FBI raid on Trump’s attorney is so political, it would have made J. Edgar Hoover blush

As the news broke that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) raided the home, office and hotel room of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, pundits and the president of the United States alike mused about whether the raid was politically motivated.

The short answer: of course it was.

In fact, the raid was so brazen it would have made J. Edgar Hoover blush — and that’s saying, a lot since he was the forefather of FBI politicization.

{mosads}The list of evidence of the raid’s political motivation is long.

First, consider the source.

Democrats suggest that the usual pre-supposition of the FBI’s extreme political bias against Trump was not at play here, because the action came from the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York.

However, a quick jog down memory lane reveals that the Southern District office itself is an overzealous, politically motivated entity that has had a bone to pick with Trump and fellow Republicans for quite a while.

For starters, in March 2017, one of Trump’s first acts as president was firing Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. Ever since, it seems as if Bharara has been out for revenge, taking to the airwaves on a slash-and-burn campaign against the president, accepting a post with Trump’s arch nemesis CNN and even suggesting that he was relieved to be fired because Trump ultimately would have asked him “to do something inappropriate” — despite any shred of evidence for the claim.

It was also the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York that accused conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza of campaign finance fraud after he donated $20,000 to Wendy Long’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2012, far above the campaign contribution limits. Though D’Souza ought to have known better, the witch hunt that ensued seemed excessive in light of the charge (matters like that are normally handled by a fine from the Federal Election Commission).

As a result of the Southern District’s aggressive prosecution, D’Souza was ultimately convicted of a felony, sentenced to nearly a year in a correctional facility, and eight years of probation. The person who spearheaded the prosecution? None other than the Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

D’Souza has long claimed that the case was politically motivated and that it was a retaliatory strike on behalf of Bharara’s buddy President Barack Obama for the D’Souza film, “2016: Obama’s America,” which was highly critical of Obama yet became the second-highest grossing political documentary of all time.

After his felonious ordeal and upon learning of Bharara’s firing by Trump, it was D’Souza who tweeted, “Good riddance!” and called Bharara nothing more than “a ruthless and deceitful henchman for the Obama administration.” It appears the office has kept tradition alive.

Second, the political bias and double standard exemplified by the FBI’s raid is deafening. From former campaign manager Paul Manafort — who was also the victim of a surprise “no-knock” early-morning raid — to now Cohen, members of the Trump team have been treated as hardened criminals every step of the way.

By sharp contrast, Hillary Clinton’s team reportedly smashed their Blackberrys with hammers — at total of 13 mobile devices and five iPads to be exact, according to the official FBI report — yet Hillary was allowed to come in for a leisurely talk with the FBI, on her own accord, not required to be under oath, with no recording or transcript taken. Whether one is a Democrat or Republican, one must admit that the double standard here is grotesque.

Third, the fact that the Southern District of New York allowed the raid at all seems like an overreach. For the FBI to raid an office over a mutually agreed upon, voluntary non-disclosure agreement between two private citizens seems baffling.

It should strike fear in the heart of any regular American who has an existing NDA with clients, colleagues or their employees. The political message here is if it can happen to the president of the United States, it can happen to you — especially if you’re a Republican at odds with the power brokers at the swamp.

Lastly, the development that the attorney for the adult film star in the case just so happens to be a former political operative for longtime Obama ally and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden, adds even more political intrigue to the mix.

It’s hard to believe that this entire series of events — from Stormy Daniels’s “60 Minutes” interview to the FBI raid seeking the materials mentioned therein — wasn’t orchestrated at the highest levels of the Democratic Party. The writers of “Wag the Dog” couldn’t have written a better script.

With the political threat of presidential impeachment hanging in the wind like an eerie fog, Americans are watching this unfold very carefully in this midterm election year.

If it turns out that the FBI raid was legitimate and the force was appropriate, then Americans will understand it in due time. However, if the raid turns out to have been an excessive use of force against a Republican administration by the highest (and possibly most biased) law enforcement entity in the land, the reaction to this dire Constitutional crisis will make the Tea Party protests of 2009 look like kiddie tea time and the political protests of the current year look like child’s play.

Jen Kerns has served as a GOP strategist and writer for the U.S. presidential debates for FOX News. She previously served as communications director and spokeswoman for the California Republican Party, the Colorado Recalls over gun control, and the Prop. 8 battle over marriage which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.