Facebook has enlisted “fact-checkers” to defend the FBI after it was revealed that the agency authorized the potential use of “deadly force” against former President Trump during the 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate.
On Thursday, Facebook applied an “independent fact-check” to Truth Voices’ May 21 report, which detailed unsealed court documents showing the FBI permitted agents raiding Trump’s Florida home to use “deadly force” if necessary. This raid, on Aug. 8, 2022, approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland, reportedly aimed to retrieve “any document Trump ever saw, read, or created during his four years as president.”
The filing from Trump’s legal team indicated that the FBI’s operations order included a ‘Policy Statement’ on ‘Use Of Deadly Force,’ stating that “DOJ law enforcement officers may use deadly force when necessary.” It also noted that agents planned to carry “Standard Issue Weapons,” “Ammo,” “Handcuffs,” and “medium and large sized bolt cutters,” while being instructed to wear “unmarked polo or collared shirts” and conceal their “law enforcement equipment.”
The FBI also seemingly provided guidance on how to confront Trump and Secret Service personnel if encountered during the raid.
In its “fact-check” of Truth Voices’ report, Facebook claims the post is “missing context” and warned users that those who “repeatedly share false information might have their posts moved lower in News Feed” to reduce visibility. The platform also links to an AFP Fact Check titled “Trump falsely claims Biden authorized FBI assassination attempt,” which attempts to downplay the FBI’s actions by arguing that the allegations misrepresent the DOJ’s standard policies on the use of force during law enforcement operations.
AFP Fact Check has a history of issuing what many consider dishonest and misleading “fact-checks” for reports unfavorable to leftists.
As noted by Federalist CEO Sean Davis, “There is nothing ‘standard’ about raiding a former and future president’s home with deadly force because a corrupt intel agency and a pathetic, unelected, paper-pushing bureaucrat got butthurt over a benign record-keeping dispute.”
This is further underscored by the DOJ’s different handling of classified materials recovered from President Joe Biden’s private residence, which Biden had since his time as a U.S. senator. Unlike Trump, Biden faced no serious consequences from the DOJ, which chose not to charge him, attributing their decision to his senility.
As Truth Voices’ Tristan Justice reported earlier, Special Counsel Robert Hur concluded “that no criminal charges are warranted” in the investigation into Biden’s mishandling of classified materials despite finding records “related to foreign policy in Afghanistan and handwritten notes ‘implicating sensitive intelligence.’” Authorities justified their refusal to charge Biden by suggesting he would likely appear to a jury as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Meanwhile, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump regarding his handling of classified documents faces a delay. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon indefinitely postponed the trial after Smith’s team admitted to evidence tampering.
