The FBI carried out a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and resort in Palm Beach Florida, as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, that were brought there.
The former president stated that “they even broke into my safe” and acknowledged that FBI agents were present at Mar-a-Lago. According to a person familiar with the situation, he was in Trump Tower in New York when the search warrant was carried out in Florida.
In a statement released late on Monday, Trump claimed that his “beautiful house, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is presently under siege, being invaded, and seized by a big group of FBI agents.”
The remarkable decision by the Justice Department to conduct a search of a former president’s residence elevates the stakes for the agency and comes as Trump’s legal issues persist on several fronts. Trump is also anticipated to declare in the upcoming months that he will run for president again in 2024.
There are two known ongoing investigations by the Justice Department concerning the former President: one is on the attempt to rig the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, and the other is about the handling of confidential data.
The search got underway early on Monday and it looked that law enforcement officers were concentrating on the portion of the club that houses Trump’s offices and rooms.
Another individual familiar with the inquiry said that boxes of goods were taken during the FBI search, which also included looking through the places where papers were stored. Following the recent recovery of White House papers from Mar-a-Lago by the National Archives, the FBI was required to make sure that nothing was left behind on Monday.
Trump’s lawyer Christina Bobb claimed that the FBI had taken papers. “Every step of the way, President Trump and his legal team have cooperated with FBI and DOJ investigators. In fact, the FBI conducted an unauthorized raid and took documents “Bobb said.
Prior to the search warrant’s execution on Monday, there was communication between the FBI and US Secret Service, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, which made it simple for the FBI to enter the estate. When Trump is not at Mar-a-Lago, there is hardly any Secret Service presence there.
Over a dozen boxes of White House papers, some of which were classified, were retrieved from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, according to the National Archives, which is in charge of gathering and categorizing presidential material.
Early in June, a small group of investigators paid the property a rare visit in an effort to learn more about any possibly sensitive documents that Trump had brought to Florida while in the White House. According to a source present at the meeting, the four investigators met down with two of Trump’s attorneys, Bobb and Evan Corcoran, as well as Jay Bratt, the head of the Justice Department’s counterintelligence and export control unit.
Trump met the investigators outside a dining room at the start of the meeting. The investigators questioned the lawyers to discover where Trump was keeping the documents after he left without responding to any inquiries. According to the source, the investigators were taken to the basement area where the boxes of materials were being housed by the attorneys, where they got a tour before departing.
According to a second person, Trump walked in to say hello and strike up a conversation before leaving while the lawyers met with the investigators. Some of the documents handed to investigators, according to the source, were marked as top secret.
Investigators wrote to Trump’s attorneys in June requesting that they tighten security in the area where the papers were kept. The room was then given a padlock by assistants.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the FBI interviewed Trump’s Mar-a-Lago staff members in April and May as part of the investigation into the management of presidential records.
“The improper removal of secret documents is a federal offense. Therefore, if you have to specify the crime on the affidavit, you may name it as the offense, a former federal and state prosecutor said.
The timing of the search was consistent with the department’s longtime policy not to carry out politically sensitive actions within 90 days of an election.
“The midterm exams are exactly 90 days from today; maybe 91 or 92 days. If they’re viewing it as a 90 day guideline, then that policy may be the reason why they took action today because they want to avoid it “explained he.
Republican Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House, said in a statement that he had “seen enough.”
“Attorney General Merrick Garland, please keep your records safe and free up your schedule. Enough of what I saw. The politicization of the Justice Department has reached an untenable level “The top Republican wrote. “When Republicans regain control of the House, we will immediately oversee this agency, follow the truth, and exhaust all possibilities,”
The Justice Department has been urged to “completely investigate” the handling of material by the former president, according to the leader of the House Oversight Committee, which is looking into how Trump handled papers.
According to Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, “Presidents have a sacred obligation to defend America’s national security, and charges that former President Trump placed our security at danger by mishandling sensitive material merit the highest examination.”
Despite the fact that more information is still being revealed about today’s events at Mar-a-Lago, it is obvious that the Department of Justice is looking into President Trump’s possibly serious and illegal handling of sensitive material.
Watch Rachel Maddow below explain the breaking news Monday night.