Breitbart is facing widespread criticism after the far-right media outlet published the names of FBI agents who carried out the raid of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
The conservative outlet published a leaked version of the search warrant that allowed the FBI to execute the raid hours before the document was unsealed Friday evening. Breitbart released a version of the warrant that included the names of the FBI special agent and supervisor agent who signed off on the receipts detailing the documents taken from the Mar-a-Lago residence - prompting widespread criticism that the outlet put a target on the agents.
A redacted version of the warrant without the names of the agents involved was released just hours later.
TRUMP BEING INVESTIGATED FOR ESPIONAGE ACT VIOLATION, UNSEALED FBI WARRANT SHOWS
"It's also worth noting that they published the names of the FBI agents, which serves no purpose other than opening them up to threats and harassment," said legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti in a tweet. "Breitbart is also confused about what 'SSA' means. It refers to Supervisory Special Agent, a FBI supervisor."
The unsealed search warrant shows Trump is being investigated for a potential Espionage Act violation and possible obstruction of justice, which initiated the raid of his home. The search warrant unsealed Friday afternoon cited 18 U.S. Code 793 (part of the Espionage Act) related to "gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information."
FBI agents found several classified documents during their search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, with some documents being considered the highest level of classification, the warrant shows.
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Earlier this year, the National Archives and Records Administration acquired about 15 boxes of material it says were presidential records that should have been given to the agency. Upon a review of the records, the agency discovered classified material and referred the matter to the Department of Justice, according to a letter sent by David Ferriero, the archivist of the United States at the time, to Congress in February. The DOJ subsequently opened a grand jury inquiry into the matter, the New York Times reported.
However, the unprecedented raid on Monday marked an escalation of the investigation into how classified documents ended up at the resort after Trump left office.
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Tags: Donald Trump, Mar-a-Lago, FBI, News, Justice
Original Author: Cami Mondeaux
Original Location: Far-right media outlet slammed for publishing names of FBI agents in Trump raid