search was above board and saw no issues with the actions.

This has come a surpirse to many following the events because of the GOPs long standing and unwavering support for law enformcent.

Trump is likely to announce his candidacy for president in the coming weeks and it is still unknown if other favored candidates like Florida governor Ron DeSantis will join the race as well.