White House was at the 'ignition point' of the investigation, working directly with the DOJ and National Archives to facilitate grand jury panel which led to Mar-a-Lago raid.
Posted BY: Zero Hedge
While Biden administration officials have repeatedly denied prior knowledge of the FBI's raid on Mar-a-Lago, journalist John Solomon reveals that the White House was at the 'ignition point' of the investigation – working directly with the Department of Justice and National Archives to facilitate the grand jury panel which led to the Aug. 8 raid.
According to Just the News, the coordinated effort allowed the FBI "to review evidence retrieved from Mar-a-Lago this spring and eliminat[e] the 45th president's claims to executive privilege, according to contemporaneous government documents reviewed by Just the News."
The memos show then-White House Deputy Counsel Jonathan Su was engaged in conversations with the FBI, DOJ and National Archives as early as April, shortly after 15 boxes of classified and other materials were voluntarily returned to the federal historical agency from Trump's Florida home.
By May, Su conveyed to the Archives that President Joe Biden would not object to waiving his predecessor's claims to executive privilege, a decision that opened the door for DOJ to get a grand jury to issue a subpoena compelling Trump to turn over any remaining materials he possessed from his presidency. -JTN
The effort was summarized across several memos and emails exchanged throughout various agencies in spring 2022, with the most complete account contained in a lengthy May 10 letter from acting National Archivist Debra Steidel Wall to former President Trump's lawyers.
"On April 11, 2022, the White House Counsel's Office — affirming a request from the Department of Justice supported by an FBI letterhead memorandum — formally transmitted a request that NARA provide the FBI access to the 15 boxes for its review within seven days, with the possibility that the FBI might request copies of specific documents following its review of the boxes," she wrote, revealing that Biden had empowered the National Archives to waive any potential executive privilege claims.
"The Counsel to the President has informed me that, in light of the particular circumstances presented here, President Biden defers to my determination, in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, regarding whether or not I should uphold the former President's purported 'protective assertion of executive privilege," the letter continues. "… I have therefore decided not to honor the former President's 'protective' claim of privilege."
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