Tea Party group files complaint seeking removal of judge who signed off on Mar-a-Lago raid

The group Tea Party Patriots Action has filed a federal complaint against the Obama-appointed magistrate who approved the FBI's raid on Donald Trump's Florida resort in a search for classified documents he allegedly took from the White House, the Washington Examiner reports.

According to the group, Florida-based Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart is biased against Trump.

“Judge Reinhart has a conflict of interest and a pattern and history of hostility to President Trump,” the filing said, adding that Reinhart "should be disciplined and removed as a federal magistrate because of his failure to meet the standards of ethical conduct and character necessary for the public to have confidence in the nonpartisan role of a judge in a matter of this extreme public interest."

As the Washington Examiner points out, critics of Reinhart have dug up examples from the past of him expressing anti-Trump sentiments.

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“The entire episode of the unprecedented search of the former president’s home, authorized by a political appointee of President Trump’s successor, and approved by a federal magistrate who has been outspoken in his opposition to and loathing of President Trump threatens the principle of ‘equal justice under law’ and the confidence of the American people in an unbiased judiciary,” the complaint said.

The FBI raid sparked a political firestorm in an already bitterly divided country, and comes as Trump weighs another White House run in 2024.

In a statement, Trump claimed that his attorneys had been "cooperating fully" and "the government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it."

Leading Republicans have rallied around Trump, and some members of his party have harshly denounced the Justice Department and FBI, accusing them of partisanship in targeting the ex-president.

Attorney General Merrick Garland -- the country's top law enforcement officer -- said he had "personally approved" the dramatic raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort home.

The Justice Department typically does not confirm or deny whether it is investigating someone, and Garland took pains to emphasize the law was being applied fairly to Trump.

"Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy," he said. "The rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor."

With additional reporting by AFP

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