Donald Trump and his supporters are ratcheting up their baseless claim that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents may have “planted” evidence when they searched his Mar-a-Lago home for missing White House records. But those claims are unlikely to stand up in court.
In an effort to calm the outcry from Trump allies about the Monday search of his Florida estate, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday that criticism of the agents was unfounded, without mentioning the conspiracy theory. He also said he asked a judge to unseal the warrant.
The allegation of planted evidence is being pushed by Trump to fire up “deep state” conspiracy theorists who make up a significant portion of his supporters, says Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor in San Diego.
