Some Justice Department officials remain silence at the search of Mar-a-Lago

• The Justice Department’s public disclosures about investigations, particularly the extensive criminal investigation that began on January 6
• According to those briefed on the situation, part of the reason the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Monday as part of a criminal investigation into the handling of classified information was to prevent a spectacle.
• Some Justice and FBI officials, though, have argued internally that the silence is harmful to the department’s and the public’s interest, in part because Trump and allies have filled the void.

Some Justice Department employees feel that the department ought to issue a public comment regarding the extraordinary search of former President Donald Trump’s house and club in Florida, but this opinion hasn’t influenced the top leadership’s steadfast quiet up to this point.

The Justice Department’s public disclosures about investigations, particularly the extensive criminal investigation that began on January 6 and particularly anything involving the former president, have been strictly restrained by Attorney General Merrick Garland. According to those briefed on the situation, part of the reason the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Monday as part of a criminal investigation into the handling of classified information was to prevent a spectacle. Around 10 a.m. ET, rather than in the early morning hours, plainclothes agents with jackets bearing the FBI logo first came. At the time, Trump was in New York.

When Trump made a public speech describing the hours-long search as a “siege,” it was made public.

Garland has repeatedly addressed why he says so little about the ongoing investigations, citing not only the department’s general policy not to comment but also as part of a strategy to protect the investigation by not letting potential targets know what the department is doing. He also has cited the importance of protecting the rights of people not yet charged with crimes so as to avoid them being tried in the public sphere before the Justice Department brings a case.

Some Justice and FBI officials, though, have argued internally that the silence is harmful to the department’s and the public’s interest, in part because Trump and allies have filled the void.

On Wednesday, the agency released a recorded video statement on a significant criminal case, accusing an Iranian military official of attempting to kill John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, in order to dodge concerns about the Trump probe.

Larissa Knapp, executive assistant director for the FBI’s national security section, and Matt Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, made a unique video statement.

A press conference with the attorney general would typically be held to discuss a case of such public interest. But if a news conference were to be held this week, Mar-a-Lago queries would probably take center stage.