According to an email sent on Monday and forwarded by a representative for former President Trump, personnel with the Department of Justice reportedly offered to give back the three passports taken from Trump.
During the conversation, Jay Bratt, head of the counterintelligence/export control at the Department of Justice (DOJ), provided evidence that supported Trump’s claim authorities took three passports from his Mar-a-Lago resort and agreed to return them.
Mail and Reaction
The head of communications for Save America, Taylor Budowich, sent out an email stating they learned the screening agents had taken three passports belonging to Trump, two of which expired and one of which was his active diplomatic passport.
Apparently, the Justice Department is going to return them; they will be available to be picked up at WFO. He mentioned he is going to be traveling, but they can continue to collaborate.
This is how Fake News works, folks. Biden admin actively feeds half truths & lies that the media willingly amplifies—advancing a partisan narrative to attack Trump.@NorahODonnell, did your “source” read you this email? Did you bother asking if they indeed seized the passports? https://t.co/DlzkagN0ie pic.twitter.com/VwCU7DPCvg
— Taylor Budowich (@TayFromCA) August 15, 2022
Budowich made this disclosure in reaction to a tweet sent out by Norah O’Donnell, an anchor for CBS Evening News. In the tweet, O’Donnell stated a DOJ source informed her the agency did not have the cards.
On Monday morning, President Trump resorted to his Truth Social platform to criticize the Department of Justice (DOJ) for his lost passports, stating the DOJ had “stolen” them from him.
During the raid the FBI conducted at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump claimed all of his belongings, including his three passports (one of which was expired), were taken.
This is an attack on a political opponent in our country that has never been witnessed before on this level.
Diplomatic Passport
In the email that Budowich made public, Bratt mentioned out of the three passports, he only had one—his diplomatic passport—that was still valid.
The other two passports both expired. In reaction to the email, Representative Eric Swalwell contended Trump was never the rightful owner of the diplomatic passport in the first place.
He stated in a tweet Trump does not have a diplomatic passport in his possession. The government owns it in its entirety and Trump is not serving in any official capacity.
A Diplomatic Passport does not belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to the Government. Donald Trump is not in Government. https://t.co/saNYet5Tv3
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 15, 2022
On Monday of last week, FBI officers carried out a raid at Mar-a-Lago and apparently recovered some 20 boxes of evidence.
According to a search warrant unsealed in the case about a week ago, the authorities had been looking for classified information they believed to be stashed at the ornate resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
They were successful in recovering a number of items that were labeled “secret,” “top secret,” and “confidential.”
Trump has persisted in his assertion that he declassified the records and refuted charges that he engaged in improper conduct. He also said confidential materials were taken during the search and he requested they be returned to him.
