Former President Donald Trump shared a link on social media Wednesday for an opinion article detailing his potential methods of payback following the FBI’s raid at Mar-a-Lago.
The article was written by columnist Kimberley Strassel, and it appeared in The Wall Street Journal last week.
Strassel wrote despite coverage from the establishment media suggesting the raid was nothing out of the ordinary, the raid was unprecedented in the United States.
“In descending on Mar-a-Lago, the department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shifted the U.S. into the category of countries whose ruling parties use government power to investigate political rivals,” she wrote.
“No attorney general has ever signed off on a raid on a former president’s home, in what could be the groundwork for criminal charges.”
Strassel wrote the Department of Justice had strict guidelines when it came to “politically ‘sensitive’ investigations,” especially those involving a former president who remains a potential contender for future office.
She felt Attorney General Merrick Garland essentially ignored the complexity of the situation and implored Americans to trust the FBI despite its previous missteps in regard to Trump.
Strassel clearly expressed her belief that this was the wrong decision from Garland, and she went on to detail multiple ways Trump could get “payback.” First and foremost, she said Trump could use the raid as campaign material for a 2024 presidential run.
“If anything, a perceived political persecution of Mr. Trump could help him to a second term,” Strassel wrote. “And he would be even more unrestrained as the 47th president than he was as the 45th.”
Will Trump raid Obama or Clinton if he gets back in office?
Yes: 61% (202 Votes)
No: 39% (127 Votes)
If he were to gain power, Trump would then be able to use the precedent said by the Mar-a-Lago raid to investigate and even conduct raids against prominent Democrats.
“Mr. Garland’s raid has made even the highest political figures fair prosecutorial game, and the media’s new standard is that the department can’t be questioned as it goes about ensuring ‘no one is above the law,’” Strassel wrote.
“Let’s see how that holds when a future Republican Justice Department starts raiding the homes of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Eric Holder, James Comey and John Brennan.”
On Wednesday, Trump shared a link to Strassel’s article on his social platform Truth Social. While he did not explicitly comment on the ideas in the article, his Truth Social post could be interpreted as an endorsement of Strassel’s opinions.
Conservative political strategist Chuck Callesto seemed to interpret Trump’s post in this very way.
BREAKING REPORT: Trump hints he’ll raid CLINTON AND OBAMA if he retakes White House…
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) August 17, 2022
The U.K.’s Daily Mail also published an article titled, “Trump hints he’ll raid Clinton and Obama if he retakes the White House, shares post calling the FBI ‘fascist’ and an op-ed saying the Mar-a-Lago raid will get him re-elected after victorious night in Wyoming.”
The article argued that by sharing Strassel’s article, Trump was suggesting he was open to raiding Obama and Clinton if he were to regain power. The other post referenced by the Daily Mail was an article from The American Spectator entitled, “The Fascist Bureau of Investigation,” to which Trump also shared a link on Wednesday.
Later in her article, Strassel said Trump may not even have to wait until 2024 to see some form of “payback” take place.
“Democrats set a new low with their Ukrainian impeachment circus, and a GOP House next year might be up for a reprise,” Strassel wrote.”Get ready for a few more select committees — perhaps excluding the minority party, as the Democrats effectively did with the Jan. 6 committee — to investigate Mr. Garland’s politicized department or Hunter Biden’s finances.
“Watch them subpoena sitting Democratic representatives, as the Jan. 6 committee did to Republicans. Reps. Adam Schiff, Ilhan Omar and Eric Swalwell may find themselves on the back bench with a new Republican majority eager to follow Mrs. Pelosi’s example and strip the opposing team’s members of committee assignments.”
While Strassel said she did not necessarily support this type of politics, she felt it was the predictable result of the Democrats’ decision to raid Mar-a-Lago. If Republicans do take back Congressional control in November, the country will be watching to see if Strassel’s predictions come true.
