Saved you all the trouble of going to Fox News. It is comical when you read this. Trump is playing the victim card again.
Trump attorney Daniel Epstein filed the notice to sue the Justice Department. The Justice Department has 180 days from the date of receipt to respond to Epstein's notice and come to a resolution. If no resolution is made, Trump's case will move to federal court in the Southern District of Florida.
"What President Trump is doing here is not just standing up for himself – he is standing up for all Americans who believe in the rule of law and believe that you should hold the government accountable when it wrongs you," Trump attorney Daniel Epstein told Fox Business' Lydia Hu.
Epstein's filing states that the "tortious acts against the president are rooted in intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process resulting from the August 8, 2022 raid of his and his family’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Florida." Epstein added that the decisions made by the DOJ and FBI regarding that raid were "inconsistent with protocols requiring the consent of an investigative target, disclosure to that individual’s attorneys, and the use of the local U.S. Attorney’s Office."
Epstein argues the decisions made by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray were not grounded in "social, economic, and political policy" but instead, in "clear dereliction of constitutional principles, inconsistent standards as applied to" Trump and a "clear intent to engage in political persecution – not to advance good law enforcement practices."
"Garland and Wray should have never approved a raid and subsequent indictment of President Trump because the well-established protocol with former U.S. presidents is to use non-enforcement means to obtain records of the United States," Epstein wrote. "But notwithstanding the fact that the raid should have never occurred, Garland and Wray should have ensured their agents sought consent from President Trump, notified his lawyers, and sought cooperation."
Epstein added: "Garland and Wray decided to stray from established protocol to injure President Trump."
Epstein argued that the DOJ violated Florida law, intrusion upon seclusion, which is recognized as a form of invasion of privacy. Intrusion upon seclusion includes "an intentional intrusion, physically or otherwise, into the private quarters of another person" and the intrusion "must occur in a manner that a reasonable person would find highly offensive."
"The FBI’s demonstrated activity was inconsistent with protocols used in routine searches of an investigative target’s premises," Epstein wrote, adding that Trump "had a clear expectation of privacy at Mar-a-Lago. Worse, the FBI’s conduct in the raid – where established protocol was violated – constitutes a severe and unacceptable intrusion that is highly offensive to a reasonable person."