In a recent development, Judge Aileen Cannon unsealed a trove of documents related to the FBI’s investigation into Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. This investigation culminated in the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022.
One of the unsealed documents reveals the codename for the operation, “Plasmic Echo,” and confirms the restricted nature of the information contained within. Another document shows the approval of Attorney General Merrick Garland for the investigation.
The documents provide detailed information about the personnel involved in the raid, which included agents from the FBI’s Miami Field Office, the FBI WFO, FBI Headquarters, and attorneys from the United States Attorneys Office Southern District of Florida and the DOJ Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The search warrant for the raid was executed on August 8, 2022, at 10:33 a.m., and prior to the FBI’s entry, coordination was made with local United States Secret Service leadership. USSS provided access and escort to various locations within Mar-a-Lago and posted personnel in areas where FBI searches were conducted.
In a separate development, prosecutors in Trump’s hush money trial argued that Trump violated a gag order on multiple occasions but did not seek jail time as a penalty. However, Judge Juan Merchan expressed frustration with Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, for failing to provide clear explanations of Trump’s intentions in his social media posts.
The opening statements in Trump’s New York hush money trial revealed new information, including text messages between National Enquirer reporters involved in investigating the claims of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. The details of these payments, which were unusually high, are expected to be a focal point of the trial.
