A conservative legal advocacy group has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging a top DOJ official involved in the 2022 raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home had an improper bias against the former president and should have recused himself.
Mr. Evers returned to government work in 2022 after the start of the Biden administration and was appointed as an associate deputy attorney general in July of 2022, days before the Mar-a-Lago raid.
AFL alleges Mr. Evers was involved in discussions, briefings, and litigation concerning the Mar-a-Lago raid and may have been involved in discussions leading to special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against President Trump nearly a year later on June 8, 2023.
The federal law enforcement raid at the Palm Beach, Florida, resort, which President Trump used as a home and office space, was done to seize sensitive documents in the former president’s possession. Mr. Smith’s June 2023 indictment alleged President Trump willfully retained national defense records and made false statements and other efforts to conceal those records from federal authorities. President Trump has insisted he had the right to keep the documents under the Presidential Records Act and that he'd declassified the documents.
“There is significant evidence indicating that Mr. Evers is fatally tainted by bias against former President Trump, rendering his participation in matters related to Mr. Trump generally, and the Mar-a-Lago raid, pre-indictment discussions, and any post-indictment activities in particular, a violation of clear and unambiguous legal obligations and professional standards,” AFL said in a press statement. “Yet, he heavily involved himself in the Department’s actions related to that raid without recusing himself.”
Evers Took Part in Mar-a-Lago Raid Discussions
Several Republican lawmakers communicated to the DOJ their dismay about the Mar-a-Lago raid and raised questions about the justifications for such actions. Based on the records provided in the AFL complaint, it’s not clear that Mr. Evers had direct involvement in bringing on the Mar-a-Lago raid, but did discuss how the DOJ would address questions raised about the raid.Among the DOJ internal emails AFL’s complaint cites, were discussions of DOJ statements in opposition to the release of search warrants and affidavits used to justify the raid.
In the emails, Mr. Evers and Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) Carlos Uriarte discussed this DOJ opposition to the release of legal documents explaining the justifications for the raid. The OLA is the DOJ office in charge of communications with Congress.
Mr. Evers and Mr. Uriarte discussed a document titled “2022.08.15 MAL Draft Response.” In an Aug. 16, 2022 email, Mr. Uriarte wrote to Mr. Evers stating, “Austin, Proposed updated draft attached. Note that this version references [REDACTED]. It would be great to get this letter out tomorrow if possible, especially since the letter will need updating as the litigation unfolds.”
Mr. Uriarte reached out for Mr. Ever’s input on subsequent draft communications, including another document titled “2022.08.23 MAL Draft Response,” to which Mr. Evers replied on Aug. 24, 2022, with “minor nits.”
NTD News asked the DOJ for details about Mr. Evers’s involvement in shaping these communications to lawmakers, but the DOJ declined to share the draft versions of their communications.
AFL notes Mr. Evers’s predecessors at OLA—Acting Assistant Attorney General Peter Hyun and former Associate Deputy Attorney General Emily Loeb—had recused themselves from discussions regarding special counsel John Durham’s investigation and discussions about President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
“Each individual was similarly situated to Mr. Evers, with arguably less of a conflict of interest, and yet, unlike Mr. Evers, each recused,” AFL’s complaint states.
