Five Questions with Former FBI Agent Frank Figliuzzi

JOYCE VANCE MAY 25 ∙ PREVIEW

Earlier this week, Donald Trump used a fundraising email to claim that the Biden administration wanted to kill him during the execution of the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago. The email read, "Joe Biden was locked & loaded ready to take me out". Then, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE.”

Trump is unusually mendacious. But this, he said, was based on newly unsealed information about the search warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago, which referenced the FBI’s deadly force policy. So, was it true?

Who better to turn to for the truth than former FBI Agent Frank Figliuzzi, who retired as the Assistant Director for Counterintelligence after 25 years of service. After Trump’s announcement, Frank tweeted, “Yep, every FBI operations order contains a reminder of FBI deadly force policy. Even for a search warrant. Deadly force is always authorized if the required threat presents itself.” That’s the top line, but there’s more to it than that, especially as this story has become a firestorm in conservative media.

Frank, with his beloved Boston Terrier, Bella, of blessed memory.

You are probably familiar with Frank from his role as a national security contributor for NBC News. He is the author of a national bestselling book, “THE FBI WAY: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence,” and his second book, LONG HAUL: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers, was released in May. He is uniquely qualified to weigh in on tonight’s issue: He was named Chief Inspector for the Bureau by then-director Robert Mueller. In that role, he oversaw sensitive and complex internal inquiries and audits worldwide, including reviews of all use of lethal force by FBI agents.

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