White House press secretary says Biden was unaware of FBI's Mar-a-Lago raid

She said Biden "believes in the rule of law and the independence of Justice Department investigations."

Published: August 9, 2022 3:46pm

Updated: August 9, 2022 4:32pm

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden was unaware of the FBI's raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

"The president was not briefed, was not aware of it," Jean-Pierre told Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller. "No one at the White House was given a heads-up, no, that did not happen."

He followed up by asking whether the White House was concerned the search could "create the appearance of politically-motivated prosecution."

Jean-Pierre stressed the the Department of Justice "conducts investigations independently," and she said Biden "believes in the rule of law and the independence of Justice Department investigations."

Miller followed up by asking whether the White House believes it would be helpful for the federal government to "be more open" about the reasoning behind the FBI's search warrant.

"Again, this is not something I'm going to comment on today or from here, at all," Jean-Pierre replied.

Trump's son, Eric Trump, said that the raid was conducted on behalf of the National Archives.

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