FBI officials argued against raiding former President Donald Trump’s residence, but Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors pushed the aggressive tactic and ultimately won the dispute, according to a new report.

The unprecedented raid, carried out in August, threw the FBI under a torrent of criticism. Many Republicans saw the raid as further evidence that the DOJ has been politicized and that the FBI has been weaponized against Republicans, especially Trump.

The reaction was expected to some extent within the FBI, according to The Washington Post. Two senior FBI officials responsible for leading the raid argued against it because of the reaction it would likely incite. They also questioned the need of taking such a drastic step, preferring to continue to work with Trump and the former president’s legal team to secure classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago.

The FBI was also hesitant to appear too heavy-handed in politically charged cases after its handling of Hillary Clinton’s email investigation in 2016 and the probe into Trump’s alleged ties to Russia that led to ex-special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that came up empty.

DOJ prosecutors thought differently. Trump should not be given special treatment, they argued, and the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were an imminent security risk. The prosecutors said action must be taken quickly to secure the classified material before it was moved.

The debate came to a head a week before the August 8 raid in which multiple DOJ officials and prosecutors met with FBI officials, including Steven D’Antuono, then head of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. D’Antuono, who eventually led the raid on Mar-a-Lago, pushed back against prosecutors’ assertions that the raid was necessary. He also questioned the scope of the search warrant and asked if Trump was the subject of a criminal investigation.

Jay Bratt, the DOJ’s counterintelligence chief, and several others argued in support of the raid, according to the Post.

The prosecutors won the argument, convincing the top brass at the FBI to back the proposed raid, and Attorney General Merrick Garland to sign off on it. The day following the meeting, Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate ordered D’Antuono to head the raid on Trump’s residence. The criticism of the bureau erupted immediately, and grew more pointed after classified documents were revealed to have been in Biden’s possession last month.

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D’Antuono retired from the agency last year. The former FBI official had been involved in some of the bureau’s most controversial actions in recent years. Before heading the field office in Washington, D’Antuono led the bureau’s Detroit Field Office and oversaw its months-long sting into a group of militia members who attempted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

D’Antuono moved to lead the Washington Field Office where he then oversaw the bureau’s investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot. He retired from the FBI at the end of November.

President Joe Biden promised to sign a law preventing the city of Washington D.C. from overhauling its crime and voting laws.

The Washington, D.C., city council passed a bill to overhaul the city’s criminal code, and another one allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. But the House of Representatives passed two resolutions blocking those bills from becoming law, and the Senate is expected to vote on them as early as next week. Biden said Thursday that he would sign the bills if passed.

According to NPR, Biden reportedly told Senate Democrats during a closed-door meeting Thursday that he would not veto the bills, which are expected to pass with bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed the decision to reporters after the meeting.

Biden confirmed the news himself on Twitter. “I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule – but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections – such as lowering penalties for carjackings,” Biden tweeted from the official Presidential Twitter account. “If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did – I’ll sign it.”

The Senate is expected to vote on the bills as soon as next week. Two Democrats, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Bob Casey (D-PA), have already expressed support for the bills. With Casey’s Pennsylvania colleague, John Fetterman, out for an extended period of time with health problems, the Democrats do not seem to have the votes to stop the resolutions from passing, POLITICO reported, adding that with Biden signaling his support for the measures, they could earn more Democratic votes by the time they reach the floor. The bills require a simple majority to pass, and cannot be filibustered.

The House of Representatives passed a resolution to block the D.C. legislation allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections from becoming law on February 9. Some 42 Democrats joined Republicans, and the vote passed 260-162. Another resolution blocking the city from overhauling its criminal code passed 250-173, with the support of 31 Democrats.

D.C. city officials passed the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act on its first reading last year, which Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed to pass without her signature, as she refused to veto the legislation. Washington, D.C., city councilmember Charles Allen introduced the bill in October 2020, arguing that it aligns with the chamber’s values and history of expanding voting rights.

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The other bill, the one overhauling D.C.’s century-old criminal code, would not take effect until October 2025. While proponents argue the overhaul updates and improves an outdated system, critics warn it would embolden wrongdoers by reducing the penalties for certain crimes. Among other changes, the bill would reduce maximum penalties for violent crimes such as carjacking, and expand the rights to jury trials for misdemeanor offenses.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the criminal code changes, but the D.C. Council voted to override the veto. Bowser then proposed targeted alterations to the revised code, including restoring maximum penalties for gun crimes and carjackings, as well as delaying its implementation to 2027, per NBC Washington.

Under the Home Rule Act of 1973, Congress is allowed to overrule legislation passed by the D.C. city council before it becomes law.

Brandon Drey and Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.