A file photo of Donald Trump and Chris Christie (right).
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Christie said Trump likely left the Justice Department “no choice” but to raid Mar-a-Lago.
Christie said the DOJ has been “saying please” and “asking nicely” for the documents to be returned.
He added that the top-secret nature of these documents left the DOJ few options but to seize them.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has again weighed in on the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago, suggesting that former President Donald Trump’s behavior likely gave the Justice Department “no choice” but to seize top-secret documents.
On ABC News’ “This Week” on September 11, senior national correspondent Terry Moran asked Christie what he thought of the Justice Department’s chances in appealing district judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to side with the Trump legal team and appoint a special master to examine the materials seized at Mar-a-Lago.
In response, Christie said he thought the Justice Department’s chances of successfully appealing the ruling were “pretty good.” Christie reasoned that the Trump legal team’s argument is that some of the documents might be covered by executive privilege, but that Trump no longer has the power to assert such a privilege.
Christie added that it’s important to “take a step back” and think about why the DOJ carried out the raid in the first place.
“It’s not only the nature of the documents. We now have a good idea of the timeline. This has been 16 months that the Department of Justice has been saying please, asking nicely, negotiating with his attorneys, taking up partial production, seeing a non-response to a subpoena,” Christie said.
“They had no choice, in my view, but to go in and take them, because of the nature of the documents,” he added.
Christie referenced his own experience dealing with top-secret documents, saying that to view this information, he once had to go to a “special room” where he was not allowed to take pictures or take copies of the files.
“He had that in the top drawer at Mar-a-Lago in his desk,” Christie said of Trump’s handling of the top-secret documents. “That’s a problem. I don’t think he’ll be prosecuted for it, but we ought to get those documents back.”
Representatives for Trump and the DOJ did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
In August, Christie said the FBI’s search of Trump’s Florida home was “fair game” and that agents likely had probable cause to proceed with the operation.
During the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago, agents seized 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked “top secret.” Some of the documents may have concerned nuclear weapons, The Washington Post reported.
According to the search warrant, the Justice Department is investigating whether Trump broke any of three federal laws — including the Espionage Act — by keeping the documents at his home.
Meanwhile, Trump’s team has leveled various — and at times conflicting — defenses of his actions in taking classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, including an argument that doing so is akin to not returning an overdue library book.
Trump has also claimed without evidence that the FBI tossed top-secret files “haphazardly all over the floor” during the raid to make him look bad. He also inadvertently undermined his unsubstantiated claim that the FBI planted classified documents at his property.