No leaked messages before Mar-a-Lago search

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart signed off on the warrant to search former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, making him an immediate subject of interest for Trump supporters.

One Facebook post claimed Reinhart was in cahoots with another former president when it came to preparing for the search. 

"BREAKING: Messages between former President Barack Obama and Judge Reinhart foreshadowed the unlawful raid on former Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate," the post said before it was apparently deleted (we found a similar one here). "Instagram account @patriotave is posting leaked messages. Follow @patriotave before they are taken down!!!" 

(Screengrab from Instagram)

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stated on March 24, 2024 in a Facebook post

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This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It was not the first time since the warrant was executed that Reinhart was a target of misinformation.

The Instagram account the post refers to is private, but its bio advertised a survivalist shovel available for purchase and suggested following another account, @political source, to have any follow requests accepted faster. That account, also private, referred users to follow @FuriousPatriot, "to be accepted faster," and that account, also private and advertising the shovel, referred users to follow yet another private account "to be accepted faster." 

We followed the initial account the post referred to but there were no leaked messages to be found there. These nesting doll-like accounts don’t know something that hasn’t previously been reported. Though records show Reinhart donated $1,000 to Obama when he was running for president in 2008, and another $1,000 to the Obama Victory Fund, a fundraising committee, we found no evidence to support the claim that messages between the two men were leaked in connection with the search of Trump’s estate. There are no credible news reports, nor other other sources to corroborate this post. 

We rate this post False.