Melania Trump Issues New FBI ‘Warning’

While promoting her upcoming memoir, former first lady Melania Trump issued a “warning” to Americans about the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after the government agency raided Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 over classified documents.

In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, Melania Trump, the wife of Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, speaks in front of photos of Mar-a-Lago, the Trumps’ Florida estate, with text from the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution superimposed on it. The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

“I never imagined that my privacy would be invaded by the government here in America,” the former first lady says. “The FBI invaded my home in Florida and searched my personal belongings. This is not just my story, it is a warning to all Americans, a reminder that our freedoms and rights must be respected.”

Newsweek Melania’s press representative and the FBI national press office were contacted by email on Saturday for comment.

The controversy over the secret documents at Mar-a-Lago began shortly after Donald Trump left office in January 2021. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) announced it had received some of his presidential papers, noting that some had been torn and taped together.

In February 2022, NARA confirmed it had recovered 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago, some of which contained classified national security information. The revelation prompted a House Judiciary Committee investigation.

As the situation escalated, the Department of Justice (DOJ) became involved in the investigation. In April 2022, the FBI questioned several former associates of the former president about his handling of secret documents. In June, DOJ investigators met with Donald Trump’s lawyers and served a grand jury subpoena for the remaining documents still at Mar-a-Lago.

Things came to a head on Aug. 8, 2022, when FBI agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago. The raid led to the recovery of about 11,000 documents, according to the FBI. That included more than 100 documents marked as secret and at least 18 marked “top secret.” In addition, 48 empty folders marked as secret were found.

The former president faces 40 federal charges for allegedly handling classified materials seized in the raid, including obstructing federal authorities in recovering them. He has pleaded not guilty and said the raid was nothing more than a political witch hunt.

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed all charges in July, ruling that Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith had been improperly funded and appointed to oversee the case, making his position a violation of both the Appointments Clause and the Appropriations Clause.

Smith appealed Cannon’s ruling, asking the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse her dismissal and remand the case “for further proceedings.” In August, Trump filed a $100 million lawsuit against the Justice Department over the raid, claiming it was political harassment.

Melania’s latest statements about the Mar-a Lago raid echo concerns the former president has previously shared about the FBI’s actions. In an interview with Newsmax, he elaborated on the “terrible” impact the search has had on his wife. “They’re looking in her closet, they’re searching her dresses, who knows what else,” he told the station.

The former president further alleged that federal agents conducted a “deep and nasty search” of his and Melania’s 16-year-old son Barron’s room during the 2022 rally, claiming they left “everything they touched in a completely different condition than when they started.” He also criticized agents for not removing their shoes in his bedroom.

Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time Melania has used controversial topics to promote her upcoming memoir, Melanie. She previously shared a video discussing the failed assassination attempt on her husband during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, urging viewers to “find the truth,” ending the clip with the release date of her book.

This pattern of using high-profile incidents to promote a book has been met with harsh criticism from some. X user Art Candee reposted Melania’s announcement video on the social media platform, calling it a “sad promo video” for her new book.

Melania Trump released a sad video promoting her memoir.

He complains about public scrutiny and “distortion of facts.”

He wants to “clarify the facts” and share the “truth.”

Spare me, woman. photo:twitter.com/AmMoTjqtG0

— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) September 5, 2024

Emmy Award-winning actress Yvette Nicole Brown also slammed the former first lady’s controversial comments from the White House. “Did we misrepresent that you are a #Birther? Or a beneficiary of #ChainMigration that you and your pig husband are rebelling against?”