Former President Trump on Tuesday blasted the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida as a political "Witch Hunt" that represented an assault on patriotic Americans.
"These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, was raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents," Trump bemoaned in a statement sent out via email by Trump’s Save America political action committee.
Trump said the raid was unprecedented for a former president.
"[I]t’s important that you know that it wasn’t just my home that was violated – it was the home of every patriotic American who I have been fighting for since that iconic moment I came down the Golden Escalators in 2015," Trump said, referring to when he first announced his candidacy for president.
CLINTON-LINKED LAWYER SAYS TRUMP COULD BE BARRED FROM RE-ELECTION AFTER FBI RAID, CITES US CODE
"I stood up to the Radical Left’s corruption. I restored power to the people and truly delivered for our Country like we have never seen before. The establishment hated it," Trump said.
The former president alleged the raid was motivated by the "establishment’s" efforts to stop the Republican Party and himself from succeeding in elections.
"The lawlessness, political persecution, and the Witch Hunt, must be exposed and stopped," Trump said. "As long as I have your support, I will continue to fight for the Great American People. I need every single red-blooded American Patriot to step up during this time."
WHITE HOUSE, DOJ AND FBI SILENT ON REASON FOR RAIDING TRUMP'S MAR-A-LAGO
The email concluded with a request for donations: "Please rush in a donation IMMEDIATELY to publicly stand with me against this NEVERENDING WITCH HUNT."
The FBI searched Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he mishandled classified White House records.
Trump, disclosing the search in a lengthy statement, asserted that agents had opened up a safe at his home and described their work as an "unannounced raid" that he likened to "prosecutorial misconduct."
The search intensifies the monthslong investigation into how classified documents ended up in boxes of White House records located at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. It occurs amid a separate grand jury investigation into efforts by Trump and his associates to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and adds to the legal peril for the former president as he lays the groundwork for a run in 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
