One week after FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago home, former President Donald Trump said during an interview with Fox News Digital that "terrible things are going to happen" if American frustrations linked to the search are not abated.
The former president said he has offered assistance to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as its investigation continues "because the temperature has to be brought down in the country."
"If it isn't, terrible things are going to happen," he told Fox News Digital.
Days of political debate have followed the FBI's search, which Trump has described as "a sneak attack on democracy." Newsweek reported last week that an informant tipped off the FBI about classified documents Trump allegedly kept at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, leading to agents' execution of a search warrant on August 8.
Trump said during his Monday morning interview that "tremendous anger" exists now in the U.S. following "years of scams and witch hunts." He has described the FBI's Mar-a-Lago search as a "witch hunt" several times over the last week in posts on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump said there have been "years" of "witch hunts," which he said included investigations into his alleged ties with Russia.
"And then they break into a president's house," Trump said, adding that "no one ever thought a thing like this would happen."
"The people of this country are not going to stand for another scam," Trump said.
Trump alleged FBI agents were able to take "anything" from Mar-a-Lago as his team was left outside. He questioned whether agents could have "planted" items as they were completing their search.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has said an attorney for Trump was present at the time the search was happening and received copies of both the search warrant and property receipt before agents left Mar-a-Lago that day.
Trump has denounced the FBI several times in the last week, including in a Sunday post on Truth Social in which he said the bureau "has a long and unrelenting history of being corrupt." Another Sunday Truth Social post by Trump suggested "Radical Left Democrats" have a "complete and total stranglehold" over the DOJ and the FBI.
Federal law enforcement agencies have warned of an increase in threats targeting agents in the wake of the FBI's Mar-a-Lago search. Both Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray have condemned the "unfounded attacks" on officers and voiced their support for the DOJ and FBI officials under fire.
"Violence and threats against law enforcement, including the FBI, are dangerous and should be deeply concerning to all Americans," Wray said in a statement last week.
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Meghan Roos is a Newsweek reporter based in Southern California. Her focus is reporting on breaking news for Newsweek's Live ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
