Donald Trump hints at legal action over Mar-a-Lago raid. Lawyers are already finding fault with his Fourth Amendment defense.

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Donald Trump hints at legal action over Mar-a-Lago raid. Lawyers are already finding fault with his Fourth Amendment defense.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole on August 06, 2022 in Dallas, Texas.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
  • On Friday night, former President Donald Trump hinted at legal action concerning the Mar-a-Lago raid.
  • He said a "major motion" related to the Fourth Amendment would soon be filed.
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Former President Donald Trump hinted at legal action concerning the Mar-a-Lago raid, but lawyers say his Fourth Amendment defense will likely fail.

In a post on Truth Social, on Friday night, Trump said that a "major motion" related to the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, will soon be filed.

Earlier this month, the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the former president's home in Palm Beach, Florida. Legal experts determined that significant evidence must have backed up the warrant authorizing the search.

Unsealed court documents showed that the search was part of an investigation into whether Trump had violated three laws, including a significant facet of the Espionage Act, relating to the treatment of government documents.

Trump and his allies have denounced the FBI search, characterizing it as a political attack, despite it being signed off by a federal judge and approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland.

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Nonetheless, Trump continued his attacks on the Justice Department in his Friday night Truth Social post, describing the raid as an "illegal break-in" of his home.

The former president argued that his rights, and the rights of all Americans, were "violated at a level rarely seen before in our country."

The Fourth Amendment

According to the Library of Congress, the Fourth Amendment is, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Though the "major motion" is yet to be filed, lawyers are already saying his Fourth Amendment defense would likely fail.

The Daily Beast reported that legal experts used Twitter to cast doubt on the motion.

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"Trump promises a 'major motion pertaining to the 4th Am' re MAL search," wrote former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman. "Presumably, he means a motion to suppress evidence, which people file once charged (but not before), & he'll surely lose."

And University of Texas Law professor Steve Vladeck wrote: "Wait until he finds out that SCOTUS has made it virtually impossible to sue federal law enforcement officers for even egregious violations of the Fourth Amendment."

Trump's post-presidency office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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