This week is perfect for Donald Trump to portray himself as a victim of justice.

After the FBI raid on his property in Mar-a-Lago on Monday, he complained about political persecution, and on Wednesday he spoke of the “biggest witch hunt in American history” – albeit in the next judicial matter.

Sofia Dreisbach

North American political correspondent based in Washington.

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The former president was due to testify under oath in the ongoing fraud case against his family holding company on Wednesday.

She is said to have artificially adjusted the value of real estate in order to have advantages with loans, taxes or insurance premiums.

For Trump, it's just further proof that he's being "attacked from all sides."

This is how he first wrote it on his social network Truth Social.

He then announced there that he would exercise his right to remain silent and not testify.

He has no other choice, "because the current government and many prosecutors in this country have lost all moral and ethical boundaries of decency."

Investigations into past presidents are highly unusual in the United States;

the FBI raid on Trump has therefore provoked strong reactions – there is no precedent for this.

In the hours before Trump pulled up in front of Attorney General Letitia James' office in lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning, the mood in the country had continued to heat up.

More or less explicit calls for violence

Trump supporters protesting the raid gathered in Palm Beach on Tuesday.

They spoke of a “show” that the government was “scared to death” of Trump.

He is expected to announce his re-run for the 2024 presidential election in the coming weeks.

After Trump made the raid public Monday night, a chorus of Republican lawmakers, conservative talk show hosts and conspiracy theorists began more or less explicitly calling for violence.

Kevin McCarthy, the Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives, has threatened an investigation by the Justice Department if Republicans regain a majority in the congressional election.

Florida Senator Rick Scott, who last week warned of the "enemy within" in the form of the "militant left" at the right-wing event CPAC, wrote on Twitter that the FBI needs to explain itself.

These are incidents like “in the third world”.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz spoke of the "corrupt FBI" that abused its power.

Republicans portray the FBI raids in Mar-a-Lago as an existential threat to the United States, which Patriots must fight.

Trump supporters wrote on Twitter that they had “already bought ammunition” that “Civil War 2.0.

just started”.

The threats went so far that the contact details of the Florida judge who approved the investigative order were removed from the website Tuesday afternoon.

After his name circulated in right-wing forums and was followed by threats and conspiracy theories, there were fears for his safety.

Biden stresses Justice Department independence

The fact that Trump has consistently undermined the legitimacy of law enforcement agencies in his four years as president now serves him even more well.

If the investigation goes unanswered, this move by the Justice Department could backfire.

Then it will go down in history for all Trump supporters as further proof that he is being "politically persecuted."

The White House kept a low profile on Tuesday when it came to the searches on Trump.

He had previously claimed that President Joe Biden "knew all about it".

Biden's spokeswoman said the president had no knowledge of it before the raid.

No one in the White House was informed, "we found out about it just like the American people did."

She then highlighted Biden's belief in the independence of the Justice Department.

The reason for the raid has not yet been officially confirmed.

According to media reports, Trump took some classified documents from the White House after the end of his presidency.

He gave 15 boxes of such materials to the National Archives earlier this year - but apparently there are doubts that that was all.