Experts predict Trump’s lawsuit will turn up information he wants to keep from the DOJ or will be short-lived.
Former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit over the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago property could backfire, legal analysts say.
Trump is set to file a civil suit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) for $100 million in damages, which he argues he sustained as a result of the government’s search of his Palm Beach, Florida, home, according to reports. During the August 2022 raid, federal officials found classified documents in Trump’s possession a year and a half after he had left the White House.
Trump was subsequently charged with illegally retaining national security documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim them, but Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case last month. The DOJ is appealing her decision.
Former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney Michael McAuliffe told Newsweek that the lawsuit would only be a “publicity stunt” and “nothing more.” And former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that she would “welcome” the lawsuit if she were at the DOJ because a civil case would mean discovery and a deposition from Trump.