The online remarks from two Trump allies came after the former president posted about the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022.
Congressional allies of Donald Trump on Tuesday conflated standard FBI operating procedures with what they called an attempt by President Joe Biden’s administration to assassinate the former president during a 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago property for classified documents, even though the FBI specifically planned the search during a time when they knew Trump was hundreds of miles away in New Jersey.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X that the Justice Department and the FBI had plans to “assassinate” Trump “and gave the green light.”
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., posted on X that President Joe Biden “ordered the hit on Trump at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
According to Justice Department policy, law enforcement officers are allowed to use force only when no other safe alternatives appear to exist. The policy further says deadly force is permitted only “when necessary, that is, when the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.”
Even right-wing former FBI agents who regularly criticize the bureau pushed back on the focus on the FBI protocols, calling the documents “boilerplate,” “nothing out of the ordinary,” and “a giant nothing” burger (using a hamburger emoji), in posts on X. “The hyperbole and emotion over this is ridiculous, especially considering legitimate reasons to question the MAL raid,” wrote Garret O’Boyle, who previously testified before a House subcommittee led by top Trump ally, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.