FBI raid of Trump’s home stems from a wary federal record keeper who alerted Justice Department
By Susan Ferrechio - The Washington Times - Updated: 4:28 p.m. on Thursday, August 18, 2022
The Aug. 8 search of former President Donald Trump’s home and the unprecedented criminal investigation into his possession of White House documents all began with David Ferriero, the now-retired national archivist who alerted the Justice Department after finding classified information in boxes he retrieved from Mar-a-Lago.
Critics say Mr. Ferriero is a partisan who changed the rules to help excuse Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she was under scrutiny for mishandling classified documents on her private, unsecured email server.
They also say the raid for a criminal investigation is just another politically motivated scheme to take down Mr. Trump, who remains popular among many voters and is weighing a 2024 White House bid. This time, the dispute is over the Federal Records Act. Trump supporters say it hardly warrants an investigation or raid of his home.
“They’ve tried every last argument from the emoluments clause down to Russian collusion, to bribery with impeachment, to saying he planned and coordinated the Jan. 6 riot,” Mike Howell, who runs the conservative Heritage Foundation Oversight Project, told The Washington Times. “Nothing has worked, and so you are left with ‘Let’s try the records retention one.’ That’s why we are here.”
Mr. Howell and other critics of the investigation question the political motives of Mr. Ferriero, who told The Washington Post that he timed his April retirement to ensure the Biden administration could pick his replacement. He said the Jan. 6, 2021, riot he witnessed from the window of his office near the Capitol was “the worst day of my life — the absolute worst.”
Mr. Ferriero could not be reached for comment. The National Archives media office told The Times, “The former Archivist is not available for this interview,” and referred to the protocol for transferring White House records to the National Archives when a president leaves office.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/aug/18/fbi-raid-trumps-home-stems-wary-federal-record-kee/
