Donald Trump Jr. Says 'Navy Seals' of the FBI Used in Raid 'to Intimidate'

Donald Trump Jr. Says 'Navy Seals' of the FBI Used in Raid 'to Intimidate'

During a recent radio appearance, Donald Trump Jr. criticized the FBI for its raid at his father's Florida home last month and accused the agency of using intimidation tactics.

Trump Jr., son of former President Donald Trump, spoke to Charlie Kirk on his radio show on Thursday and claimed that the FBI agents that conducted the August 8 raid at Mar-a-Lago were members of the agency's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT).

The search warrant, served on August 8, was part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the discovery of classified White House records recovered from the former president's Florida home in January this year.

According to the FBI, the Hostage Rescue Team represents the "federal law enforcement's last line of defense."

"The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team is an elite group of agents who pass a challenging selection process and training course," the FBI said on its website. "They deploy in any environment or conditions to respond to hostage situations, barricaded suspects, high-risk arrests, undercover operations, and surveillance operations."

Donald Trump Jr
Donald Trump Jr.speaks during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit held at the Tampa Convention Center on July 23, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. During a recent appearance on a radio show, Trump Jr. accused... Joe Raedle/Getty

Trump Jr. accused the FBI of using the HRT in order to intimidate the Trump family and said the agency had become too political.

"The thing that I think a lot of people missed is that when I read that [the FBI] used the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, that is when you are like 'oh'," Trump Jr. said. "If you even thought that maybe there was something here that isn't political you realize that is the intimidation tactic. For those of you who are listening who don't understand, the Hostage Rescue Team, the HRT, that is like the Delta Force, that is the Navy Seals of federal law enforcement."

Trump Jr. added that he felt the tactics used by the FBI were "something to intimidate a political enemy."

Newsweek has reached out to the FBI for comment.

Shortly after the raid, Eric Trump, Trump's other son, said in a Fox News interview that Trump had become more popular after the raid. Speaking to Sean Hannity on August 15, Eric Trump said two people attempted to buy him and his family dinner to apologize for how his family was treated.

"It has caused the greatest fundraising, my father's poll numbers have absolutely gone through the roof," Eric Trump said.

"They are not even talking about any other Republican candidates because they have all kind of disappeared, they are not even in the equation," he said in reference to the possibility of his father standing as the Republican primary candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

"Last night I had an argument between two people who were trying to buy Lara [Trump, his wife] and I dinner to apologize for what the United States government has done to our family," he added. "You wouldn't believe the energy out there."

Newsweek has reached out to Donald Trump's office for comment.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more

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