Documents show FBI field agents did not believe probable cause existed for Mar-A-Lago raid

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Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained 207 pages of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records that reveal the FBI’s concerns about the legal basis for the raid of then-former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. The records expose deep concerns within the FBI itself, including explicit objections from field agents who warned the U.S. Department of Justice that the unprecedented August 8, 2022, raid on Trump’s home lacked probable cause.

The documents were uncovered in response to a March 11, 2026, Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed with the FBI regarding the counterintelligence investigation codenamed Plasmic Echo—a “sensitive investigative matter” launched following a referral from the National Archives and Records Administration.

The records include a July 13, 2022, email between FBI field agents explicitly stating they did not believe probable cause existed to search Mar-a-Lago and urging the Justice Department to cooperate with Trump’s attorney instead of insisting on a raid:

WFO [Washington Field Office] has made numerous suggestions to DOJ [Justice Department] over the course of this investigation that the most expedient way to ensure recovery of all classified documents would be to go through Mr. Corcoran [then-Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran]. DOJ has persistently disagreed. * New NARA Referral for all PRA vs. classified. If NARA pursued “presidential records” which are likely to still be located at Mar a Lago, they could recover any additional records which may, upon review, identify additional classified material. WFO has been rebuffed in this request by DOJ.

WFO does not believe (and has articulated to DOJ CES [Counterintelligence and Export Control Section]), that we have established probable cause for the search warrant at Mar a Lago. DOJ has opined that they do, requesting a wide scope including residence, office, storage space.

Finally, if the goal is to identify and recover classified records quickly, so as to protect the information, the 5 weeks spent fixated on probable cause for a search warrant have been counterproductive.

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