Trump has become deeply suspicious of being surveilled and that those close to him could be wearing wires: report
- According to a new Rolling Stone report, Trump has become paranoid about being wiretapped.
- Sources close to Trump told Rolling Stone he has asked if the phones are being tapped "by Biden."
Even before the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, former President Donald Trump was getting paranoid about the possibility that he might be monitored by the authorities or that the people close to him are wearing wires, per a new Rolling Stone report.
Rolling Stone spoke to four sources familiar with Trump's behavior. The sources say the former president has asked close aides if they thought he could be under surveillance by the authorities.
"He has asked me and others, 'Do you think our phones are tapped?'" said one source to Rolling Stone. "Given the sheer volume of investigations going on into the (former) president, I do not think he's assuming anything is outside the realm of possibility."
According to the source, Trump brought the idea of being wiretapped up as a serious consideration but has also joked that people close to him should "be careful" about what they say on the phone.
Two sources close to Trump also told Rolling Stone that the former president has also grown suspicious of the Republican figures coming to see him at his clubs, wondering if they could be "wearing a wire." These sources also told Rolling Stone that Trump and his advisers are in search of a "mole" or a "rat," who might be working with law enforcement against Trump.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, another Trump adviser said that members of the MAGA flank have been trying to get to Trump and warn him against trusting certain people close to him: "To be honest, a lot of it feels like people trying to screw over the ones they don't like."
For his part, Trump has railed against the search, highlighting how agents "broke into" his safe.
The FBI has not given a reason for the raid. But numerous media outlets, as well as Eric Trump in a Fox News interview, suggested it was over material that the former president brought to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House.
In February, the National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago. It also asked the Department of Justice to investigate if Trump broke the law by bringing official documents to his Florida residence. The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek also reported this week that an informant close to Trump may have tipped off investigators, and pinpointed where they could find documents that the Archives didn't get in February.