When FBI agents served a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort on Aug. 8, disgraced, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump said some incredibly nasty things about the agency and agents who had participated in the search.
Specifically, HuffPost notes, Trump used just about every pejorative imaginable to attack FBI:
Trump attacked the FBI as seditious, abusive, criminal and “sleazy” after agents hauled out about 20 boxes of White House material from his Florida home, including 11 sets of classified information. Those records should have been turned over to the National Archives when Trump’s term ended, according to the Presidential Records Act.
In days that followed the search, Trump baselessly called it a “sneak attack” and a “raid,” a “siege,” and “corrupt.” He also claimed FBI agents “planted” evidence in his home.
Now, however, as the possibility of being charged with violating the Espionage Act becomes more of a reality, Trump has changed his tune and is praising the FBI:
Now, Trump claims agents are “furious at FBI leadership” for the “political weaponization against a president (me).”
They “don’t like being ’used’ by people they do not agree with, or respect,” he wrote in the post. He went on to add that agents are not “thrilled with the leadership” of the Department of Justice.
Why did Trump make such a dramatic shift? That’s unclear, but it may have something to do with him wanting to appear as supportive of law enforcement even though he clearly thinks he’s above the law and shouldn’t be subjected to a search, even if he has allegedly committed some of the most serious crimes that any president can be suspected of.
Some have suggested that Trump’s verbal attacks on federal agents have led to an uptick in threats against them, and the FBI Agents Association issued a statement which reads:
“FBI Special Agents are dedicated members of the law enforcement community who put their lives on the line every day to protect the public from criminals and terrorists. Special Agents and their families should never be threatened with violence, including for doing their jobs. The threats made recently contribute to an atmosphere where some have, or will, accept violence against law enforcement as appropriate. It is not. This is not a partisan or political issue. It is a matter of public safety and basic decency. Calls for violence against law enforcement are unacceptable, and should be condemned by all leaders.”
It remains to be seen if Trump will still be behind the FBI if and when they show up to arrest him.
