Jared Kushner Addresses FBI Raid on Trump Home for First Time

Then-White House senior advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner arrive at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Feb. 25, 2020. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Former White House adviser Jared Kushner gave his first interview following the FBI raid targeting the home of his father-in-law, former President Donald Trump, on Sunday night.

“President Trump is a fighter, he’s always been a fighter,” Kushner, the husband of the former president’s daughter Ivanka, told Fox News on Sunday evening. Trump “drives his enemies so crazy, they always over-pursue him and make mistakes in trying to get him, and that’s basically what happened here,” he added.

“But what’s happening now is the same thing being done by the same people in the same way,” Kushner said, “they’re leaking to the same sources, they’re manufacturing fabulous claims that then get debunked shortly thereafter.”

Kushner said: “It is giving a lot of people who want to believe in the fairness of the judicial system and our democracy a lot of pause and concern.”

While Trump’s critics accuse him of breaking rules and norms, Kusher said that “what we’re seeing here and what we’ve seen constantly over time is that they do that exact thing. They break all the norms in order to try to get Trump.”

Releasing the Affidavit

On Monday morning, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart implied that he will release the Department of Justice’s affidavit that was used to procure the FBI search warrant earlier this month. The judge rejected arguments from government prosecutors saying the legal document should be kept under seal.

“The Government argues that even requiring it to redact portions of the Affidavit that could not reveal agent identities or investigative sources and methods imposes an undue burden on its resources and sets a precedent that could be disruptive and burdensome in future cases,” Reinhart wrote in his order. “I do not need to reach the question of whether, in some other case, these concerns could justify denying public access; they very well might.”

Also in his order, Reinhart noted the FBI search targeting a former president’s home is  “unprecedented” and has triggered “intense public interest” in the case.

“Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that by the deadline, the Government shall file under seal a submission addressing possible redactions and providing any additional evidence or legal argument that the Government believes relevant to the pending Motions to Unseal,” his order said.

Media organizations argued in a court hearing last week that the affidavit should be unsealed to serve the public’s interest, while government prosecutors said releasing it to the public would provide too many details about the investigation.

Trump, who isn’t a party in the hearing, wrote on Truth Social that the affidavit should be unsealed in full.