Trump Contacts Garland: ‘What Can I Do To Reduce The Heat?’

Former President Donald Trump made an effort to get a message to Attorney General Merrick Garland before Garland was set to call for the warrant used to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence to be unsealed in a press conference.

The message conveyed the underlying meaning, “The country is on fire. What can I do to reduce the heat?” according to the New York Times.

It is unclear if Garland received the message before the press conference.

Trump’s message was taken differently by pundits in the media. Some said the message signaled Trump’s effort to ease tensions while others argued that it was a “veiled threat,” as he continued to condemn the FBI for their unprecedented search of a former President’s home.

“There has never been a time like this where law enforcement has been used to break into the house of a former president of the United States, and there is tremendous anger in the country — at a level that has never been seen before, other than during very perilous times,” Trump said during a weekend appearance on Fox News.

The FBI has been the subject of an uptick in threats following their search of Mar-a-Lago, including an armed man who made an effort to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office last week.

The National Archives called on the Justice Department in February to open an investigation into whether or not Trump violated the Presidential Records Act, which requires former Presidents to turn in all documents and records from their administration, after locating 15 boxes of classified records at Mar-a-Lago.

The unsealed search warrant revealed that Trump is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act and that 11 sets of classified documents were found at Mar-a-Lago, though Trump maintains that he had declassified the items.