Newly released emails show FBI officials privately questioned whether they had enough probable cause to search President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home — but moved forward with the raid regardless.
The emails, first reported by Fox News, were obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office and detail internal FBI discussions ahead of the August 2022 search. In those exchanges, agents raised concerns about whether the legal standard for a search warrant had actually been met.
“WFO has been drafting a search warrant affidavit related to these potential boxes, but has some concerns that the information is single source, has not been corroborated, and may be dated,” one email read.
Received shocking new docs 2day from DOJ & FBI showing FBI DID NOT BELIEVE IT HAD PROBABLE CAUSE to raid Pres Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home but Biden DOJ pushed for it anyway
Based on the records Mar-a-Lago raid was a miscarriage of justice
Read for urself: https://t.co/qbJNT0tcRE pic.twitter.com/ljWdjndhHE
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 16, 2025
According to Fox News, one internal email acknowledged that the FBI did not believe the evidence clearly established probable cause at the time. Despite that, leadership pressed on with the warrant request.
ABC3340 reported that FBI officials debated the issue internally in the days leading up to the raid. Emails show hesitation among agents, but those objections did not stop the search from moving forward.
The FBI kept moving forward with the investigation. One email even stated, “Absent a witness coming forward with recent information about classified on site, at what point is it fair to table this?” They then continued, “It is time consuming for the team, and not productive if there are no new facts supporting PC (probable cause)?”
Watch this…
Now it’s coming out the FBI warned the Biden Admin that there was NOT probable cause to raid Mar a Lago.
They raided President Trump anyway.
Merrick Garland and everyone involved needs to go to prison.
Enjoy the Grand Jury in Florida!pic.twitter.com/eVZucbwq2Z
— C3 (@C_3C_3) December 16, 2025
The Mar-a-Lago raid was part of the Justice Department’s investigation into classified documents handled by Trump after leaving office. It marked the first time federal agents searched the home of a former U.S. president.
At the time, DOJ officials said the search was necessary after months of back-and-forth with Trump’s legal team. They argued that classified material remained unaccounted for and that a warrant was the only remaining option.
Trump has repeatedly said he cooperated with federal authorities and claims the documents were declassified. He has also accused the Biden administration of targeting him through law enforcement — a charge the White House has consistently denied.
🚨Two months before the Mar-a-Lago raid, Wray’s FBI retroactively and secretly re-classified Crossfire Hurricane documents that President Trump DECLASSIFIED in the last week in his first term.
Then they hid the documents, they thought forever, they didn’t expect President Trump… pic.twitter.com/uRyekAjwSL
— Svetlana Lokhova (@RealSLokhova) December 16, 2025
The FBI declined to comment directly on the emails. DOJ officials have previously said a federal judge approved the search warrant based on evidence presented at the time, and that the process followed standard legal procedures.
Sen. Grassley, who is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the email records. According to ABC3340, he was shocked and decided to let the public know what really happened.
Taking to X, he wrote, ““FBI DID NOT BELIEVE IT HAD PROBABLE CAUSE to raid Pres Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home but Biden DOJ pushed for it anyway.” Grassley called it a “miscarriage of justice.”
… BUUUUUT did you include an inventory of the CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS FOUND that he DID take ILLEGALLY❓️Don’t claim amnesia, Mr. Valhalla… the FBI seized over 100 classified records and more than 13,000 government documents during a search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago… pic.twitter.com/SYQHD9zhJp
— ❣️ᎮᏒᎥᏕᏕᎩ❣️ (@PrissyBritchez) December 16, 2025
The New York Post described the records as bombshell files that appear to contradict the level of confidence publicly suggested before the raid. The outlet reported that internal doubts were not disclosed until now.
The Mar-a-Lago search remains one of the most controversial law enforcement actions in recent U.S. history. While some supporters Trump see it as government overreach, others argue it was a necessary step to protect classified information.
The emails don’t settle that debate. But they do show that behind the scenes, even FBI officials had unresolved doubts before the raid happened.
