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FBI search of Mar-a-Lago

October 15, 2023

For the related investigation by the FBI, see FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents.

On August 8, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the residence of former U.S. president Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida.

FBI search of Mar-a-Lago
Part of Federal prosecution of Donald Trump (classified documents case)
Evidence seized, arrayed, and photographed by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago on August 30, 2022
DateAugust 8, 2022
LocationMar-a-Lago
Motiveto recover missing classified documents which had been illegally kept by former United States president Donald Trump
Outcomethe seizing of over at least 300 classified government documents from Trump's Florida residence, as well as the seizing of 48 empty folders labeled "classified"
Appointment of Jack Smith to investigate Trump's handling of classified documents
Second indictment of Donald Trump

The search warrant application was authorized by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and approved by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, following a criminal referral by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The order, unsealed a few days after the search, showed that the FBI obtained the search warrant as part of an investigation into Trump relating to three federal criminal statutes:

  • violations of the Espionage Act regarding unauthorized retention of national defense information;
  • destroying or concealing records "with the intent to impede obstruct or influence" federal government activity;
  • illegal removal or destruction of federal government records (without respect to cause).[1][2]

Later, courts released the affidavit with redactions, giving the public a window into the FBI's goals in this search[3][4] and what the FBI seized.[5][6] In 2021, NARA tried to recover material, and Trump went through the material in his possession at the end of that year.[7] Surveillance footage subpoenaed by the Justice Department in June 2022 showed boxes were moved in and out of a storage room at some point.[8][9] The Justice Department said the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were likely "concealed and removed" to block investigation.[10][11]

Over 13,000 government documents were recovered.[12][6][13][14] They included nuclear-related information and FBI, CIA, and NSA information about national security interests. Of these documents, 337 were classified: 197 handed over in January 2022, 38 turned over under subpoena in June 2022, and 102 seized in the August search of Mar-a-Lago.[15][5][16][10] Months later, at least two more documents with classified markings were uncovered at Trump locations.[17][18]

On June 8, 2023, Trump was indicted on federal charges related to the documents.[19] On June 13, 2023, Trump surrendered to federal custody and was arrested, booked, processed, and arraigned in the U.S. District Court of South Florida.[20][21] Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges.[22] On July 27, a new version of the indictment (superseding the old) added three counts against Trump.[23]

Background Edit

See also: Donald Trump § Post-presidential investigations, and FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents

Handling, storage, and disposition of U.S. government records Edit

The Presidential Records Act (44 U.S.C. ch. 22) establishes that presidential records belong to the United States and must be surrendered to the Archivist of the United States at the end of a president's term of office (or second term of office, if consecutive).[24][25] Unauthorized removal and retention of classified information of the United States government is a criminal offense under U.S. federal law; it has been a felony since the enactment of the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in January 2018 and increased the maximum term of imprisonment for this offense from one year to five years.[26]

Criminal laws listed on search warrant Edit

See also: Espionage Act of 1917 and Sarbanes–Oxley Act

The search warrant and accompanying affidavit listed three federal criminal statutes as the basis of the investigation: "18 U.S.C. §§ 793, 2071, [and] 1519". The Sections cited are:

  • § 793, enacted as part of the Espionage Act of 1917, makes the unauthorized retention or disclosure of documents related to national defense, which could be used to harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary, a crime. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison.[2][27][a] The Espionage Act was passed before the development of the modern classification system of the United States government, and thus does not refer to the classification status of the documents; unclassified "national defense information" would still be covered under the Espionage Act.[27] As noted by the Congressional Research Service, the "affidavit supporting the warrant focuses on subsection (e), which applies when an individual is in unauthorized possession of certain national defense information".[28]
  • § 2071 criminalizes the theft or destruction of government records, regardless of their relevance to national security. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison.[2][27][b]
  • § 1519, enacted as part of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, criminalizes the act of destroying or concealing documents or records, regardless of their relevance to national security, "with the intent to impede, obstruct or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter" within the jurisdiction of any federal department or agency. The maximum penalty is 20 years in prison.[27][c]

Classified material and the presidency Edit

See also: Classified information in the United States and Special access program

Beginning in 1940, U.S. presidents have used the constitutional and statutory powers of the president of the United States to create classification systems through executive orders.[29][30] The Code of Federal Regulations contains rules for classified material as 32 CFR 2001.[citation needed]

Generally, the president and the United States National Security Council set information security policy such as the sharing and classification of information.[citation needed] The day-to-day oversight of the government-wide classification system is handled by the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), a component of the National Archives.[31]

Declassification, presidential powers and regulations Edit

Since the 1988 Supreme Court decision in Department of the Navy v. Egan, there is consensus that a sitting president has broad Constitutional powers to classify (and declassify) information.[32][33] However, there are procedures for doing so. Following former President Trump's claims that the documents found at Mar-a-Lago had been declassified, the Congressional Research Service issued a policy paper in August 2022 highlighting relevant regulations: per 32 CFR 2001.25, the declassification process requires markings "uniformly and conspicuously applied to leave no doubt about the declassified status of the information and who authorized the declassification".[28]

In 2003, Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, claimed to have received a direct but unrecorded disclosure order from President George W. Bush and Cheney to leak classified information to reporters. In what became known as the Plame affair, Libby was ultimately not charged for releasing classified information. Steven Aftergood, a critic of U.S. government secrecy policy, said the case "highlights the fact that the president purports to, or does, stand outside of the classification system".[34]

Protocols for loss or compromise of classified material Edit

Federal regulations require that "any person who has knowledge that classified information has been or may have been lost, possibly compromised or disclosed to an unauthorized person(s) shall immediately report the circumstances to an official designated for this purpose." Regulations also require notification of the Director of the ISOO if the specific classified information could attract "significant public attention", if the information in question is voluminous, or if a key vulnerability has been exposed. The Department of Justice is also to be consulted if criminality is suspected.[35]

Events leading to the search Edit

When Trump left the White House, he brought government documents with him. “From January through March 15, 2021," the grand jury alleged, "some of Trump’s boxes were stored in The Mar-a-Lago Club’s White and Gold Ballroom, in which events and gatherings took place. Trump’s boxes were for a time stacked on the ballroom’s stage”. In March, they were moved to a "business center". In April, they were moved to a "bathroom and shower" in the Lake Room.[36]

NARA actions to retrieve presidential records from Mar-a-Lago Edit

In February 2021, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the federal agency that preserves government records, asked Trump to return presidential documents.[37] By May 2021, NARA realized they were missing the correspondence sent from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to Trump. They also knew they were missing other presidential documents like the altered Hurricane Dorian map. NARA contacted Trump's representatives.[38][39] On May 6, NARA emailed Trump's lawyers with the request for their "immediate assistance" to return the Kim letters[40] along with "roughly two dozen" boxes that were in Trump's White House residence during the final days of his presidency and that were sent to Florida, although Cipollone had determined they should have been sent to NARA.[41][42][43] That month, Trump allegedly had some of the boxes brought to the Bedminster Club.[44]

In June 2021, NARA instructed a former lawyer in Trump's White House counsel's office to send them the Kim letters via FedEx.[45] On June 24, boxes in the Mar-a-Lago Lake Room were moved to the storage room.[46]

NARA and Trump's lawyers continued to negotiate.[45] Between November 2021 and January 2022, Trump allegedly had his employees bring boxes out of the storage room and into his residence so he could review their contents.[47][7]

Partial return of records to NARA Edit

In January 2022, NARA retrieved 15 boxes of documents, gifts, and other government property from Mar-a-Lago that should have been transferred to NARA at the end of Trump's term.[45][48][49] The boxes included documents from the CIA, the FBI, and the National Security Agency on a variety of topics of national security interest. Archivists and federal agents determined that 184 unique documents (totaling 700 pages)[50] had classification markings, of which 25 documents were marked "top secret", 92 "secret" and 67 "confidential".[51][52] This material included:

The document about Iran that he showed off at Bedminster in July 2021 may have been among the documents surrendered at this time; a military document marked "TOP SECRET//NOFORN" was in Trump's possession until January 17, 2022, and Trump was eventually charged with possessing it.[60]

Trump attorney Alex Cannon helped to transfer these 15 boxes to NARA.[61] The documents were stored in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) while DOJ officials considered how to proceed.[48]

Trump's statement regarding return of records Edit

After transferring the 15 boxes, Trump dictated a statement that "everything" requested by NARA had been returned, and he told Cannon to send a similar statement to NARA. Cannon declined because he was not sure it was true, and a different statement was released three days later, saying that "[t]he papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis".[61]

NARA makes criminal referral Edit

On February 7, 2022, NARA put out a news release acknowledging the receipt of the 15 boxes and the claim by Trump's representatives that they would look for more material.[62] On February 8, NARA lawyer Gary Stern told colleagues that Cannon had told him he was unsure whether all relevant documents had been turned over.[61][63][64] NARA itself had noted "reams of classified material and disorganized boxes" and remained suspicious, according to the Washington Post.[37] On February 9, NARA sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice (DOJ).[45][52]

Tom Fitton's advice to Trump Edit

Tom Fitton, president of activist group Judicial Watch, advised Trump in February 2022 not to give any more records to NARA.[65] As justification, Fitton cited a 2012 case in which a federal judge said that NARA had no authority to designate materials as "presidential records" nor did it have the right to seize materials.[65][66][d] That case concerned audio tapes of historian Taylor Branch privately interviewing his friend, Bill Clinton, during Clinton's presidency.[66][67] Though NARA had previously said the tapes were private property, Judicial Watch demanded NARA seize the tapes and hand them over to Judicial Watch. The judge dismissed the lawsuit.[66]

Trump embraced Fitton's position[68] and would continue to include him in discussions over a year later.[69]

FBI/DOJ launches criminal investigation and issues subpoenas Edit

 
May 10, 2022, letter, from Debra Steidel Wall, Acting Archivist of the United States, to M. Evan Corcoran, attorney for former president Donald J. Trump
 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
NARA letter to M. Evan Corcoran

In April 2022, the DOJ opened a criminal investigation and initiated a grand jury process[54][49][38] and instructed NARA not to share further details about the materials recovered from Mar-a-Lago with the House Oversight Committee.[45] The FBI interviewed Trump administration officials and aides at Mar-a-Lago about the handling of presidential records,[38] including former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and his former deputy Patrick Philbin.[70][71]

On April 12, 2022, NARA said it would let the FBI access the documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. Trump's lawyers sought to delay this outcome.[72] On May 10, Debra Steidel Wall, the acting Archivist of the United States, wrote Trump's attorney Evan Corcoran to reiterate that Trump had taken hundreds of pages of classified materials with him, including highly classified Special access programs materials, and that their extended negotiations over alleged executive privilege was delaying investigations and threat assessments already underway. She said that based on legal counsel she had decided not to honor their request for further delays. An ally of Trump made the letter public on August 22.[72][73][74][50] When NARA provided the FBI with access to the records it retrieved, the FBI provided copies to individual agencies of the US Intelligence Community to conduct classification reviews and determine whether their disclosure could put at risk sensitive sources.[75]

May 2022 subpoena Edit

Trump's team, anticipating a subpoena, practiced moving documents. Some officials have referred to this behavior as a "dress rehearsal".[76]

On May 11, the DOJ subpoenaed Trump for "any and all documents or writings in the custody or control of Donald J. Trump and/or the Office of Donald J. Trump bearing classification markings".[77][54] Corcoran met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and began taking detailed notes (including voice memos) of several weeks of conversations in which he explained to Trump that he would indeed have to turn over all such documents or else risk the FBI searching Mar-a-Lago.[78][79] Trump's advisers also repeatedly urged him to fully comply,[9] and Trump eventually told them he had done so and did not want to discuss it further.[80]

On May 12, the DOJ issued a grand jury subpoena to the National Archives for the classified documents they had provided to the House select committee investigating the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[81]

On May 22, Walt Nauta, Trump's body man, spent a half-hour in the storage room and removed one box, according to the grand jury's allegations.[82] Over the following days, at Trump's direction, Nauta removed about 64 boxes from the storage room and brought them to Trump's residence: three boxes on May 24, about 50 on May 30, and about 11 on June 1.[83][84] When questioned by the FBI, at first Nauta denied any knowledge of the classified documents, but in a second interview he admitted his and Trump's involvement.[85][86]

On June 2, Corcoran was scheduled to arrive in the afternoon to review the boxes in the storage room.[87] At midday, before Corcoran's arrival, Mar-a-Lago maintenance chief Carlos de Oliveira together with Nauta[88][89][90] moved about 30 boxes[91] into the storage room,[76] as shown on security footage.[92][93] Corcoran was not informed that about 64 boxes had been moved out over recent days and that about 30 boxes had been moved in just hours previously. He found 38 documents with classified markings and sealed them in an envelope.[91]

On June 3, Nauta and de Oliveira loaded boxes onto an airplane.[88] Later that day, investigators from the DOJ and the FBI came to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve the subpoenaed material.[54][49][38] They met with Trump's attorneys, one of whom gave the agents 38 classified documents with HCS, SI and FISA markings in "a single Redweld envelope, double-wrapped in tape".[94][10] Trump's custodian of records, Christina Bobb, gave the DOJ a signed declaration that had been drafted by Corcoran, attesting that all classified material had been returned (though Trump's team may have been aware this was not true).[9][95][96]

During this visit, FBI agents noticed over 50 boxes in the storage room, but Trump's lawyers said they couldn't look inside.[97][98] With the help of an informant, the DOJ came to believe that more classified documents remained on the premises.[99][100][101][102][103][104]

On June 8, the FBI told Trump's team to better secure the storage area, so Trump aides added a padlock to the room.[38][105][106] Less than two weeks later, Trump notified NARA to add Kash Patel, a former Trump administration official, and journalist John Solomon as "representatives for access to Presidential records of my administration."[107][108]

June 2022 subpoena Edit

On June 22, the DOJ emailed a draft of the grand jury's subpoena to one of Trump's attorneys. It asked the Trump Organization for surveillance footage of the Mar-a-Lago storage room.[109]

On June 23, Trump called de Oliveira.[110]

On June 24, the FBI served the subpoena, asking for views from outside the storage room between January 10 and June 24.[94][57][38] At 1:25 p.m., Corcoran spoke with Trump about it by phone. Within a few hours, Nauta changed his travel schedule for the next day; while he had planned to accompany Trump to Illinois, he now told others he would go to Palm Beach, Florida instead, and gave inconsistent reasons for his schedule change.[110]

On June 25, de Oliveira advised another Mar-a-Lago valet that Nauta was about to arrive, that he sought information about old surveillance footage, and that his trip should be kept secret. On the morning of June 27, de Oliveira asked Yuscil Taveras,[111] who worked in the IT office, how long security footage stayed on the server. Taveras said he believed it was generally retained for 45 days. De Oliveira said "the boss" wanted the footage deleted, but Taveras resisted. In early afternoon, de Oliveira and Nauta spoke in person, and in late afternoon, de Oliveira spoke to Trump by phone.[110]

In response to the subpoena, on July 6, the Trump Organization provided a hard drive.[97] The footage showed Nauta moving the boxes.[3][9]

FBI/DOJ obtains search warrant from federal court Edit

Federal agents established probable cause to obtain a search warrant against Trump because, while he had turned over some classified documents to federal authorities, agents suspected he was unlawfully withholding other classified information.[112] The warrant was obtained by the Justice Department's National Security Division at the request of NARA to collect material that Trump had potentially not turned over to NARA.[53] The New York Times reported: "Two people briefed on the classified documents that investigators believe remained at Mar-a-Lago indicated that they were so sensitive in nature, and related to national security, that the Justice Department had to act".[58] However, Attorney General Merrick Garland had contemplated for weeks whether to approve the application for the search warrant, after many meetings between senior DOJ and FBI officials.[113]

The search warrant showed that the FBI was investigating Trump for suspected violations of three Title 18 federal laws – Section 793 (a part of the Espionage Act of 1917); Section 1519 (part of the fiscal oversight Sarbanes–Oxley Act); and Section 2071.[1][114][115][27][116] Trump had not been charged with any crime.[27][117] If charged and convicted under the third law, Trump would be "disqualified from holding any office under the United States". However, a number of legal scholars have questioned the constitutionality of that provision in the statute.[118][119]

Federal magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida approved the warrant on August 5, 2022.[120][121] Reinhart, who has a reputation for being particularly careful, had previously been a federal prosecutor for a decade, was misidentified by some sources as being a Trump appointee, but the position in fact is one filled by the courts themselves.[120]

Reviewing and approving search warrants is a typical duty of federal magistrate judges.[120] Legal experts noted that, given the high profile of the operation, the application for a search warrant (granted on probable cause) would have been first scrupulously scrutinized by federal authorities.[122][123] Will Hurd, a former CIA agent and former Texas Republican congressman, said: "Trump and his lawyers admitted to and then handed over presidential documents improperly taken from and stored outside the White House. Of course the FBI had probable cause to go in looking for more".[124]

Search of Mar-a-Lago Edit

 
Classified cover sheets and documents found and photographed in the search of Mar-a-Lago. White areas are redactions.[e]
 
Boxes of classified documents stored in a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago
 
Boxes of classified documents in a Mar-a-Lago storage room

On August 8, 2022, at 9 am,[125][126] FBI agents searched Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago for the material specified in a warrant, including classified material. The material pertained to special access programs according to The New York Times[58] and – according to The Washington Post – nuclear weapons.[16][127][55][128] The FBI notified the Secret Service of the search a few hours in advance.[49] The Secret Service facilitated the FBI's access to Mar-a-Lago,[49][53] but did not participate in the search.[49]

Trump's son Eric Trump said on Fox News that he received a call about the search and informed his father shortly thereafter.[129][130] Two of Trump's lawyers, Christina Bobb and Lindsey Halligan, were present for the search[49] but were not allowed inside.[131] Trump and his family watched most of the FBI search from New York remotely via a live video feed transmitted from Mar-a-Lago's system of security cameras.[132][133] Trump and his attorneys refused the FBI's requests to turn off the cameras.[134] Eric Trump later said that his family would release the footage "at the right time".[135][134]

FBI agents conducted the search using "taint teams"[136] to ensure that no privileged correspondence between Trump and his lawyers were removed.[112] The New York Times reported the FBI agents "carried out the search in a relatively low-key manner" and intentionally did not wear the usual navy-blue agency jackets.[53] FBI agents searched a storage unit in the basement, where they broke through the newly installed padlock.[53][105] They further searched what was called Trump's "45 Office,"[137] where they opened a "hotel-style" safe containing "nothing of consequence", and finally Trump's residence.[53][116] Classified documents were also recovered from unsecured locations, and were found outside of the locked storage room.[138] In accordance with the usual procedure for executing search warrants, the FBI provided Trump's counsel with a copy of the warrant and a detailed three-page manifest,[58][139] called a property receipt, which listed the inventory of seized records.[53][140][141][142] The FBI agents left the property around 6:30 p.m. with the boxes.[131]

Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics, was the first to report on the event.[112][143] Trump also publicly acknowledged the search.[125]

The next day, August 9, at Mar-a-Lago, Trump aide Molly Michael found notes that Trump had previously given her written on the back of documents with classification markings. She helped turn over those documents to the FBI on the same day.[144]

The FBI afterwards issued another subpoena for surveillance video from Mar-a-Lago for the weeks leading up to the search, suggesting Trump may still be withholding additional government documents.[7]

On August 26, Nauta asked a Trump employee to confirm in a group chat on Signal that de Oliveira remained loyal to Trump. The employee did so, and Trump called de Oliveira to say he would get him a lawyer.[145]

Search of other Trump properties Edit

On December 7, 2022, it was reported that additional documents with classified markings had recently been found at another Trump location in West Palm Beach, following a search of multiple locations, by a team hired through Trump's legal representatives. The documents were handed over to the FBI.[17][18] Following this disclosure, the DOJ said Trump had not complied with the subpoena issued in May,[146][147][148] but Judge Beryl Howell decided not to hold him in contempt of court.[149][150][151]

Release of search warrant, property receipt, and affidavit Edit

Release of search warrant and property receipt Edit

 
The August 12, 2022, order to unseal along with the unsealed search and seizure warrant, and property receipt
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announcing the DOJ motion to unseal the search warrant

In keeping with longstanding DOJ reticence to comment on ongoing investigations,[152] as well as the tight limits Attorney General Merrick Garland placed on such public statements, the government did not initially comment on the search.[153]

While the DOJ remained silent, a person close to Trump contacted a DOJ official to send a message from Trump to Garland. Trump wanted Garland to know that people around the country were angered by the search and what Trump could do to "reduce the heat".[9]

On August 11, the DOJ filed a motion in court to unseal the search warrant and property receipt, unless Trump objected to making them public.[154][155][f] On the same day, Garland held a press conference, in which he said that the department had filed a motion to unseal the warrant and the property receipt "in light of the former president's public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances, and the substantial public interest in this matter", and that he had personally approved the decision to seek the search warrant.[121][155][142] Garland also said that "upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly, without fear or favor" and criticized "recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors".[142][155][11]

Trump later said on social media that he supported the release of the warrant and related documents,[156] though he declined to release them himself,[58][140][141] and his legal team agreed that the court should release them.[157] The search warrant and property receipt were unsealed (made publicly available) on the afternoon of August 12,[114][158][g] with the signatures of two FBI agents redacted.[160]

A year later, it was revealed that there had been a total of eight search warrants and affidavits. The government wanted them to remain secret, and it was not revealed whether the other seven had been for different locations nor what material had been sought.[161]

Seized materials Edit

FBI agents seized over 13,000 government documents,[6][13] among which they found 103 classified government documents.[5][139][162] Documents and empty folders with classified markings were found both in the basement storage room and in Trump's 45 Office.[163] The classified material was grouped into 11 sets. Of the classified material:

Some documents were related to Trump's pardon of his ally Roger Stone and some were related to the president of France.[162][139] The property receipt, signed by Trump's attorney Christina Bobb at 6:19 p.m. at the end of the search,[164] showed that Trump possessed documents marked "TS/SCI" and another item labeled "Info re: President of France".[114]

During the search, one personal and two official passports belonging to Trump, the personal and one official one expired, were taken from a desk drawer in Trump's office and later returned to him. In an August 30 court filing, the DOJ noted that the passports were located in a desk drawer in Trump's office that "contained classified documents and governmental records commingled with other documents" and thus subject to the terms of the warrant.[165]

Of the 13,000 documents seized, the Justice Department's filter team set aside 520 pages as potentially subject to attorney-client privilege.[166]

On September 6, The Washington Post reported that some of the seized documents contained details of special-access programs requiring special clearances on a need-to-know basis that could only be granted by "the president, some members of his Cabinet or a near-Cabinet-level official". They would normally be kept in a "secure compartmented information facility, with a designated control officer to keep careful tabs on their location." One of the documents described "a foreign government's military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities".[16] Topics included Iran's missile program and U.S. intelligence operations involving China.[167]

Missing materials Edit

On October 1, 2022, The Washington Post reported that, according to two unnamed sources, NARA had informed the House Oversight Committee that some presidential records had not been recovered.[168] On October 6, The New York Times reported that, according to two unnamed sources, the Justice Department informed Trump's lawyers "in recent weeks" that Trump is still holding material.[169]

Motions to release search warrant affidavit Edit

Many newspapers and media organizations motioned to unseal the probable-cause affidavit which had been submitted to the judge on August 5 in support of the search warrant application.[k]

In court filings, DOJ opposed the affidavit's release, writing that "this investigation implicates highly classified materials" and that disclosure would compromise the integrity of the criminal investigation and the cooperation of witnesses in the matter and "other high-profile investigations"; the DOJ also cited "widely reported threats made against law enforcement personnel in the wake of the August 8 search".[173] The DOJ said that if the magistrate judge ordered the release of the affidavit, the necessary redactions would render the unsealed text "devoid of any meaningful context", saying the "redacted version would not serve any public interest".[172][173] The DOJ requested the magistrate to instead unseal other information, including a cover sheet, the DOJ's August 5 motion to seal the warrant and the judge's sealing order of the same day.[173]

On August 18, the federal magistrate judge held a hearing to discuss requests to unseal investigators' probable cause affidavit.[174][175] Jay Bratt, head of the DOJ's counterintelligence division, said the investigation was in its "early stages". He argued that releasing the affidavit could reveal investigative techniques, jeopardize the identities of "several witnesses" from their specific accounts of events, as well as expose federal agents to threats.[175][176] Bratt revealed that the affidavit contained "substantial grand jury information", including details about how "evidence of obstruction" would be found at Mar-a-Lago.[176] Several media organizations asked the judge to unseal it with the necessary redactions, citing the public interest. The judge signalled that he planned to unseal portions of the affidavit and gave the DOJ a week to submit proposed redactions.[175][176] Trump on social media repeatedly called for the release of the unredacted affidavit[177][178] but his lawyers did not file a motion asking the court to do so.[179]

Also on August 18, the magistrate judge unsealed several procedural documents related to the warrant affidavit, including the criminal cover sheet, a redacted copy of the August 5 warrant application, the DOJ's original motion to seal warrant documents, and the order granting the sealing request. The documents showed that the FBI was specifically investigating whether there was "willful retention of national defense information", concealment or removal of government records, and obstruction of a federal investigation.[180][181][l]

In a 13-page order, released on August 22, the judge said he "carefully reviewed" the affidavit before approving the search warrant and was "satisfied that the facts sworn by the affiant are reliable". He said that the DOJ had shown a "compelling interest that overrides any public interest" in fully unsealing the affidavit. He indicated that he might agree with the DOJ that the necessary redactions would render the document useless. He rejected the DOJ's argument that partially unsealing the affidavit would set a dangerous precedent, highlighting the significance of this case. He requested the DOJ to submit proposed redactions and provide additional evidence and arguments within a week.[182][m]

On August 25, the Justice Department submitted a legal brief proposing redactions to the affidavit.[183][184][185] The brief was under seal, and multiple media companies requested the judge to unseal it, as well as direct the DOJ to make public any other sealed documents.[184] The judge soon agreed to the proposed redactions and ordered the DOJ to release the redacted affidavit the following day.[183][184] The judge's decision to release the affidavit was seen as surprising, because probable-cause affidavits are typically kept under seal (i.e., not made public) before charges are filed.[181]

Release of redacted search warrant affidavit Edit

 
The redacted search warrant affidavit, released on August 26, 2022
 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Mar-a-Lago raid affidavit

The redacted search warrant affidavit, along with a redacted copy of the legal brief that justified redactions to the affidavit,[n] were unsealed and made public on August 26.[186][187] The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN released annotated versions of the search warrant affidavit as well.[188][189][4]

The legal brief had argued that the DOJ's proposed redactions were necessary to protect the identities of cooperating witnesses and FBI agents who might otherwise be exposed to threats and retaliation, as well as to prevent obstruction of the investigation, protect privacy interests, protect grand jury information, and maintain the safety of law enforcement personnel.[187][186]

The affidavit listed four main goals of the FBI investigation:

  1. To "determine how the documents with classification markings and records were removed from the White House (or any other authorized location(s) for the storage of classified materials) and came to be stored at [Mar-a-Lago]";[190]
  2. To "determine whether the storage location(s) at [Mar-a-Lago] were authorized locations for the storage of classified information";[190]
  3. To "determine whether any additional classified documents or records may have been stored in an unauthorized location at [Mar-a-Lago] or another unknown location, and whether they remain at any such location";[190]
  4. And to "identify any person(s) who may have removed or retained classified information without authorization and/or in an unauthorized space".[190]

The FBI said there was "probable cause to believe" that classified national security materials were improperly transferred to "unauthorized" locations at Mar-a-Lago, that materials relating to national defense or presidential records "subject to record retention requirements" still remained at Mar-a-Lago, and that "evidence of obstruction" would be found at Mar-a-Lago.[187][52] The FBI noted that several of the seized documents contained Trump's "handwritten notes" and were "unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly [sic] identified".[191]

The FBI attached to the affidavit a May 25, 2022, letter to the DOJ from Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran. In the letter, Corcoran argued against proceeding with a criminal investigation, saying that presidents have the "absolute authority" to declassify documents, although he did not clarify whether Trump had done so.[191]

Following Trump's indictment on June 8, 2023, media outlets asked for the affidavit to be unsealed. On July 5, the Justice Department revealed another version of the affidavit with fewer redactions.[3] One revelation was that some of the seized documents contained Trump's handwritten notes, proving that he did handle those documents at some point during or after his presidency.[192]

Release of detailed property list Edit

A detailed property list was unsealed on September 2 as a result of Trump's lawsuit against the United States.[6][5][193][194] The list showed that Trump had intermingled classified items with other items, like documents and photographs without classification markings, news clippings, unspecified gifts, items of clothing, and a book.[195][6] A box found in Trump's office is listed as containing "43 empty folders with classified banners; 28 empty folders labeled 'Return to Staff Secretary/Mili[t]ary Aide'; 24 government documents marked confidential, secret or top secret; 99 news articles and other printed media; and 69 government documents or photos that were not classified."[195]

Trump v. United States Edit

Main article: Donald J. Trump v. United States of America

On August 22, two weeks after the search, Trump filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida, seeking the appointment of a special master to review the seized materials for potential attorney-client or executive privilege.[196][197][198] The case was assigned to District Judge Aileen Cannon.[199][200][201][202] On September 1, Cannon ordered the DOJ to release the previously sealed detailed property list of the seized materials.[203] She ordered the DOJ to halt its review of all materials on September 5,[166][204][205] and she appointed Raymond J. Dearie, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, special master on September 15.[206]

The next day, the DOJ appealed the ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. On September 22, the appeals court granted the DOJ’s request to restore investigators’ access to the classified files and block the special master from access to them.[207][208][209]

On December 1, the appeals court ended the special master review, allowed the government to use all the documents in its investigation, and directed the lower court to dismiss Trump's lawsuit.[210][211] The court ruled that Cannon lacked equitable jurisdiction to appoint a special master, that Cannon's decision did not meet the stringent standard for the judicial branch to intervene in ongoing investigations by the executive branch, and that the court would not make a special exception for former presidents.[212][211] Trump did not appeal to the Supreme Court,[213] and Cannon dismissed the case on December 12 for lack of jurisdiction.[214]

Special counsel investigation Edit

Main article: Smith special counsel investigation

On November 18, 2022, Garland appointed a special counsel, federal prosecutor Jack Smith, to oversee the federal criminal investigation.[215][216][86] The Justice Department's press release said that Smith would oversee "the ongoing investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation."[217]

Indictment Edit

Main article: Federal prosecution of Donald Trump (government documents case)

On June 8, 2023, Trump was indicted with 37 counts of charges related to the documents in the Federal District Court in Miami, the first time a former U.S. president faced federal charges.[19] Charges included retaining and failing to deliver national defense documents under the Espionage Act, for which there were 31 counts naming 31 specific documents.[218] None of these documents had been in the boxes Trump voluntarily surrendered to NARA in January 2022; they were either turned over under subpoena the following June or else seized under search warrant at Mar-a-Lago the following August.[219]

On June 13, Trump was arrested and arraigned. As with his previous arraignment in New York, no mugshot was taken, though he was fingerprinted and processed during this arrest.[220][221][222] As part of the conditions for his release, he avoided paying bond but was barred from discussing the case with Walt Nauta and with witnesses.[223][224][225]

Reactions Edit

Congress Edit

NARA's revaluation of presidential records retrieved from Mar-a-Lago raised concern within Congress; the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, chaired by U.S. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, began an investigation.[45][226] In a February 24 letter to NARA, Maloney wrote, "I am deeply concerned that former President Trump may have violated the law through his intentional efforts to remove and destroy records that belong to the American people".[45] She requested the National Archives to provide documents about discussions among top Trump advisers about preserving and storing White House records.[226] Maloney and Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, later sent a letter to Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence (DNI) requesting a classified congressional briefing and a damage assessment.[227][228] Haines responded that the DOJ and Intelligence Community were conducting a classification review of materials taken to Mar-a-Lago and a damage assessment of the potential risk to national security.[229][230]

Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, chair and ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a private letter to Garland and Haines requesting that the DOJ and the Office of the DNI provide the committee with the classified documents seized and a damage assessment of potential risks to national security.[231][232] According to an August 26 letter from Haines, a classification review and damage assessment inquiry is ongoing.[229][233] The eight congressional leaders who are briefed on classified intelligence matters, colloquially known as the Gang of Eight, have asked the Biden administration for access to the seized documents.[234]

The Congressional Research Service issued a "Sidebar" bulletin to brief members and Committees of Congress on the legal aspects of the case.[28]

White House Edit

The White House said that President Biden and White House officials were not aware of the search until it was reported on the news. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said "those investigations should be free from political influence" and did not comment on the search itself except that the Department of Justice was carrying out the investigation.[235][236][237][238]

On August 17, the White House, in a statement to CNN, condemned calls from some members of the Republican Party to "defund the FBI".[239]

White House officials were privately concerned over the classified material stored in Mar-a-Lago, including whether it could put at risk the sources and methods of the US intelligence community.[240] On August 26, Biden mocked Trump for saying he had declassified all of the material he took with him to Mar-a-Lago[187][241] and said he would let the DOJ make a determination on the risk to national security.[242]

In another speech on August 30, Biden condemned the threats against law enforcement and calls to defund the FBI as "sickening". He criticized Republicans for their hypocrisy in their calls for "riots in the streets" and refusal to condemn the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[243][244]

At the end of the year, Biden's attorneys found classified documents in Biden's former office and in his Delaware home, dating back to when he was vice president in the Obama administration. They surrendered the documents. Their discovery was reported in January 2023.[245]

National Archives Edit

The National Archives made multiple press statements concerning Trump's presidential records in response to media queries.[246] They have also released numerous records relevant to the Trump administration's adherence to the Presidential Records Act in response to FOIA requests.[247]

On August 24, NARA staff told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform they could not be certain they had all of Trump's presidential records.[248] The same day, in an internal letter to all NARA employees, acting Archivist Debra Wall said NARA had received both threats and praise from members of the public for its role in the ongoing FBI investigation.[249][250]

On September 13, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of the House Oversight and Reform Committee wrote a letter to NARA,[251] requesting an "urgent review" of all recovered documents and an assessment regarding any and all "presidential records [that] remain unaccounted for and potentially in the possession of the former president".[252] On September 30, the National Archives responded to the committee's request,[253] writing in part: "While there is no easy way to establish absolute accountability, we do know that we do not have custody of everything we should ... With respect to the second issue concerning whether former President Trump has surrendered all presidential records, we respectfully refer you to the Department of Justice in light of its ongoing investigation".[254][255]

Trump, his family, and his attorneys Edit

On August 14, Trump demanded the return of boxes of seized documents that were alleged covered by attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.[256][257]

Beginning with his first announcement after the search, Trump and his attorneys made a variety of statements relating to the search and the FBI investigation; these statements have been criticized as "shifting" over time[258][259] and "often contradictory and unsupported".[260] Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Maggie Haberman, writing for The New York Times, said that the former President's response "follow[s] a familiar playbook" which "[h]e has used ... over decades", including during investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies and whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia, as well as during his first impeachment trial. They also said that Trump's statements did not explain why he kept the documents after the government began investigating him.[260] In an August 30 Fox News appearance, Trump attorney Jim Trusty said that his client's actions were comparable to someone with "an overdue library book" in their possession, and suggested that government prosecutors are holding Trump to a different standard of scrutiny than they would apply to others.[261]

According to The Washington Post, Trump has struggled to assemble an experienced legal defense team, with many of his former lawyers declining to take part in the case. Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said that Trump's lead counsel were exceptionally talented and had "litigated some of the most complex cases in American history".[262] The New York Times credits political advisor Boris Epshteyn for his role in assembling Trump's legal team. Epshteyn previously assisted in the defense of Trump's false claims of a stolen election in 2020. Former Trump attorney David Schoen has said the current situation remains problematic, with members of the defense team "rotating in and out", and lacking clear leadership.[263] Trump later added former Florida solicitor general Chris Kise to his legal team for the case,[264][265] but within a month, Kise's role was reportedly reduced.[266][267] According to The New York Times, Kise had "suggested hiring a forensic firm to search for additional documents" following requests from Jay Bratt at the Justice Department, who expressed concern that more documents were still missing. Disagreement between Trump's lawyers reportedly led to a minimization of Kise's participation on the defense team, due to his more conciliatory approach.[268]

Trump's political action committee, the Save America PAC, sent out more than 100 fundraising emails in the days following the FBI search. Daily donations increased from an average of $200,000–$300,000 to more than $1,000,000 for at least two days. The emails claimed that former president Trump was being politically persecuted.[269] In July, the Save America PAC paid almost $1,000,000 to civil and criminal lawyers representing Trump and the Trump Organization in lawsuits.[270]

On December 22, 2022, the U.S. House select committee investigating the January 6 attack published its final report, in which it remarked that DOJ appears to be "investigating the conduct of counsel for certain witnesses whose fees are being paid by President Trump’s Save America Political Action Committee." The House committee noted that DOJ, in its public report of its Mar-a-Lago investigation, had seemed to express concern that those attorneys might be more loyal to Trump's defense than to their clients' defenses and thus may try to influence their clients' witness testimony. The House committee said it shared those concerns, and it revealed that it had provided related information to DOJ and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.[271] Related to these comments, the House committee cited three news reports.[272][273][274]

Claims of political motivation, planted evidence, and Obama precedent Edit

Trump likened the search to the 1970s Watergate scandal.[275] He made unsubstantiated allegations that it was politically motivated to stop him from running for president in 2024,[276][277][278] and a "politically motivated move" by the Biden administration.[279] He criticized the FBI for searching his wife Melania Trump's rooms and belongings in Mar-a-Lago.[280]

On August 11, Trump made the unsubstantiated claim that the FBI might have doctored evidence to support its search warrant and might have planted incriminating materials and recording devices at Mar-a-Lago. Trump's allies echoed these conspiracist claims.[100][281] On August 12, he claimed that his lawyers had been fully cooperating with federal investigators prior to the search: "The government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it".[121]

On August 12, Trump falsely claimed that former president Barack Obama had taken "33 million pages of documents, much of them classified" to Chicago;[282][283] the falsehoods were amplified by conservative commentators on Fox News.[284][285] NARA responded that they had taken "exclusive legal and physical custody" of Obama's records when he left office in 2017,[282] and that Obama had "no control over where and how" NARA stored the records, with NARA "exclusively" maintaining around 30 million pages of unclassified Obama records near Chicago, while classified Obama records were maintained by NARA in its Washington, D.C facility.[286]

After The Washington Post reported that nuclear documents were being sought in the search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump said on August 12: "Nuclear weapons issue is a Hoax".[133] Trump also falsely claimed that former president Obama had retained "lots" of nuclear documents.[286]

Claims of declassifying all documents Edit

On August 12, Trump posted to Truth Social claiming that the documents he brought to Mar-a-Lago were "all declassified" before he left office.[287][2][288] That day, his office issued a statement admitting that he had frequently taken home classified documents and further claiming that he had issued a "standing order" that anything he took home was automatically and "instantly" declassified.[114] On June 29, 2023, government attorneys responded to a Freedom of Information Act request from Bloomberg News, saying they found no record of any such standing order.[289]

Sections of the Code of Federal Regulation addressing declassification require markings that are "uniformly and conspicuously applied to leave no doubt about the declassified status of the information and who authorized the declassification".[28] Speaking to Breitbart in May 2022, discussing the documents that NARA had recovered the previous January, Kash Patel blamed White House lawyers for not having done the paperwork to remove the classification markings to conform to Trump's order.[2][290]

Except for Kash Patel,[291] former Trump administration officials said they never heard of such a "standing order" issued by Trump, and labeled the claim false.[292]

  • John Bolton, who was Trump's national security advisor, said that Trump's claim was a "complete fiction" and "almost certainly a lie". Bolton said he never heard of such an order before, during, or after his tenure as national security advisor. Bolton said: "When somebody begins to concoct lies like this, it shows a real level of desperation".[260][293]
  • Glenn S. Gerstell, who served as the general counsel for the National Security Agency from 2015 to 2020, called Trump's claim "preposterous", as declassification requires recordkeeping as well as notifying the agencies that used the information.[294]
  • Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA under the Obama administration, similarly said Trump's claim was "pretty much BS". He explained that the declassification process requires authorization by various agencies.[295] "There is nothing that I'm aware of that indicates that a formal step was taken by this president to, in fact, declassify anything", Panetta said.[295]

A Congressional Research Service memo noted that a proper declassification process would have required Trump to communicate his intent to declassify specific documents. The same memo points out that the government had a legal basis to seize presidential records regardless of whether they are classified, and that classified material could furthermore indicate a violation of the Espionage Act.[28]

On September 20, 2022, Trump's lawyers appeared before Judge Dearie and said they would not mention Trump's claim of a "standing order" in court, claiming that doing so might reveal a potential defense in a future indictment.[293] The next day, a three-judge appellate panel of the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled there was "no evidence that any of these records were declassified" and observed that Trump's lawyers had "resisted providing any evidence that he had declassified any of these documents".[296]

On September 21, 2022, Trump appeared on the Hannity show on Fox News, claiming that "there doesn't have to be a process" and a president "can declassify just by saying, 'It's declassified.' Even by thinking about it."[297] This notion was "mocked" by legal experts.[298] Lawyers noted that "even if Trump did somehow declassify the documents, he had no right to take them when he left office on Jan. 20, 2020 ... [Trump] had no (legal) interest in these documents." The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that "the declassification argument is a 'red herring'."[298][299]

Trump allies and supporters Edit

On the day of the search, a group of about two dozen Trump supporters gathered in protest in front of Mar-a-Lago;[277][300] others held protests in front of FBI offices in Phoenix, Arizona, and Washington D.C.[301] Over the next few days, Trump supporters continued to demonstrate outside Mar-a-Lago,[302] and at several pickets outside a number of FBI field offices in various states.[303][304][305][306][307][308] A small group of armed Trump supporters protested outside the FBI office in Phoenix.[306]

CBS News reporter Robert Costa reported that within Trump's circle, "Some allies are urging him to speed up his decision on 2024 in the wake of this, that no one in [the] GOP will challenge him now... others are telling him to stay cool, wait".[112]

Trump allies in Congress and in right-wing media spread a wide variety of misinformation and baseless conspiracy theories: that the FBI may have planted evidence; that the FBI search aimed to stop Trump from exposing criminals in government; that the FBI conducted a "military occupation" of Mar-a-lago; that the FBI entered Mar-a-Lago "unannounced" and was "taking whatever they want for themselves"; and that some FBI agents went "rogue".[309] Patel repeatedly blamed the General Services Administration (GSA) for "mistakenly pack[ing] some boxes and mov[ing] them to Mar-a-Lago". The GSA replied that it was the outgoing presidential transition team and their volunteers who packed the boxes, put them on pallets, and shrink-wrapped them.[263][310][311]

Many of Trump's allies, including Steve Bannon, urged Trump to publicly release some of the surveillance footage of the search or use it in political campaign ads. Others cautioned him that releasing the tapes could backfire by revealing the sheer volume of classified information removed from his residence and countering some of his unsupported claims.[134] The footage could further expose the identities of FBI agents videotaped and subject them to further threats and harassment.[312]

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, while guest hosting Tucker Carlson Tonight, showed a doctored photo depicting the federal magistrate judge who approved the warrant together with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell; Kilmeade later described the fake photo as "a meme" shared "in jest".[313][314]

The FBI search ignited apocalyptic, violent rhetoric among Trump supporters, including members of the far-right,[315] on media including Fox News, Newsmax, PJ Media, the Blaze, and right-wing talk radio.[235] Talk of civil war and violence spiked online among far-right users on platforms such as Truth Social, Gab, Telegram, and Twitter, including from conservative commentator Steven Crowder and white supremacist commentator Nick Fuentes.[316][300] The New York Young Republican Club blamed the search on "internationalist forces and their allies intent on undermining the foundation of our Republic".[315] Experts on political violence said that the extremist rhetoric creates a dangerous atmosphere and heightens the risk of violent acts.[315]

Threats against government officials Edit

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray denounced online threats against federal agents and DOJ employees.[317] Wray said the FBI would "stay vigilant and adjust our security posture accordingly" given a surge of threats to FBI employees and property following the search of Mar-a-Lago.[160] Kyle Walter, a researcher from Logically told the Washington Post that the firm has observed a significant number of threats against FBI employees. The names of the two FBI agents who signed the warrant paperwork were redacted in the official court-released documents; the right-wing outlet Breitbart published leaked versions of the documents that revealed the agents' names, exposing them to harassment.[318][319]

The federal magistrate judge who approved the search was the target of antisemitic vitriol, misinformation, and threats on sites such as 4chan;[120][160][320][321] due to online threats against him, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida removed information about the magistrate from its online directory for his protection.[120][322][160] The synagogue he attended had also received threats and is under additional security.[320][321]

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint bulletin warning of an "unprecedented" increase in threats and acts of violence against federal law enforcement officials, including "calls for the targeted killing of judicial, law enforcement, and government officials associated with the Palm Beach search, including the federal judge who approved the Palm Beach search warrant". Multiple possible targets of violence had their personal information posted online.[323][324][325] The bulletin noted a threat to place a dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters.[232][326]

A man in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, was charged in US District Court with making online threats against FBI agents on the Gab social networking site.[327][328]

On August 19, lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee contacted social media companies and requested information about recent threats made against law enforcement officials by users of their platforms.[329] Letters sent by lawmakers specifically cited threats published on Truth Social, which has seen a significant increase in app downloads following the Mar-a-Lago search.[330][331] The letter expressed concern because "reckless statements by the former president and Republican Members of Congress have unleashed a flood of violent threats on social media" and they urged platforms to take immediate, concrete action to limit incitement of violence against law enforcement agencies.[331][332]

FBI field office attack Edit

Main article: Cincinnati FBI field office attack

Ricky Shiffer, a 42-year-old Trump supporter wearing body armor and armed with an AR-15 style rifle and a nail gun, attempted to breach the FBI field office in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 11 and died in a subsequent confrontation with police officers. He had taken part in the January 6 United States Capitol attack,[333][334] and was one of the most prolific posters on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, where he posted about his desire to kill FBI agents after the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.[335] Shiffer had engaged in violent extremist rhetoric on social media for years,[336] and the FBI received a tip about him in May 2022.[337]

Republican elected officials and candidates Edit

The Republican National Committee, as well as most Republicans, responded to the FBI search by attacking the FBI and depicting Trump as a victim and political martyr.[338] Republicans said that the search made the U.S. into a "third-world country" or "banana republic", although democracies such as France, South Korea, and Israel have all investigated and prosecuted former leaders for criminal offenses.[339] Many Republicans vowed to investigate the DOJ if the party retook control of Congress in the November 2022 elections.[338] There is no evidence of improper conduct by federal investigators,[100] and no evidence that the search was politically motivated.[276]

Several Republican politicians, including U.S. Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis condemned the search.[112][340] In a tweet, House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy said the Justice Department "has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization" and said: "When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned. Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar".[112] Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia called for the FBI to be defunded.[112] Senator Rand Paul called for the Espionage Act to be repealed.[341][342] Anthony Sabatini, a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives called for the state to "sever all ties with DOJ immediately" and called for FBI agents to be "arrested upon sight".[343]

Many Republicans accused the DOJ and FBI of a double standard for their previous treatment of the Hillary Clinton email controversy, where former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was investigated but not charged over classified material found on her private email server during her tenure as US secretary of State.[344][345][346][347] Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina predicted the likelihood of street violence if Trump was indicted.[348][347]

Some Republicans took a more restrained tone upon reports that the documents seized were highly classified, but nonetheless questioned the search.[349][232][350] Multiple Republicans called on the DOJ and FBI to release or share to Congress documents surrounding the search, particularly the affidavit used as the basis of the warrant.[350][351][177] Mike Turner, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said that he was "very concerned about the method that was used in raiding Mar-a-Lago"; Brian Fitzpatrick questioned whether "the law is being enforced equally" and with "parity".[352]

Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, the top Republican on the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, criticized her party's response to the federal investigation of Trump, writing, "I have been ashamed to hear members of my party attacking the integrity of the FBI agents involved with the recent Mar-a-Lago search. These are sickening comments that put the lives of patriotic public servants at risk".[317]

On September 22, Senators Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham acknowledged that there's a "process" for declassification, and Senator John Thune said the process "ought to be adhered to and followed". Senator Mike Braun said he was unaware of "the proper methodology" for declassification. Senator Mike Rounds commented on the importance of storing information correctly: "People can get hurt, people can get killed if it's not stored correctly, and if that information gets out."[353] On September 25, Senator John Barrasso, pressed by ABC host George Stephanopoulos, acknowledged: "I don't think a president can declassify documents by saying so, by 'thinking about'."[354]

Congressional Democrats Edit

House Democrats praised the search as a step toward accountability for Trump.[355][356] Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, said in an interview after the search, "We believe in the rule of law. That's what our country is about. And no person is above the law. Not even the president of the United States. Not even a former president of the United States".[357] Senate Democrats offered more reserved reactions; in the immediate aftermath of the search, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would "withhold comment until we know more".[356]

Scholars and former officials Edit

Following the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, Reuters and Al Jazeera cited scholars and former officials, who said the way Trump used the residence presented a highly unique security "nightmare".[358][359] Commenting on a 2017 North Korea strategy meeting between Trump and Shinzo Abe which was surrounded by guests, national security lawyer Mark Zaid stated, "What we saw was Trump be so lax in security that he was having a sensitive meeting regarding a potential war topic where non-U.S. government personnel could observe and photograph".[358] Mary McCord, a former Department of Justice official, stated: "Clearly they thought it was very serious to get these materials back into secured space. Even just retention of highly classified documents in improper storage – particularly given Mar-a-Lago, the foreign visitors there and others who might have connections with foreign governments and foreign agents – creates a significant national security threat".[358] In 2019, a Chinese citizen with false passports, possessing a thumb drive containing malware, was arrested attending a function there.[360]

Experts considered Trump "the perfect profile of a security risk: He was like a disgruntled former employee, with access to sensitive government secrets, dead set on tearing down what he believed was a deep state out to get him".[361] Columbia University political scientist David Rothkopf viewed the Mar-a-Lago search as a reminder that Trump "was, and is, a national security risk unlike any the United States has ever faced".[362]

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Michael Sallah of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discovered that a Ukrainian-born Russian speaker using a fake name who claimed to be a Rothschild family heiress had frequented the residence over a year's time, even posing there for photos with Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham.[363][364]

Intelligence community Edit

Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan called the storage of sensitive documents at Mar-a-Lago "the height of recklessness and irresponsibility".[365]

Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) under Trump from 2017 to 2019, defended the FBI stating that "my first thought was Chris [Wray] would not have signed off on that unless he thought the process was not working or they were not getting the right answers back from lawyers or others and it was serious enough to take that action".[366]

Asha Rangappa, a former FBI agent and former associate dean at Yale Law School, stated that Trump's acknowledgment that the documents seized were covered or potentially covered by executive privilege indicated that he had kept presidential records that he was not authorized to have under 18 USC 2071. She stated: "And so it's not clear that executive privilege would even be relevant to the particular crime he's being investigated for and yet in this filing, he basically admits that he is in possession of them, which is what the government is trying to establish".[367][368]

Jeffrey Smith, former general counsel to the CIA, and David Laufman, former chief of the counterespionage section at the DOJ's National Security Division, warned of the investigation not having strong enough evidence to have a conviction at trial.[261]

Former Trump administration figures Edit

Former Vice President Mike Pence stated immediately following the August 2022 search that it undermined public confidence in the justice system. He noted that "no former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence".[369] Pence denied having any classified documents, but in January 2023, classified documents were found at Pence's Indiana home.[370]

Trump's former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, said that Trump has a long track record of disregarding rules for handling sensitive documents; that Trump "didn't believe in the classification system"; and that Trump held U.S. intelligence in disdain.[361] William Barr said in an interview that he could not think of a legitimate reason for Trump to be in possession of classified documents and that the documents, whether classified or not, belong to the government and should have been turned over to NARA.[371][372]

Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton said "almost nothing would surprise me about what's in the documents at Mar-a-Lago". He recalled that although Trump usually did not read the President's Daily Brief, he would sometimes ask his briefers "to keep the highly classified visual aids, pictures, charts and graphs" that were prepared for him, and that Trump sometimes refused to return these materials when asked by his briefers.[361]

On November 3, 2022, Trump adviser Kash Patel testified before a federal grand jury investigating the handling of records taken to Mar-a-Lago home. The judge granted Patel immunity from prosecution on any information he provides to the investigation.[373] Trump's Save America PAC paid Patel's legal fees.[374]

Notes Edit

  1. ^ 18 U.S.C. § 793: Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information.
  2. ^ 18 U.S.C. § 2071: Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally.
  3. ^ 18 U.S.C. § 1519: Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy.
  4. ^ Judicial Watch, Inc. v. NARA, No. 10-1834 (D.D.C. March 1, 2012).
  5. ^ United States' Response to Motion for Judicial Oversight and Additional Relief (with Attachments), In re Search of Mar-a-Lago, No. 22-cv-81294 (S.D. Fla. August 30, 2022) (Dkt. 48, −1). The photograph reproduced here is Attachment F.
  6. ^ United States' Motion to Unseal Limited Warrant Materials, In re Sealed Search Warrant, No. 22-mj-8332 (S.D. Fla. August 11, 2022) (Dkt. 18).
  7. ^ The documents were obtained and reported on by multiple news organizations on August 12 before the formal unsealing, as they were acquired by multiple news organizations.[114][159]
  8. ^ Judicial Watch, Inc.'s Motion to Unseal Search Warrant, In re Sealed Search Warrant, No. 9:22-mj-8332 (S.D. Fla. August 10, 2022) (Dkt. 4).
  9. ^ Motion of The Washington Post, CNN, NBC News, and Scripps to Intervene, for Access to All Search Warrant Records, and in Support of the United States' Partial Motion to Unseal, In re Sealed Search Warrant, No. 9:22-mj-8332 (S.D. Fla. August 11, 2022) (Dkt. 22).
  10. ^ The New York Times Company's Motion to Intervene for the Limited Purpose of Obtaining Access to Search Warrant Court Records with Supporting Memorandum of Law, In re Sealed Search Warrant, No. 9:22-mj-8332 (S.D. Fla. August 10, 2022) (Dkt. 8).
  11. ^ These included the conservative group Judicial Watch and the Times Union (of Albany, New York);[170][h] CNN, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Scripps;[171][i] The New York Times Company;[j] and CBS, the Palm Beach Post, the Miami Herald, the Tampa Bay Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, and ABC.[172]
  12. ^ Second Notice of Filing of Redacted Documents, In re Sealed Search Warrant, No. 22-mj-8332 (S.D. Fla. August 15, 2022) (Dkt. 57).
  13. ^ Order on Motions to Unseal, In re Sealed Search Warrant, No. 22-mj-8332 (S.D. Fla. August 22, 2022) (Dkt. 80).
  14. ^ Notice of Filing of Redacted Memorandum, In re Sealed Search Warrant, No. 22-mj-8332 (S.D. Fl.a August 26, 2022) (Dkt. 98). "The United States hereby gives notice that it is filing the attached document, which is a redacted version of material previously filed in this case number under seal: the United States' Sealed, Ex Parte Memorandum of Law Regarding Proposed Redactions (DE89)".

See also Edit

References Edit

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October 15, 2023
search, lago, related, investigation, investigation, into, donald, trump, handling, government, documents, august, 2022, federal, bureau, investigation, executed, search, warrant, lago, residence, former, president, donald, trump, palm, beach, florida, part, f. For the related investigation by the FBI see FBI investigation into Donald Trump s handling of government documents On August 8 2022 the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI executed a search warrant at Mar a Lago the residence of former U S president Donald Trump in Palm Beach Florida FBI search of Mar a LagoPart of Federal prosecution of Donald Trump classified documents case Evidence seized arrayed and photographed by the FBI at Mar a Lago on August 30 2022DateAugust 8 2022LocationMar a LagoMotiveto recover missing classified documents which had been illegally kept by former United States president Donald TrumpOutcomethe seizing of over at least 300 classified government documents from Trump s Florida residence as well as the seizing of 48 empty folders labeled classified Appointment of Jack Smith to investigate Trump s handling of classified documentsSecond indictment of Donald TrumpThe search warrant application was authorized by U S Attorney General Merrick Garland and approved by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart following a criminal referral by the National Archives and Records Administration NARA The order unsealed a few days after the search showed that the FBI obtained the search warrant as part of an investigation into Trump relating to three federal criminal statutes violations of the Espionage Act regarding unauthorized retention of national defense information destroying or concealing records with the intent to impede obstruct or influence federal government activity illegal removal or destruction of federal government records without respect to cause 1 2 Later courts released the affidavit with redactions giving the public a window into the FBI s goals in this search 3 4 and what the FBI seized 5 6 In 2021 NARA tried to recover material and Trump went through the material in his possession at the end of that year 7 Surveillance footage subpoenaed by the Justice Department in June 2022 showed boxes were moved in and out of a storage room at some point 8 9 The Justice Department said the classified documents at Mar a Lago were likely concealed and removed to block investigation 10 11 Over 13 000 government documents were recovered 12 6 13 14 They included nuclear related information and FBI CIA and NSA information about national security interests Of these documents 337 were classified 197 handed over in January 2022 38 turned over under subpoena in June 2022 and 102 seized in the August search of Mar a Lago 15 5 16 10 Months later at least two more documents with classified markings were uncovered at Trump locations 17 18 On June 8 2023 Trump was indicted on federal charges related to the documents 19 On June 13 2023 Trump surrendered to federal custody and was arrested booked processed and arraigned in the U S District Court of South Florida 20 21 Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges 22 On July 27 a new version of the indictment superseding the old added three counts against Trump 23 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Handling storage and disposition of U S government records 1 1 1 Criminal laws listed on search warrant 1 1 2 Classified material and the presidency 1 1 2 1 Declassification presidential powers and regulations 1 1 2 2 Protocols for loss or compromise of classified material 2 Events leading to the search 2 1 NARA actions to retrieve presidential records from Mar a Lago 2 1 1 Partial return of records to NARA 2 1 2 Trump s statement regarding return of records 2 1 3 NARA makes criminal referral 2 1 4 Tom Fitton s advice to Trump 2 2 FBI DOJ launches criminal investigation and issues subpoenas 2 2 1 May 2022 subpoena 2 2 2 June 2022 subpoena 2 3 FBI DOJ obtains search warrant from federal court 3 Search of Mar a Lago 3 1 Search of other Trump properties 4 Release of search warrant property receipt and affidavit 4 1 Release of search warrant and property receipt 4 1 1 Seized materials 4 1 2 Missing materials 4 2 Motions to release search warrant affidavit 4 3 Release of redacted search warrant affidavit 4 4 Release of detailed property list 5 Trump v United States 6 Special counsel investigation 6 1 Indictment 7 Reactions 7 1 Congress 7 2 White House 7 3 National Archives 7 4 Trump his family and his attorneys 7 4 1 Claims of political motivation planted evidence and Obama precedent 7 4 2 Claims of declassifying all documents 7 5 Trump allies and supporters 7 5 1 Threats against government officials 7 5 2 FBI field office attack 7 6 Republican elected officials and candidates 7 7 Congressional Democrats 7 8 Scholars and former officials 7 9 Intelligence community 7 10 Former Trump administration figures 8 Notes 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksBackground EditSee also Donald Trump Post presidential investigations and FBI investigation into Donald Trump s handling of government documents Handling storage and disposition of U S government records Edit The Presidential Records Act 44 U S C ch 22 establishes that presidential records belong to the United States and must be surrendered to the Archivist of the United States at the end of a president s term of office or second term of office if consecutive 24 25 Unauthorized removal and retention of classified information of the United States government is a criminal offense under U S federal law it has been a felony since the enactment of the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in January 2018 and increased the maximum term of imprisonment for this offense from one year to five years 26 Criminal laws listed on search warrant Edit See also Espionage Act of 1917 and Sarbanes Oxley Act The search warrant and accompanying affidavit listed three federal criminal statutes as the basis of the investigation 18 U S C 793 2071 and 1519 The Sections cited are 793 enacted as part of the Espionage Act of 1917 makes the unauthorized retention or disclosure of documents related to national defense which could be used to harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary a crime The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison 2 27 a The Espionage Act was passed before the development of the modern classification system of the United States government and thus does not refer to the classification status of the documents unclassified national defense information would still be covered under the Espionage Act 27 As noted by the Congressional Research Service the affidavit supporting the warrant focuses on subsection e which applies when an individual is in unauthorized possession of certain national defense information 28 2071 criminalizes the theft or destruction of government records regardless of their relevance to national security The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison 2 27 b 1519 enacted as part of the Sarbanes Oxley Act criminalizes the act of destroying or concealing documents or records regardless of their relevance to national security with the intent to impede obstruct or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any federal department or agency The maximum penalty is 20 years in prison 27 c Classified material and the presidency Edit See also Classified information in the United States and Special access program Beginning in 1940 U S presidents have used the constitutional and statutory powers of the president of the United States to create classification systems through executive orders 29 30 The Code of Federal Regulations contains rules for classified material as 32 CFR 2001 citation needed Generally the president and the United States National Security Council set information security policy such as the sharing and classification of information citation needed The day to day oversight of the government wide classification system is handled by the Information Security Oversight Office ISOO a component of the National Archives 31 Declassification presidential powers and regulations Edit Since the 1988 Supreme Court decision in Department of the Navy v Egan there is consensus that a sitting president has broad Constitutional powers to classify and declassify information 32 33 However there are procedures for doing so Following former President Trump s claims that the documents found at Mar a Lago had been declassified the Congressional Research Service issued a policy paper in August 2022 highlighting relevant regulations per 32 CFR 2001 25 the declassification process requires markings uniformly and conspicuously applied to leave no doubt about the declassified status of the information and who authorized the declassification 28 In 2003 Scooter Libby former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney claimed to have received a direct but unrecorded disclosure order from President George W Bush and Cheney to leak classified information to reporters In what became known as the Plame affair Libby was ultimately not charged for releasing classified information Steven Aftergood a critic of U S government secrecy policy said the case highlights the fact that the president purports to or does stand outside of the classification system 34 Protocols for loss or compromise of classified material Edit Federal regulations require that any person who has knowledge that classified information has been or may have been lost possibly compromised or disclosed to an unauthorized person s shall immediately report the circumstances to an official designated for this purpose Regulations also require notification of the Director of the ISOO if the specific classified information could attract significant public attention if the information in question is voluminous or if a key vulnerability has been exposed The Department of Justice is also to be consulted if criminality is suspected 35 Events leading to the search EditWhen Trump left the White House he brought government documents with him From January through March 15 2021 the grand jury alleged some of Trump s boxes were stored in The Mar a Lago Club s White and Gold Ballroom in which events and gatherings took place Trump s boxes were for a time stacked on the ballroom s stage In March they were moved to a business center In April they were moved to a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room 36 NARA actions to retrieve presidential records from Mar a Lago Edit In February 2021 the National Archives and Records Administration NARA the federal agency that preserves government records asked Trump to return presidential documents 37 By May 2021 NARA realized they were missing the correspondence sent from North Korean dictator Kim Jong un to Trump They also knew they were missing other presidential documents like the altered Hurricane Dorian map NARA contacted Trump s representatives 38 39 On May 6 NARA emailed Trump s lawyers with the request for their immediate assistance to return the Kim letters 40 along with roughly two dozen boxes that were in Trump s White House residence during the final days of his presidency and that were sent to Florida although Cipollone had determined they should have been sent to NARA 41 42 43 That month Trump allegedly had some of the boxes brought to the Bedminster Club 44 In June 2021 NARA instructed a former lawyer in Trump s White House counsel s office to send them the Kim letters via FedEx 45 On June 24 boxes in the Mar a Lago Lake Room were moved to the storage room 46 NARA and Trump s lawyers continued to negotiate 45 Between November 2021 and January 2022 Trump allegedly had his employees bring boxes out of the storage room and into his residence so he could review their contents 47 7 Partial return of records to NARA Edit In January 2022 NARA retrieved 15 boxes of documents gifts and other government property from Mar a Lago that should have been transferred to NARA at the end of Trump s term 45 48 49 The boxes included documents from the CIA the FBI and the National Security Agency on a variety of topics of national security interest Archivists and federal agents determined that 184 unique documents totaling 700 pages 50 had classification markings of which 25 documents were marked top secret 92 secret and 67 confidential 51 52 This material included sensitive national security information 53 54 49 48 including signals intelligence 55 and the Kim letters 45 documents governed by special access programs SAP a type of protocol reserved for extremely sensitive U S operations conducted abroad intended to significantly limit access to the information 56 57 58 documents marked as HCS FISA ORCON NOFORN and SI 52 59 The document about Iran that he showed off at Bedminster in July 2021 may have been among the documents surrendered at this time a military document marked TOP SECRET NOFORN was in Trump s possession until January 17 2022 and Trump was eventually charged with possessing it 60 Trump attorney Alex Cannon helped to transfer these 15 boxes to NARA 61 The documents were stored in a sensitive compartmented information facility SCIF while DOJ officials considered how to proceed 48 Trump s statement regarding return of records Edit After transferring the 15 boxes Trump dictated a statement that everything requested by NARA had been returned and he told Cannon to send a similar statement to NARA Cannon declined because he was not sure it was true and a different statement was released three days later saying that t he papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis 61 NARA makes criminal referral Edit On February 7 2022 NARA put out a news release acknowledging the receipt of the 15 boxes and the claim by Trump s representatives that they would look for more material 62 On February 8 NARA lawyer Gary Stern told colleagues that Cannon had told him he was unsure whether all relevant documents had been turned over 61 63 64 NARA itself had noted reams of classified material and disorganized boxes and remained suspicious according to the Washington Post 37 On February 9 NARA sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice DOJ 45 52 Tom Fitton s advice to Trump Edit Tom Fitton president of activist group Judicial Watch advised Trump in February 2022 not to give any more records to NARA 65 As justification Fitton cited a 2012 case in which a federal judge said that NARA had no authority to designate materials as presidential records nor did it have the right to seize materials 65 66 d That case concerned audio tapes of historian Taylor Branch privately interviewing his friend Bill Clinton during Clinton s presidency 66 67 Though NARA had previously said the tapes were private property Judicial Watch demanded NARA seize the tapes and hand them over to Judicial Watch The judge dismissed the lawsuit 66 Trump embraced Fitton s position 68 and would continue to include him in discussions over a year later 69 FBI DOJ launches criminal investigation and issues subpoenas Edit nbsp May 10 2022 letter from Debra Steidel Wall Acting Archivist of the United States to M Evan Corcoran attorney for former president Donald J Trump nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article NARA letter to M Evan Corcoran In April 2022 the DOJ opened a criminal investigation and initiated a grand jury process 54 49 38 and instructed NARA not to share further details about the materials recovered from Mar a Lago with the House Oversight Committee 45 The FBI interviewed Trump administration officials and aides at Mar a Lago about the handling of presidential records 38 including former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and his former deputy Patrick Philbin 70 71 On April 12 2022 NARA said it would let the FBI access the documents retrieved from Mar a Lago Trump s lawyers sought to delay this outcome 72 On May 10 Debra Steidel Wall the acting Archivist of the United States wrote Trump s attorney Evan Corcoran to reiterate that Trump had taken hundreds of pages of classified materials with him including highly classified Special access programs materials and that their extended negotiations over alleged executive privilege was delaying investigations and threat assessments already underway She said that based on legal counsel she had decided not to honor their request for further delays An ally of Trump made the letter public on August 22 72 73 74 50 When NARA provided the FBI with access to the records it retrieved the FBI provided copies to individual agencies of the US Intelligence Community to conduct classification reviews and determine whether their disclosure could put at risk sensitive sources 75 May 2022 subpoena Edit Trump s team anticipating a subpoena practiced moving documents Some officials have referred to this behavior as a dress rehearsal 76 On May 11 the DOJ subpoenaed Trump for any and all documents or writings in the custody or control of Donald J Trump and or the Office of Donald J Trump bearing classification markings 77 54 Corcoran met with Trump at Mar a Lago and began taking detailed notes including voice memos of several weeks of conversations in which he explained to Trump that he would indeed have to turn over all such documents or else risk the FBI searching Mar a Lago 78 79 Trump s advisers also repeatedly urged him to fully comply 9 and Trump eventually told them he had done so and did not want to discuss it further 80 On May 12 the DOJ issued a grand jury subpoena to the National Archives for the classified documents they had provided to the House select committee investigating the January 6 United States Capitol attack 81 On May 22 Walt Nauta Trump s body man spent a half hour in the storage room and removed one box according to the grand jury s allegations 82 Over the following days at Trump s direction Nauta removed about 64 boxes from the storage room and brought them to Trump s residence three boxes on May 24 about 50 on May 30 and about 11 on June 1 83 84 When questioned by the FBI at first Nauta denied any knowledge of the classified documents but in a second interview he admitted his and Trump s involvement 85 86 On June 2 Corcoran was scheduled to arrive in the afternoon to review the boxes in the storage room 87 At midday before Corcoran s arrival Mar a Lago maintenance chief Carlos de Oliveira together with Nauta 88 89 90 moved about 30 boxes 91 into the storage room 76 as shown on security footage 92 93 Corcoran was not informed that about 64 boxes had been moved out over recent days and that about 30 boxes had been moved in just hours previously He found 38 documents with classified markings and sealed them in an envelope 91 On June 3 Nauta and de Oliveira loaded boxes onto an airplane 88 Later that day investigators from the DOJ and the FBI came to Mar a Lago to retrieve the subpoenaed material 54 49 38 They met with Trump s attorneys one of whom gave the agents 38 classified documents with HCS SI and FISA markings in a single Redweld envelope double wrapped in tape 94 10 Trump s custodian of records Christina Bobb gave the DOJ a signed declaration that had been drafted by Corcoran attesting that all classified material had been returned though Trump s team may have been aware this was not true 9 95 96 During this visit FBI agents noticed over 50 boxes in the storage room but Trump s lawyers said they couldn t look inside 97 98 With the help of an informant the DOJ came to believe that more classified documents remained on the premises 99 100 101 102 103 104 On June 8 the FBI told Trump s team to better secure the storage area so Trump aides added a padlock to the room 38 105 106 Less than two weeks later Trump notified NARA to add Kash Patel a former Trump administration official and journalist John Solomon as representatives for access to Presidential records of my administration 107 108 June 2022 subpoena Edit On June 22 the DOJ emailed a draft of the grand jury s subpoena to one of Trump s attorneys It asked the Trump Organization for surveillance footage of the Mar a Lago storage room 109 On June 23 Trump called de Oliveira 110 On June 24 the FBI served the subpoena asking for views from outside the storage room between January 10 and June 24 94 57 38 At 1 25 p m Corcoran spoke with Trump about it by phone Within a few hours Nauta changed his travel schedule for the next day while he had planned to accompany Trump to Illinois he now told others he would go to Palm Beach Florida instead and gave inconsistent reasons for his schedule change 110 On June 25 de Oliveira advised another Mar a Lago valet that Nauta was about to arrive that he sought information about old surveillance footage and that his trip should be kept secret On the morning of June 27 de Oliveira asked Yuscil Taveras 111 who worked in the IT office how long security footage stayed on the server Taveras said he believed it was generally retained for 45 days De Oliveira said the boss wanted the footage deleted but Taveras resisted In early afternoon de Oliveira and Nauta spoke in person and in late afternoon de Oliveira spoke to Trump by phone 110 In response to the subpoena on July 6 the Trump Organization provided a hard drive 97 The footage showed Nauta moving the boxes 3 9 FBI DOJ obtains search warrant from federal court Edit Federal agents established probable cause to obtain a search warrant against Trump because while he had turned over some classified documents to federal authorities agents suspected he was unlawfully withholding other classified information 112 The warrant was obtained by the Justice Department s National Security Division at the request of NARA to collect material that Trump had potentially not turned over to NARA 53 The New York Times reported Two people briefed on the classified documents that investigators believe remained at Mar a Lago indicated that they were so sensitive in nature and related to national security that the Justice Department had to act 58 However Attorney General Merrick Garland had contemplated for weeks whether to approve the application for the search warrant after many meetings between senior DOJ and FBI officials 113 The search warrant showed that the FBI was investigating Trump for suspected violations of three Title 18 federal laws Section 793 a part of the Espionage Act of 1917 Section 1519 part of the fiscal oversight Sarbanes Oxley Act and Section 2071 1 114 115 27 116 Trump had not been charged with any crime 27 117 If charged and convicted under the third law Trump would be disqualified from holding any office under the United States However a number of legal scholars have questioned the constitutionality of that provision in the statute 118 119 Federal magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart of the U S District Court for the Southern District of Florida approved the warrant on August 5 2022 120 121 Reinhart who has a reputation for being particularly careful had previously been a federal prosecutor for a decade was misidentified by some sources as being a Trump appointee but the position in fact is one filled by the courts themselves 120 Reviewing and approving search warrants is a typical duty of federal magistrate judges 120 Legal experts noted that given the high profile of the operation the application for a search warrant granted on probable cause would have been first scrupulously scrutinized by federal authorities 122 123 Will Hurd a former CIA agent and former Texas Republican congressman said Trump and his lawyers admitted to and then handed over presidential documents improperly taken from and stored outside the White House Of course the FBI had probable cause to go in looking for more 124 Search of Mar a Lago Edit nbsp Classified cover sheets and documents found and photographed in the search of Mar a Lago White areas are redactions e nbsp Boxes of classified documents stored in a bathroom at Mar a Lago nbsp Boxes of classified documents in a Mar a Lago storage roomOn August 8 2022 at 9 am 125 126 FBI agents searched Trump s residence at Mar a Lago for the material specified in a warrant including classified material The material pertained to special access programs according to The New York Times 58 and according to The Washington Post nuclear weapons 16 127 55 128 The FBI notified the Secret Service of the search a few hours in advance 49 The Secret Service facilitated the FBI s access to Mar a Lago 49 53 but did not participate in the search 49 Trump s son Eric Trump said on Fox News that he received a call about the search and informed his father shortly thereafter 129 130 Two of Trump s lawyers Christina Bobb and Lindsey Halligan were present for the search 49 but were not allowed inside 131 Trump and his family watched most of the FBI search from New York remotely via a live video feed transmitted from Mar a Lago s system of security cameras 132 133 Trump and his attorneys refused the FBI s requests to turn off the cameras 134 Eric Trump later said that his family would release the footage at the right time 135 134 FBI agents conducted the search using taint teams 136 to ensure that no privileged correspondence between Trump and his lawyers were removed 112 The New York Times reported the FBI agents carried out the search in a relatively low key manner and intentionally did not wear the usual navy blue agency jackets 53 FBI agents searched a storage unit in the basement where they broke through the newly installed padlock 53 105 They further searched what was called Trump s 45 Office 137 where they opened a hotel style safe containing nothing of consequence and finally Trump s residence 53 116 Classified documents were also recovered from unsecured locations and were found outside of the locked storage room 138 In accordance with the usual procedure for executing search warrants the FBI provided Trump s counsel with a copy of the warrant and a detailed three page manifest 58 139 called a property receipt which listed the inventory of seized records 53 140 141 142 The FBI agents left the property around 6 30 p m with the boxes 131 Peter Schorsch the publisher of Florida Politics was the first to report on the event 112 143 Trump also publicly acknowledged the search 125 The next day August 9 at Mar a Lago Trump aide Molly Michael found notes that Trump had previously given her written on the back of documents with classification markings She helped turn over those documents to the FBI on the same day 144 The FBI afterwards issued another subpoena for surveillance video from Mar a Lago for the weeks leading up to the search suggesting Trump may still be withholding additional government documents 7 On August 26 Nauta asked a Trump employee to confirm in a group chat on Signal that de Oliveira remained loyal to Trump The employee did so and Trump called de Oliveira to say he would get him a lawyer 145 Search of other Trump properties Edit On December 7 2022 it was reported that additional documents with classified markings had recently been found at another Trump location in West Palm Beach following a search of multiple locations by a team hired through Trump s legal representatives The documents were handed over to the FBI 17 18 Following this disclosure the DOJ said Trump had not complied with the subpoena issued in May 146 147 148 but Judge Beryl Howell decided not to hold him in contempt of court 149 150 151 Release of search warrant property receipt and affidavit EditRelease of search warrant and property receipt Edit nbsp The August 12 2022 order to unseal along with the unsealed search and seizure warrant and property receipt source source source source source source U S Attorney General Merrick Garland announcing the DOJ motion to unseal the search warrantIn keeping with longstanding DOJ reticence to comment on ongoing investigations 152 as well as the tight limits Attorney General Merrick Garland placed on such public statements the government did not initially comment on the search 153 While the DOJ remained silent a person close to Trump contacted a DOJ official to send a message from Trump to Garland Trump wanted Garland to know that people around the country were angered by the search and what Trump could do to reduce the heat 9 On August 11 the DOJ filed a motion in court to unseal the search warrant and property receipt unless Trump objected to making them public 154 155 f On the same day Garland held a press conference in which he said that the department had filed a motion to unseal the warrant and the property receipt in light of the former president s public confirmation of the search the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest in this matter and that he had personally approved the decision to seek the search warrant 121 155 142 Garland also said that upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor and criticized recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors 142 155 11 Trump later said on social media that he supported the release of the warrant and related documents 156 though he declined to release them himself 58 140 141 and his legal team agreed that the court should release them 157 The search warrant and property receipt were unsealed made publicly available on the afternoon of August 12 114 158 g with the signatures of two FBI agents redacted 160 A year later it was revealed that there had been a total of eight search warrants and affidavits The government wanted them to remain secret and it was not revealed whether the other seven had been for different locations nor what material had been sought 161 Seized materials Edit FBI agents seized over 13 000 government documents 6 13 among which they found 103 classified government documents 5 139 162 Documents and empty folders with classified markings were found both in the basement storage room and in Trump s 45 Office 163 The classified material was grouped into 11 sets Of the classified material 18 documents were marked top secret and one these sets had the control system protocol top secret SCI i e sensitive compartmented information 54 documents grouped into three sets were marked secret 31 documents grouped into three sets were marked confidential 5 139 162 Some documents were related to Trump s pardon of his ally Roger Stone and some were related to the president of France 162 139 The property receipt signed by Trump s attorney Christina Bobb at 6 19 p m at the end of the search 164 showed that Trump possessed documents marked TS SCI and another item labeled Info re President of France 114 During the search one personal and two official passports belonging to Trump the personal and one official one expired were taken from a desk drawer in Trump s office and later returned to him In an August 30 court filing the DOJ noted that the passports were located in a desk drawer in Trump s office that contained classified documents and governmental records commingled with other documents and thus subject to the terms of the warrant 165 Of the 13 000 documents seized the Justice Department s filter team set aside 520 pages as potentially subject to attorney client privilege 166 On September 6 The Washington Post reported that some of the seized documents contained details of special access programs requiring special clearances on a need to know basis that could only be granted by the president some members of his Cabinet or a near Cabinet level official They would normally be kept in a secure compartmented information facility with a designated control officer to keep careful tabs on their location One of the documents described a foreign government s military defenses including its nuclear capabilities 16 Topics included Iran s missile program and U S intelligence operations involving China 167 Missing materials Edit On October 1 2022 The Washington Post reported that according to two unnamed sources NARA had informed the House Oversight Committee that some presidential records had not been recovered 168 On October 6 The New York Times reported that according to two unnamed sources the Justice Department informed Trump s lawyers in recent weeks that Trump is still holding material 169 Motions to release search warrant affidavit Edit Many newspapers and media organizations motioned to unseal the probable cause affidavit which had been submitted to the judge on August 5 in support of the search warrant application k In court filings DOJ opposed the affidavit s release writing that this investigation implicates highly classified materials and that disclosure would compromise the integrity of the criminal investigation and the cooperation of witnesses in the matter and other high profile investigations the DOJ also cited widely reported threats made against law enforcement personnel in the wake of the August 8 search 173 The DOJ said that if the magistrate judge ordered the release of the affidavit the necessary redactions would render the unsealed text devoid of any meaningful context saying the redacted version would not serve any public interest 172 173 The DOJ requested the magistrate to instead unseal other information including a cover sheet the DOJ s August 5 motion to seal the warrant and the judge s sealing order of the same day 173 On August 18 the federal magistrate judge held a hearing to discuss requests to unseal investigators probable cause affidavit 174 175 Jay Bratt head of the DOJ s counterintelligence division said the investigation was in its early stages He argued that releasing the affidavit could reveal investigative techniques jeopardize the identities of several witnesses from their specific accounts of events as well as expose federal agents to threats 175 176 Bratt revealed that the affidavit contained substantial grand jury information including details about how evidence of obstruction would be found at Mar a Lago 176 Several media organizations asked the judge to unseal it with the necessary redactions citing the public interest The judge signalled that he planned to unseal portions of the affidavit and gave the DOJ a week to submit proposed redactions 175 176 Trump on social media repeatedly called for the release of the unredacted affidavit 177 178 but his lawyers did not file a motion asking the court to do so 179 Also on August 18 the magistrate judge unsealed several procedural documents related to the warrant affidavit including the criminal cover sheet a redacted copy of the August 5 warrant application the DOJ s original motion to seal warrant documents and the order granting the sealing request The documents showed that the FBI was specifically investigating whether there was willful retention of national defense information concealment or removal of government records and obstruction of a federal investigation 180 181 l In a 13 page order released on August 22 the judge said he carefully reviewed the affidavit before approving the search warrant and was satisfied that the facts sworn by the affiant are reliable He said that the DOJ had shown a compelling interest that overrides any public interest in fully unsealing the affidavit He indicated that he might agree with the DOJ that the necessary redactions would render the document useless He rejected the DOJ s argument that partially unsealing the affidavit would set a dangerous precedent highlighting the significance of this case He requested the DOJ to submit proposed redactions and provide additional evidence and arguments within a week 182 m On August 25 the Justice Department submitted a legal brief proposing redactions to the affidavit 183 184 185 The brief was under seal and multiple media companies requested the judge to unseal it as well as direct the DOJ to make public any other sealed documents 184 The judge soon agreed to the proposed redactions and ordered the DOJ to release the redacted affidavit the following day 183 184 The judge s decision to release the affidavit was seen as surprising because probable cause affidavits are typically kept under seal i e not made public before charges are filed 181 Release of redacted search warrant affidavit Edit nbsp The redacted search warrant affidavit released on August 26 2022 nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Mar a Lago raid affidavit The redacted search warrant affidavit along with a redacted copy of the legal brief that justified redactions to the affidavit n were unsealed and made public on August 26 186 187 The New York Times The Washington Post and CNN released annotated versions of the search warrant affidavit as well 188 189 4 The legal brief had argued that the DOJ s proposed redactions were necessary to protect the identities of cooperating witnesses and FBI agents who might otherwise be exposed to threats and retaliation as well as to prevent obstruction of the investigation protect privacy interests protect grand jury information and maintain the safety of law enforcement personnel 187 186 The affidavit listed four main goals of the FBI investigation To determine how the documents with classification markings and records were removed from the White House or any other authorized location s for the storage of classified materials and came to be stored at Mar a Lago 190 To determine whether the storage location s at Mar a Lago were authorized locations for the storage of classified information 190 To determine whether any additional classified documents or records may have been stored in an unauthorized location at Mar a Lago or another unknown location and whether they remain at any such location 190 And to identify any person s who may have removed or retained classified information without authorization and or in an unauthorized space 190 The FBI said there was probable cause to believe that classified national security materials were improperly transferred to unauthorized locations at Mar a Lago that materials relating to national defense or presidential records subject to record retention requirements still remained at Mar a Lago and that evidence of obstruction would be found at Mar a Lago 187 52 The FBI noted that several of the seized documents contained Trump s handwritten notes and were unfoldered intermixed with other records and otherwise unproperly sic identified 191 The FBI attached to the affidavit a May 25 2022 letter to the DOJ from Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran In the letter Corcoran argued against proceeding with a criminal investigation saying that presidents have the absolute authority to declassify documents although he did not clarify whether Trump had done so 191 Following Trump s indictment on June 8 2023 media outlets asked for the affidavit to be unsealed On July 5 the Justice Department revealed another version of the affidavit with fewer redactions 3 One revelation was that some of the seized documents contained Trump s handwritten notes proving that he did handle those documents at some point during or after his presidency 192 Release of detailed property list Edit A detailed property list was unsealed on September 2 as a result of Trump s lawsuit against the United States 6 5 193 194 The list showed that Trump had intermingled classified items with other items like documents and photographs without classification markings news clippings unspecified gifts items of clothing and a book 195 6 A box found in Trump s office is listed as containing 43 empty folders with classified banners 28 empty folders labeled Return to Staff Secretary Mili t ary Aide 24 government documents marked confidential secret or top secret 99 news articles and other printed media and 69 government documents or photos that were not classified 195 Trump v United States EditMain article Donald J Trump v United States of America On August 22 two weeks after the search Trump filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida seeking the appointment of a special master to review the seized materials for potential attorney client or executive privilege 196 197 198 The case was assigned to District Judge Aileen Cannon 199 200 201 202 On September 1 Cannon ordered the DOJ to release the previously sealed detailed property list of the seized materials 203 She ordered the DOJ to halt its review of all materials on September 5 166 204 205 and she appointed Raymond J Dearie senior judge of the U S District Court for the Eastern District of New York special master on September 15 206 The next day the DOJ appealed the ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals On September 22 the appeals court granted the DOJ s request to restore investigators access to the classified files and block the special master from access to them 207 208 209 On December 1 the appeals court ended the special master review allowed the government to use all the documents in its investigation and directed the lower court to dismiss Trump s lawsuit 210 211 The court ruled that Cannon lacked equitable jurisdiction to appoint a special master that Cannon s decision did not meet the stringent standard for the judicial branch to intervene in ongoing investigations by the executive branch and that the court would not make a special exception for former presidents 212 211 Trump did not appeal to the Supreme Court 213 and Cannon dismissed the case on December 12 for lack of jurisdiction 214 Special counsel investigation EditMain article Smith special counsel investigation On November 18 2022 Garland appointed a special counsel federal prosecutor Jack Smith to oversee the federal criminal investigation 215 216 86 The Justice Department s press release said that Smith would oversee the ongoing investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation 217 Indictment Edit Main article Federal prosecution of Donald Trump government documents case On June 8 2023 Trump was indicted with 37 counts of charges related to the documents in the Federal District Court in Miami the first time a former U S president faced federal charges 19 Charges included retaining and failing to deliver national defense documents under the Espionage Act for which there were 31 counts naming 31 specific documents 218 None of these documents had been in the boxes Trump voluntarily surrendered to NARA in January 2022 they were either turned over under subpoena the following June or else seized under search warrant at Mar a Lago the following August 219 On June 13 Trump was arrested and arraigned As with his previous arraignment in New York no mugshot was taken though he was fingerprinted and processed during this arrest 220 221 222 As part of the conditions for his release he avoided paying bond but was barred from discussing the case with Walt Nauta and with witnesses 223 224 225 Reactions EditCongress Edit NARA s revaluation of presidential records retrieved from Mar a Lago raised concern within Congress the House Committee on Oversight and Reform chaired by U S Representative Carolyn B Maloney began an investigation 45 226 In a February 24 letter to NARA Maloney wrote I am deeply concerned that former President Trump may have violated the law through his intentional efforts to remove and destroy records that belong to the American people 45 She requested the National Archives to provide documents about discussions among top Trump advisers about preserving and storing White House records 226 Maloney and Rep Adam Schiff chair of the House Intelligence Committee later sent a letter to Avril Haines director of National Intelligence DNI requesting a classified congressional briefing and a damage assessment 227 228 Haines responded that the DOJ and Intelligence Community were conducting a classification review of materials taken to Mar a Lago and a damage assessment of the potential risk to national security 229 230 Mark Warner and Marco Rubio chair and ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee sent a private letter to Garland and Haines requesting that the DOJ and the Office of the DNI provide the committee with the classified documents seized and a damage assessment of potential risks to national security 231 232 According to an August 26 letter from Haines a classification review and damage assessment inquiry is ongoing 229 233 The eight congressional leaders who are briefed on classified intelligence matters colloquially known as the Gang of Eight have asked the Biden administration for access to the seized documents 234 The Congressional Research Service issued a Sidebar bulletin to brief members and Committees of Congress on the legal aspects of the case 28 White House Edit The White House said that President Biden and White House officials were not aware of the search until it was reported on the news Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said those investigations should be free from political influence and did not comment on the search itself except that the Department of Justice was carrying out the investigation 235 236 237 238 On August 17 the White House in a statement to CNN condemned calls from some members of the Republican Party to defund the FBI 239 White House officials were privately concerned over the classified material stored in Mar a Lago including whether it could put at risk the sources and methods of the US intelligence community 240 On August 26 Biden mocked Trump for saying he had declassified all of the material he took with him to Mar a Lago 187 241 and said he would let the DOJ make a determination on the risk to national security 242 In another speech on August 30 Biden condemned the threats against law enforcement and calls to defund the FBI as sickening He criticized Republicans for their hypocrisy in their calls for riots in the streets and refusal to condemn the January 6 United States Capitol attack 243 244 At the end of the year Biden s attorneys found classified documents in Biden s former office and in his Delaware home dating back to when he was vice president in the Obama administration They surrendered the documents Their discovery was reported in January 2023 245 National Archives Edit The National Archives made multiple press statements concerning Trump s presidential records in response to media queries 246 They have also released numerous records relevant to the Trump administration s adherence to the Presidential Records Act in response to FOIA requests 247 On August 24 NARA staff told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform they could not be certain they had all of Trump s presidential records 248 The same day in an internal letter to all NARA employees acting Archivist Debra Wall said NARA had received both threats and praise from members of the public for its role in the ongoing FBI investigation 249 250 On September 13 Rep Carolyn Maloney of the House Oversight and Reform Committee wrote a letter to NARA 251 requesting an urgent review of all recovered documents and an assessment regarding any and all presidential records that remain unaccounted for and potentially in the possession of the former president 252 On September 30 the National Archives responded to the committee s request 253 writing in part While there is no easy way to establish absolute accountability we do know that we do not have custody of everything we should With respect to the second issue concerning whether former President Trump has surrendered all presidential records we respectfully refer you to the Department of Justice in light of its ongoing investigation 254 255 Trump his family and his attorneys Edit On August 14 Trump demanded the return of boxes of seized documents that were alleged covered by attorney client privilege and executive privilege 256 257 Beginning with his first announcement after the search Trump and his attorneys made a variety of statements relating to the search and the FBI investigation these statements have been criticized as shifting over time 258 259 and often contradictory and unsupported 260 Zolan Kanno Youngs and Maggie Haberman writing for The New York Times said that the former President s response follow s a familiar playbook which h e has used over decades including during investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies and whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia as well as during his first impeachment trial They also said that Trump s statements did not explain why he kept the documents after the government began investigating him 260 In an August 30 Fox News appearance Trump attorney Jim Trusty said that his client s actions were comparable to someone with an overdue library book in their possession and suggested that government prosecutors are holding Trump to a different standard of scrutiny than they would apply to others 261 According to The Washington Post Trump has struggled to assemble an experienced legal defense team with many of his former lawyers declining to take part in the case Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said that Trump s lead counsel were exceptionally talented and had litigated some of the most complex cases in American history 262 The New York Times credits political advisor Boris Epshteyn for his role in assembling Trump s legal team Epshteyn previously assisted in the defense of Trump s false claims of a stolen election in 2020 Former Trump attorney David Schoen has said the current situation remains problematic with members of the defense team rotating in and out and lacking clear leadership 263 Trump later added former Florida solicitor general Chris Kise to his legal team for the case 264 265 but within a month Kise s role was reportedly reduced 266 267 According to The New York Times Kise had suggested hiring a forensic firm to search for additional documents following requests from Jay Bratt at the Justice Department who expressed concern that more documents were still missing Disagreement between Trump s lawyers reportedly led to a minimization of Kise s participation on the defense team due to his more conciliatory approach 268 Trump s political action committee the Save America PAC sent out more than 100 fundraising emails in the days following the FBI search Daily donations increased from an average of 200 000 300 000 to more than 1 000 000 for at least two days The emails claimed that former president Trump was being politically persecuted 269 In July the Save America PAC paid almost 1 000 000 to civil and criminal lawyers representing Trump and the Trump Organization in lawsuits 270 On December 22 2022 the U S House select committee investigating the January 6 attack published its final report in which it remarked that DOJ appears to be investigating the conduct of counsel for certain witnesses whose fees are being paid by President Trump s Save America Political Action Committee The House committee noted that DOJ in its public report of its Mar a Lago investigation had seemed to express concern that those attorneys might be more loyal to Trump s defense than to their clients defenses and thus may try to influence their clients witness testimony The House committee said it shared those concerns and it revealed that it had provided related information to DOJ and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis 271 Related to these comments the House committee cited three news reports 272 273 274 Claims of political motivation planted evidence and Obama precedent Edit Trump likened the search to the 1970s Watergate scandal 275 He made unsubstantiated allegations that it was politically motivated to stop him from running for president in 2024 276 277 278 and a politically motivated move by the Biden administration 279 He criticized the FBI for searching his wife Melania Trump s rooms and belongings in Mar a Lago 280 On August 11 Trump made the unsubstantiated claim that the FBI might have doctored evidence to support its search warrant and might have planted incriminating materials and recording devices at Mar a Lago Trump s allies echoed these conspiracist claims 100 281 On August 12 he claimed that his lawyers had been fully cooperating with federal investigators prior to the search The government could have had whatever they wanted if we had it 121 On August 12 Trump falsely claimed that former president Barack Obama had taken 33 million pages of documents much of them classified to Chicago 282 283 the falsehoods were amplified by conservative commentators on Fox News 284 285 NARA responded that they had taken exclusive legal and physical custody of Obama s records when he left office in 2017 282 and that Obama had no control over where and how NARA stored the records with NARA exclusively maintaining around 30 million pages of unclassified Obama records near Chicago while classified Obama records were maintained by NARA in its Washington D C facility 286 After The Washington Post reported that nuclear documents were being sought in the search of Mar a Lago Trump said on August 12 Nuclear weapons issue is a Hoax 133 Trump also falsely claimed that former president Obama had retained lots of nuclear documents 286 Claims of declassifying all documents Edit On August 12 Trump posted to Truth Social claiming that the documents he brought to Mar a Lago were all declassified before he left office 287 2 288 That day his office issued a statement admitting that he had frequently taken home classified documents and further claiming that he had issued a standing order that anything he took home was automatically and instantly declassified 114 On June 29 2023 government attorneys responded to a Freedom of Information Act request from Bloomberg News saying they found no record of any such standing order 289 Sections of the Code of Federal Regulation addressing declassification require markings that are uniformly and conspicuously applied to leave no doubt about the declassified status of the information and who authorized the declassification 28 Speaking to Breitbart in May 2022 discussing the documents that NARA had recovered the previous January Kash Patel blamed White House lawyers for not having done the paperwork to remove the classification markings to conform to Trump s order 2 290 Except for Kash Patel 291 former Trump administration officials said they never heard of such a standing order issued by Trump and labeled the claim false 292 John Bolton who was Trump s national security advisor said that Trump s claim was a complete fiction and almost certainly a lie Bolton said he never heard of such an order before during or after his tenure as national security advisor Bolton said When somebody begins to concoct lies like this it shows a real level of desperation 260 293 Glenn S Gerstell who served as the general counsel for the National Security Agency from 2015 to 2020 called Trump s claim preposterous as declassification requires recordkeeping as well as notifying the agencies that used the information 294 Leon Panetta former Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA under the Obama administration similarly said Trump s claim was pretty much BS He explained that the declassification process requires authorization by various agencies 295 There is nothing that I m aware of that indicates that a formal step was taken by this president to in fact declassify anything Panetta said 295 A Congressional Research Service memo noted that a proper declassification process would have required Trump to communicate his intent to declassify specific documents The same memo points out that the government had a legal basis to seize presidential records regardless of whether they are classified and that classified material could furthermore indicate a violation of the Espionage Act 28 On September 20 2022 Trump s lawyers appeared before Judge Dearie and said they would not mention Trump s claim of a standing order in court claiming that doing so might reveal a potential defense in a future indictment 293 The next day a three judge appellate panel of the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled there was no evidence that any of these records were declassified and observed that Trump s lawyers had resisted providing any evidence that he had declassified any of these documents 296 On September 21 2022 Trump appeared on the Hannity show on Fox News claiming that there doesn t have to be a process and a president can declassify just by saying It s declassified Even by thinking about it 297 This notion was mocked by legal experts 298 Lawyers noted that even if Trump did somehow declassify the documents he had no right to take them when he left office on Jan 20 2020 Trump had no legal interest in these documents The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the declassification argument is a red herring 298 299 Trump allies and supporters Edit On the day of the search a group of about two dozen Trump supporters gathered in protest in front of Mar a Lago 277 300 others held protests in front of FBI offices in Phoenix Arizona and Washington D C 301 Over the next few days Trump supporters continued to demonstrate outside Mar a Lago 302 and at several pickets outside a number of FBI field offices in various states 303 304 305 306 307 308 A small group of armed Trump supporters protested outside the FBI office in Phoenix 306 CBS News reporter Robert Costa reported that within Trump s circle Some allies are urging him to speed up his decision on 2024 in the wake of this that no one in the GOP will challenge him now others are telling him to stay cool wait 112 Trump allies in Congress and in right wing media spread a wide variety of misinformation and baseless conspiracy theories that the FBI may have planted evidence that the FBI search aimed to stop Trump from exposing criminals in government that the FBI conducted a military occupation of Mar a lago that the FBI entered Mar a Lago unannounced and was taking whatever they want for themselves and that some FBI agents went rogue 309 Patel repeatedly blamed the General Services Administration GSA for mistakenly pack ing some boxes and mov ing them to Mar a Lago The GSA replied that it was the outgoing presidential transition team and their volunteers who packed the boxes put them on pallets and shrink wrapped them 263 310 311 Many of Trump s allies including Steve Bannon urged Trump to publicly release some of the surveillance footage of the search or use it in political campaign ads Others cautioned him that releasing the tapes could backfire by revealing the sheer volume of classified information removed from his residence and countering some of his unsupported claims 134 The footage could further expose the identities of FBI agents videotaped and subject them to further threats and harassment 312 Fox News host Brian Kilmeade while guest hosting Tucker Carlson Tonight showed a doctored photo depicting the federal magistrate judge who approved the warrant together with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell Kilmeade later described the fake photo as a meme shared in jest 313 314 The FBI search ignited apocalyptic violent rhetoric among Trump supporters including members of the far right 315 on media including Fox News Newsmax PJ Media the Blaze and right wing talk radio 235 Talk of civil war and violence spiked online among far right users on platforms such as Truth Social Gab Telegram and Twitter including from conservative commentator Steven Crowder and white supremacist commentator Nick Fuentes 316 300 The New York Young Republican Club blamed the search on internationalist forces and their allies intent on undermining the foundation of our Republic 315 Experts on political violence said that the extremist rhetoric creates a dangerous atmosphere and heightens the risk of violent acts 315 Threats against government officials Edit FBI Director Christopher A Wray denounced online threats against federal agents and DOJ employees 317 Wray said the FBI would stay vigilant and adjust our security posture accordingly given a surge of threats to FBI employees and property following the search of Mar a Lago 160 Kyle Walter a researcher from Logically told the Washington Post that the firm has observed a significant number of threats against FBI employees The names of the two FBI agents who signed the warrant paperwork were redacted in the official court released documents the right wing outlet Breitbart published leaked versions of the documents that revealed the agents names exposing them to harassment 318 319 The federal magistrate judge who approved the search was the target of antisemitic vitriol misinformation and threats on sites such as 4chan 120 160 320 321 due to online threats against him the U S District Court for the Southern District of Florida removed information about the magistrate from its online directory for his protection 120 322 160 The synagogue he attended had also received threats and is under additional security 320 321 The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint bulletin warning of an unprecedented increase in threats and acts of violence against federal law enforcement officials including calls for the targeted killing of judicial law enforcement and government officials associated with the Palm Beach search including the federal judge who approved the Palm Beach search warrant Multiple possible targets of violence had their personal information posted online 323 324 325 The bulletin noted a threat to place a dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters 232 326 A man in Mercer County Pennsylvania was charged in US District Court with making online threats against FBI agents on the Gab social networking site 327 328 On August 19 lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee contacted social media companies and requested information about recent threats made against law enforcement officials by users of their platforms 329 Letters sent by lawmakers specifically cited threats published on Truth Social which has seen a significant increase in app downloads following the Mar a Lago search 330 331 The letter expressed concern because reckless statements by the former president and Republican Members of Congress have unleashed a flood of violent threats on social media and they urged platforms to take immediate concrete action to limit incitement of violence against law enforcement agencies 331 332 FBI field office attack Edit Main article Cincinnati FBI field office attack Ricky Shiffer a 42 year old Trump supporter wearing body armor and armed with an AR 15 style rifle and a nail gun attempted to breach the FBI field office in Cincinnati Ohio on August 11 and died in a subsequent confrontation with police officers He had taken part in the January 6 United States Capitol attack 333 334 and was one of the most prolific posters on Trump s social media platform Truth Social where he posted about his desire to kill FBI agents after the FBI search of Mar a Lago 335 Shiffer had engaged in violent extremist rhetoric on social media for years 336 and the FBI received a tip about him in May 2022 337 Republican elected officials and candidates Edit The Republican National Committee as well as most Republicans responded to the FBI search by attacking the FBI and depicting Trump as a victim and political martyr 338 Republicans said that the search made the U S into a third world country or banana republic although democracies such as France South Korea and Israel have all investigated and prosecuted former leaders for criminal offenses 339 Many Republicans vowed to investigate the DOJ if the party retook control of Congress in the November 2022 elections 338 There is no evidence of improper conduct by federal investigators 100 and no evidence that the search was politically motivated 276 Several Republican politicians including U S Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis condemned the search 112 340 In a tweet House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the Justice Department has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization and said When Republicans take back the House we will conduct immediate oversight of this department follow the facts and leave no stone unturned Attorney General Garland preserve your documents and clear your calendar 112 Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia called for the FBI to be defunded 112 Senator Rand Paul called for the Espionage Act to be repealed 341 342 Anthony Sabatini a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives called for the state to sever all ties with DOJ immediately and called for FBI agents to be arrested upon sight 343 Many Republicans accused the DOJ and FBI of a double standard for their previous treatment of the Hillary Clinton email controversy where former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was investigated but not charged over classified material found on her private email server during her tenure as US secretary of State 344 345 346 347 Sen Lindsey Graham of South Carolina predicted the likelihood of street violence if Trump was indicted 348 347 Some Republicans took a more restrained tone upon reports that the documents seized were highly classified but nonetheless questioned the search 349 232 350 Multiple Republicans called on the DOJ and FBI to release or share to Congress documents surrounding the search particularly the affidavit used as the basis of the warrant 350 351 177 Mike Turner the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee said that he was very concerned about the method that was used in raiding Mar a Lago Brian Fitzpatrick questioned whether the law is being enforced equally and with parity 352 Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney the top Republican on the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack criticized her party s response to the federal investigation of Trump writing I have been ashamed to hear members of my party attacking the integrity of the FBI agents involved with the recent Mar a Lago search These are sickening comments that put the lives of patriotic public servants at risk 317 On September 22 Senators Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham acknowledged that there s a process for declassification and Senator John Thune said the process ought to be adhered to and followed Senator Mike Braun said he was unaware of the proper methodology for declassification Senator Mike Rounds commented on the importance of storing information correctly People can get hurt people can get killed if it s not stored correctly and if that information gets out 353 On September 25 Senator John Barrasso pressed by ABC host George Stephanopoulos acknowledged I don t think a president can declassify documents by saying so by thinking about 354 Congressional Democrats Edit House Democrats praised the search as a step toward accountability for Trump 355 356 Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives said in an interview after the search We believe in the rule of law That s what our country is about And no person is above the law Not even the president of the United States Not even a former president of the United States 357 Senate Democrats offered more reserved reactions in the immediate aftermath of the search Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would withhold comment until we know more 356 Scholars and former officials Edit Following the FBI search of Mar a Lago Reuters and Al Jazeera cited scholars and former officials who said the way Trump used the residence presented a highly unique security nightmare 358 359 Commenting on a 2017 North Korea strategy meeting between Trump and Shinzo Abe which was surrounded by guests national security lawyer Mark Zaid stated What we saw was Trump be so lax in security that he was having a sensitive meeting regarding a potential war topic where non U S government personnel could observe and photograph 358 Mary McCord a former Department of Justice official stated Clearly they thought it was very serious to get these materials back into secured space Even just retention of highly classified documents in improper storage particularly given Mar a Lago the foreign visitors there and others who might have connections with foreign governments and foreign agents creates a significant national security threat 358 In 2019 a Chinese citizen with false passports possessing a thumb drive containing malware was arrested attending a function there 360 Experts considered Trump the perfect profile of a security risk He was like a disgruntled former employee with access to sensitive government secrets dead set on tearing down what he believed was a deep state out to get him 361 Columbia University political scientist David Rothkopf viewed the Mar a Lago search as a reminder that Trump was and is a national security risk unlike any the United States has ever faced 362 Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Michael Sallah of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette discovered that a Ukrainian born Russian speaker using a fake name who claimed to be a Rothschild family heiress had frequented the residence over a year s time even posing there for photos with Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham 363 364 Intelligence community Edit Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan called the storage of sensitive documents at Mar a Lago the height of recklessness and irresponsibility 365 Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence DNI under Trump from 2017 to 2019 defended the FBI stating that my first thought was Chris Wray would not have signed off on that unless he thought the process was not working or they were not getting the right answers back from lawyers or others and it was serious enough to take that action 366 Asha Rangappa a former FBI agent and former associate dean at Yale Law School stated that Trump s acknowledgment that the documents seized were covered or potentially covered by executive privilege indicated that he had kept presidential records that he was not authorized to have under 18 USC 2071 She stated And so it s not clear that executive privilege would even be relevant to the particular crime he s being investigated for and yet in this filing he basically admits that he is in possession of them which is what the government is trying to establish 367 368 Jeffrey Smith former general counsel to the CIA and David Laufman former chief of the counterespionage section at the DOJ s National Security Division warned of the investigation not having strong enough evidence to have a conviction at trial 261 Former Trump administration figures Edit Former Vice President Mike Pence stated immediately following the August 2022 search that it undermined public confidence in the justice system He noted that no former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence 369 Pence denied having any classified documents but in January 2023 classified documents were found at Pence s Indiana home 370 Trump s former chief of staff John F Kelly said that Trump has a long track record of disregarding rules for handling sensitive documents that Trump didn t believe in the classification system and that Trump held U S intelligence in disdain 361 William Barr said in an interview that he could not think of a legitimate reason for Trump to be in possession of classified documents and that the documents whether classified or not belong to the government and should have been turned over to NARA 371 372 Trump s former national security adviser John Bolton said almost nothing would surprise me about what s in the documents at Mar a Lago He recalled that although Trump usually did not read the President s Daily Brief he would sometimes ask his briefers to keep the highly classified visual aids pictures charts and graphs that were prepared for him and that Trump sometimes refused to return these materials when asked by his briefers 361 On November 3 2022 Trump adviser Kash Patel testified before a federal grand jury investigating the handling of records taken to Mar a Lago home The judge granted Patel immunity from prosecution on any information he provides to the investigation 373 Trump s Save America PAC paid Patel s legal fees 374 Notes Edit 18 U S C 793 Gathering transmitting or losing defense information 18 U S C 2071 Concealment removal or mutilation generally 18 U S C 1519 Destruction alteration or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy Judicial Watch Inc v NARA No 10 1834 D D C March 1 2012 United States Response to Motion for Judicial Oversight and Additional Relief with Attachments In re Search of Mar a Lago No 22 cv 81294 S D Fla August 30 2022 Dkt 48 1 The photograph reproduced here is Attachment F United States Motion to Unseal Limited Warrant Materials In re Sealed Search Warrant No 22 mj 8332 S D Fla August 11 2022 Dkt 18 The documents were obtained and reported on by multiple news organizations on August 12 before the formal unsealing as they were acquired by multiple news organizations 114 159 Judicial Watch Inc s Motion to Unseal Search Warrant In re Sealed Search Warrant No 9 22 mj 8332 S D Fla August 10 2022 Dkt 4 Motion of The Washington Post CNN NBC News and Scripps to Intervene for Access to All Search Warrant Records and in Support of the United States Partial Motion to Unseal In re Sealed Search Warrant No 9 22 mj 8332 S D Fla August 11 2022 Dkt 22 The New York Times Company s Motion to Intervene for the Limited Purpose of Obtaining Access to Search Warrant Court Records with Supporting Memorandum of Law In re Sealed Search Warrant No 9 22 mj 8332 S D Fla August 10 2022 Dkt 8 These included the conservative group Judicial Watch and the Times Union of Albany New York 170 h CNN The Washington Post NBC News and Scripps 171 i The New York Times Company j and CBS the Palm Beach Post the Miami Herald the Tampa Bay Times the Wall Street Journal the Associated Press and ABC 172 Second Notice of Filing of Redacted Documents In re Sealed Search Warrant No 22 mj 8332 S D Fla August 15 2022 Dkt 57 Order on Motions to Unseal In re Sealed Search Warrant No 22 mj 8332 S D Fla August 22 2022 Dkt 80 Notice of Filing of Redacted Memorandum In re Sealed Search Warrant No 22 mj 8332 S D Fl a August 26 2022 Dkt 98 The United States hereby gives notice that it is filing the attached document which is a redacted version of material previously filed in this case number under seal the United States Sealed Ex Parte Memorandum of Law Regarding Proposed Redactions DE89 See also EditJoe Biden classified documents incident Mike Pence classified documents incidentReferences Edit a b Haberman Maggie Thrush Glenn Savage Charlie August 12 2022 Files Seized From Trump Are Part of Espionage Act Inquiry The materials included some marked as top secret and meant to be viewed only inside secure government facilities according to a copy of the warrant The New York Times Retrieved August 13 2022 a b c d e Savage Charlie August 12 2022 Trump claims he declassified all the documents at Mar a Lago Even if that s true it probably doesn t matter The New York Times Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 13 2022 a b 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2023 Former President Trump s representatives have informed NARA that they are continuing to search for additional Presidential records that belong to the National Archives As required by the Presidential Records Act PRA these records should have been transferred to NARA from the White House at the end of the Trump Administration in January 2021 Haberman Maggie Schmidt Michael S October 3 2022 Lawyer Declined Trump Request to Tell Archives All Material Was Returned The New York Times Archived from the original on October 5 2022 Retrieved October 5 2022 Orr Gabby October 3 2022 Lawyer refused Trump instruction to tell Archives all records had been returned CNN Retrieved October 5 2022 a b Orr Gabby Holmes Kristen Perez Evan Herb Jeremy August 25 2022 Inside Trump s public bravado and private resistance over Mar a Lago documents CNN Retrieved August 26 2022 a b c Gerstein Josh March 1 2012 Judge won t seize Bill Clinton Taylor Branch audiotapes Politico Retrieved August 26 2022 Klein Joe September 24 2009 Bill Session The New York Times Archived from the original on April 24 2012 Retrieved August 26 2022 Dawsey Josh Alemany Jacqueline June 15 2023 Trump rejected lawyers efforts to avoid classified documents indictment Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved June 15 2023 Trump time and again rejected the advice from lawyers and advisers who urged him to cooperate and instead took the advice of Tom Fitton the head of the conservative group Judicial Watch and a range of others who told him he could legally keep the documents and should fight the Justice Department advisers said Trump would often cite Fitton to others and Fitton told some of Trump s lawyers that Trump could keep the documents even as they disagreed the advisers said Alemany Jacqueline Dawsey Josh Hsu Spencer S Ovalle David June 14 2023 Will Walt Nauta flip Trump keeps valet close as question hovers over the case Retrieved June 15 2023 The night before pleading not guilty to federal charges Joining them around the table was a large group that included Trump s political advisers his lawyer Christopher Kise Nauta s lawyer Stanley Woodward and right wing media figure Tom Fitton Perez Evan Orr Gabby August 16 2022 White House lawyers interviewed by FBI CNN Retrieved August 16 2022 Haberman Maggie August 16 2022 F B I Interviewed Top White House Lawyers About Missing Trump Documents The New York Times Archived from the original on August 16 2022 Retrieved August 16 2022 Mr Philbin was interviewed in the spring It was unclear when Mr Cipollone was interviewed Mr Cipollone and Mr Philbin were Mr Trump s representatives to deal with the National Archives they were named to the positions shortly before the president s term ended in January 2021 At some point after National Archives officials realized they did not have Trump White House documents which are required to be preserved under the Presidential Records Act they contacted Mr Philbin for help returning them a b Sneed Tierney Perez Evan Gangel Jamie Holmes Kristen August 23 2022 National Archives wanted to share classified docs from Mar a Lago with FBI and intel community for damage assessment months ago CNN Retrieved August 23 2022 Feuer Alan August 23 2022 Trump Kept More Than 700 Pages of Classified Documents Letter From National Archives Says The New York Times Archived from the original on August 23 2022 Retrieved August 24 2022 Cheney Kyle Desiderio Andrew Seligman Lara August 23 2022 Documents recovered at Mar a Lago were among government s most classified letter shows Politico Retrieved August 24 2022 Lillis Katie Bo Perez Evan Gangel Jamie Cohen Zachary August 29 2022 Intel agencies began reviewing some Mar a Lago documents in May to assess classification level and risk to sources CNN Archived from the original on August 30 2022 Retrieved September 22 2022 a b Barrett Devlin Dawsey Josh Hsu Spencer S Stein Perry May 25 2023 Trump workers moved Mar a Lago boxes a day before Justice Dept came for documents Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved May 25 2023 Cheney Kyle August 31 2022 Days before Mar a Lago subpoena Trump lawyer claimed she scoured his office closets and drawers Politico Archived from the original on August 31 2022 Retrieved October 4 2022 Reid Paula Collins Kaitlan Polantz Katelyn Holmes Kristen Murray Sara May 22 2023 Trump s attorney took notes that say the former president wanted to fight subpoena for classified docs CNN Politics Retrieved May 22 2023 Shabad Rebecca September 6 2023 Trump was warned the FBI could search Mar a Lago if he didn t comply with subpoena for classified docs NBC News Retrieved September 11 2023 Luke Broadwater Katie Benner Haberman Maggie August 26 2022 Inside the 20 Month Fight to Get Trump to Return Presidential Material The New York Times Archived from the original on August 28 2022 Retrieved August 28 2022 Feuer Alan Haberman Maggie Broadwater Luke August 17 2022 Jan 6 Grand Jury Has Subpoenaed White House Documents The New York Times Retrieved October 5 2022 Read the full text of the Trump indictment in classified documents case Washington Post June 9 2023 p 21 ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved June 9 2023 Read the full text of the Trump indictment in classified documents case Washington Post June 9 2023 pp 22 23 ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved June 9 2023 Barrett Devlin Dawsey Josh Stein Perry April 2 2023 Justice Dept said to have more evidence of possible Trump obstruction at Mar a Lago Washington Post Retrieved April 2 2023 In the classified documents case federal investigators have gathered new and significant evidence that after the subpoena was delivered Trump looked through the contents of some of the boxes of documents in his home apparently out of a desire to keep certain things in his possession the people familiar with the investigation said Barrett Devlin Dawsey Josh Harris Shane October 13 2022 Key Mar a Lago witness said to be former White House employee Washington Post Retrieved October 16 2022 a b Barrett Devlin Alemany Jacqueline Stein Perry Dawsey Josh Marimow Ann E Leonnig Carol D December 21 2022 Skepticism before a search Inside the Trump Mar a Lago documents investigation The Washington Post Retrieved December 27 2022 Sangal Aditi Hammond Elise Meyer Matt Vogt Adrienne Powell Tori B June 9 2023 Indictment details Trump s alleged actions in the days before attorney searched storage room CNN Retrieved June 9 2023 Attorney 1 who is not named in the indictment tracks with the role Evan Corcoran played in searching for Mar a Lago for documents responsive to the May 2022 subpoena a b U S District Court Southern District of Florida PDF July 27 2023 O Connor John October 15 2022 Former Guam man a key witness in Trump scandal The Guam Daily Post Archived from the original on October 16 2022 Retrieved October 16 2022 FY18 Supply Active Duty Chief Petty Officer Results PDF Navy Supply Corps Newsletter 22 September 2017 ISSN 0360 716X Retrieved October 16 2022 Waltine Nauta a b Read the full text of the Trump indictment in classified documents case Washington Post June 9 2023 p 24 ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved June 9 2023 Pengelly Martin October 13 2022 Trump ordered records moved after subpoena Mar a Lago staffer said reports The Guardian Retrieved October 16 2022 Hartmann Margaret October 25 2022 Trump Was Betrayed by His Diet Coke Valet Intelligencer New York Retrieved December 31 2022 a b Cohen Marshall September 13 2022 Judge unseals less redacted version of affidavit used for Mar a Lago search warrant CBS 58 Milwaukee Retrieved September 14 2022 Perez Evan Collins Kaitlan Murray Sara August 13 2022 Trump lawyer claimed no classified material was at Mar a Lago in signed letter to Justice Department CNN Retrieved August 13 2022 Herb Jeremy Sneed Tierney August 31 2022 Trump s attorneys face scrutiny over level of cooperation with Justice Department on classified docs CNN Retrieved August 31 2022 a b Tucker Eric September 14 2022 Judge Unseals Additional Portions Of Mar A Lago Affidavit HuffPost Retrieved September 14 2022 Palmer Ewan August 31 2022 Trump Lawyers Stopped FBI Agents Checking Storage Room Boxes Newsweek Archived from the original on August 31 2022 Retrieved October 7 2022 Arkin William M August 10 2022 Exclusive An informer told the FBI what documents Trump was hiding and where Newsweek Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 a b c Cheney Kyle McGraw Meridith August 11 2022 Trump world gripped with anger fear and a host of conspiracies about the FBI search Politico Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Hooper Kelly August 11 2022 Mulvaney Mar a Lago informant would have to be really close to Trump Politico Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Lowell Hugo August 10 2022 FBI searched Trump s home seeking classified presidential records sources The Guardian Retrieved August 15 2022 Leary Alex Viswanatha Aruna Gurman Sadie August 10 2022 FBI Quest for Trump Documents Started With Breezy Chats Tour of a Crowded Closet The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Mizelle Shawna August 11 2022 The Wall Street Journal Informant tipped off investigators about more documents at Mar a Lago CNN Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 a b Barrett Devlin Dawsey Josh Helderman Rosalind S Alemany Jacqueline Hsu Spencer S August 9 2022 Mar a Lago search appears focused on whether Trump aides withheld items The Washington Post Archived from the original on August 9 2022 Retrieved August 22 2022 Collins Kaitlan Liptak Kevin Polantz Katelyn Murray Sara Perez Evan Orr Gabby Berman Dan August 8 2022 FBI executes search warrant at Mar a Lago Trump says CNN Retrieved August 14 2022 Bump Philip August 15 2022 The curious timing of Trump naming two allies to access his records The Washington Post Retrieved August 15 2022 Trump Donald J June 19 2022 Former President Trump s Letter to the Acting Archivist of the United States Designating PRA Representatives PDF Archives gov Retrieved August 31 2022 U S District Court Southern District of Florida PDF July 27 2023 a b c U S District Court Southern District of Florida PDF July 27 2023 Cohen Zachary Collins Kaitlan Polantz Katelyn July 30 2023 Mar a Lago employee overseeing surveillance cameras previously received target letter in Trump classified documents probe CNN Politics Retrieved July 30 2023 a b c d e f g Lizza Ryan August 9 2022 After the search GOP torches FBI hugs Trump Politico Archived from the original on August 9 2022 Retrieved August 9 2022 Gurman Sadie Viswanatha Aruna August 15 2022 Merrick Garland Weighed Search of Trump s Mar a Lago for Weeks The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Retrieved September 22 2022 a b c d e Woodruff Swan Betsy Cheney Kyle Wu Nicholas August 12 2022 FBI Search warrant shows Trump under investigation for potential obstruction of justice Espionage Act violations Politico Retrieved August 12 2022 Sangal Aditi Vogt Adrienne Wagner Meg Hammond Elise Macaya Melissa August 12 2022 Judge unseals Trump Mar a Lago search warrant CNN Retrieved August 12 2022 a b Lowell Hugo August 12 2022 Trump under investigation for potential violations of Espionage Act warrant reveals The Guardian Retrieved August 15 2022 Sangal Aditi Vogt Adrienne Wagner Meg Hammond Elise Macaya Melissa August 12 2022 Mar a Lago search warrant identifies 3 federal crimes investigators are looking at report says CNN Retrieved August 12 2022 Sherman Amy August 9 2022 Can Donald Trump run for president if charged and convicted of removing official records PolitiFact Retrieved August 13 2022 Savage Charlie August 9 2022 If Trump illegally removed official records would he be barred from future office The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved August 13 2022 a b c d e Musgrave Jane August 10 2022 Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart faces political firestorm after signing Mar a Lago search warrant The Palm Beach Post Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 a b c Sneed Tierney Perez Evan Rabinowitz Hannah Cohen Zachary August 12 2022 Merrick Garland says DOJ filed motion to unseal Trump Mar a Lago warrant and property receipt CNN Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 Choi Matthew August 9 2022 FBI search of Trump home was likely vetted carefully despite Texas Republicans claims of a witch hunt The Texas Tribune Retrieved September 22 2022 But legal experts assert there would have been a very high standard of probable cause to execute such a politically charged operation Hutzler Alexandra August 10 2022 What investigators needed to get a search warrant for Trump s home according to experts ABC News Retrieved September 22 2022 While probable cause is a lower legal standard than beyond a reasonable doubt or preponderance of evidence experts said it s likely the federal case is airtight given the gravity of raiding the residence of a former president Bump Philip August 9 2022 Donald Trump has been preparing for this moment for a long time The Washington Post Archived from the original on August 9 2022 Retrieved August 9 2022 a b Intelligencer Staff September 22 2022 Everything We ve Learned About the Mar a Lago Raid and Its Aftermath Intelligencer New York Archived from the original on August 9 2022 Retrieved December 31 2022 Lowell Hugo August 8 2022 FBI searches Donald Trump s Mar a Lago home and seizes documents The Guardian Retrieved August 15 2022 Massie Graeme Bowden John August 12 2022 FBI were looking for classified nuclear documents during search of Mar a Lago The Independent Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 LeBlanc Paul August 12 2022 The Washington Post FBI searched Trump s Mar a Lago residence for classified nuclear documents CNN Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 Teh Cheryl August 9 2022 Eric Trump says he was the guy who got the call that the FBI was executing a search warrant at Mar a Lago Business Insider Retrieved August 15 2022 Shivaram Deepa Lucas Ryan August 9 2022 Trump says FBI agents searched his Mar a Lago home in Florida NPR Retrieved August 15 2022 a b Farhi Arden August 10 2022 Trump lawyer who was at Mar a Lago for FBI search describes the scene CBS News Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Teh Cheryl August 12 2022 Trump and his family watched the FBI search Mar a Lago via the property s security feed says the former president s lawyer Insider Retrieved August 17 2022 a b Hooper Kelly August 12 2022 Trump denies reports of classified nuclear documents at Mar a Lago Politico Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 a b c Orr Gabby Murray Sara Collins Kaitlan Polantz Katelyn August 17 2022 Trump considering releasing surveillance footage of FBI Mar a Lago search CNN Retrieved August 18 2022 Teh Cheryl August 16 2022 Eric Trump says the Trumps will share surveillance tapes of the Mar a Lago raid at the right time Business Insider Retrieved August 18 2022 Weaver Jay August 12 2022 FBI search warrant points to possible espionage and obstruction case against Trump Miami Herald Archived from the original on August 13 2022 Retrieved August 16 2022 According to sources familiar with the investigation FBI agents with security clearances worked in taint teams as they examined the documents stored in his office and other areas of Mar a Lago to ensure that they did not collect any privileged correspondence between Trump and his attorneys If they were to cross that line that could risk compromising some of the evidence uncovered and seized in the Justice Department s investigation Epstein Jake August 31 2022 FBI agents found 3 classified documents inside desks in Trump s office at Mar a Lago DOJ says in court papers Business Insider Retrieved September 1 2022 Bowden John August 24 2022 FBI found documents lying in unsecure places at Mar a Lago report says The Independent Archived from the original on August 25 2022 Retrieved August 25 2022 a b c d Leary Alex Viswanatha Aruna Gurman Sadie August 12 2022 FBI Recovered 11 Sets of Classified Documents in Trump Search Inventory Shows The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 17 2022 a b Lizza Ryan Daniels Eugene August 10 2022 Playbook Trump lawyers provide new info but no warrant Politico Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 a b Woodruff Judy Johnson Carrie August 9 2022 What we know about the FBI s search of Trump s Florida home NewsHour PBS Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 a b c Attorney General Merrick Garland Delivers Remarks United States Department of Justice August 11 2022 Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved September 22 2022 Copies of both the warrant and the FBI property receipt were provided on the day of the search to the former President s counsel who was on site during the search Izadi Elahe August 9 2022 How a former Florida political operative broke the Mar a Lago FBI story The Washington Post Archived from the original on August 10 2022 Retrieved August 10 2022 Faulders Katherine September 18 2023 Trump wrote to do lists for assistant on White House documents marked classified Sources ABC News Retrieved September 21 2023 U S District Court Southern District of Florida PDF July 27 2023 Polantz Katelyn Collins Kaitlan December 8 2022 Justice Department seeking to hold Trump in contempt over classified documents CNN Politics Retrieved December 8 2022 Hsu Spenser S Dawsey Josh Alemany Jacqueline Barrett Devlin Helderman Rosalind S December 8 2022 Justice Department asks judge to hold Trump team in contempt over Mar a Lago case The request came after months of mounting frustration from the Justice Department with the former president s lawyers The Washington Post Retrieved December 8 2022 Polantz Katelyn Rabinowitz Hannah Gannon Casey Koenig Lauren December 9 2022 DOJ prosecutors and Trump attorneys arrive for closed door hearing on request to hold ex president in contempt over classified documents CNN Politics Retrieved December 9 2022 Mangan Dan December 9 2022 Judge does not hold Trump office in contempt of court despite DOJ request CNBC Retrieved December 9 2022 Feuer Alan Haberman Maggie December 9 2022 Judge Declines to Act on Justice Dept Contempt Request in Trump Documents Case The department had asked a federal judge to force a representative of Donald J Trump to swear under oath that there are no more classified documents at any of his properties The New York Times Retrieved December 9 2022 Hsu Spencer S Alemany Jacqueline Dawsey Josh December 9 2022 U S judge won t hold Trump s office in contempt people familiar say Justice Department sought contempt order from chief judge over whether all classified documents have been recovered The Washington Post Retrieved December 9 2022 Collinson Stephen August 11 2022 The Justice Department is in a no win situation as Trump s fury rages CNN Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Perez Evan August 10 2022 Some Justice Department officials chafe at silence on Mar a Lago search CNN Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Stein Perry Barrett Devlin August 11 2022 The latest Trump in post comments on search but doesn t say if he ll agree to release of search warrant The Washington Post Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 a b c Carlson Adam August 11 2022 AG Merrick Garland says he signed off on Trump search denounces attacks on law enforcement ABC News Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 Cheney Kyle McGraw Meridith August 11 2022 Merrick Garland calls Trump s bluff Politico Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 Sangal Aditi Vogt Adrienne Wagner Meg Hammond Elise Macaya Melissa August 12 2022 Trump s legal team agrees to the release of Mar a Lago search warrant CNN Retrieved August 12 2022 Sangal Aditi Vogt Adrienne Wagner Meg Hammond Elise Macaya Melissa August 12 2022 Judge unseals Mar a Lago search warrant documents CNN Retrieved August 12 2022 Shabad Rebecca Caputo Marc Gregorian Dareh August 12 2022 Trump Mar a Lago search warrant property receipt show agents found trove of classified docs NBC News Retrieved August 17 2022 NBC News and other news organizations obtained the documents shortly before a federal judge was expected to authorize their public release a b c d Campbell Josh Schneider Jessica O Sullivan Donie August 12 2022 FBI investigating unprecedented number of threats against bureau in wake of Mar a Lago search CNN Retrieved August 12 2022 Winter Tom Dienst Jonathan Shabad Rebecca July 25 2023 Eight search warrants issued in Trump classified documents case new filings show NBC News Retrieved July 26 2023 a b c Barrett Devlin Dawsey Josh August 12 2022 Agents at Trump s Mar a Lago seized 11 sets of classified documents court filing shows The Washington Post Retrieved August 17 2022 Bump Philip September 7 2022 Trump s classified Mar a Lago documents catalogued The Washington Post Archived from the original on September 8 2022 Retrieved September 11 2022 Sangal Aditi Vogt Adrienne Wagner Meg Hammond Elise Macaya Melissa August 12 2022 Trump s attorney signed search warrant receipts CNN Retrieved August 12 2022 Gregorian Dareh September 1 2022 Trump s seized passports could be a problem for him legal experts say NBC Retrieved September 6 2022 a b Lynch Sarah N September 6 2022 U S judge agrees to special master in Trump search case delaying probe Reuters Retrieved September 6 2022 Barrett Devlin October 21 2022 Mar a Lago classified papers held U S secrets about Iran and China The Washington Post Retrieved October 21 2022 Alemany Jacqueline October 1 2022 National Archives says it s still missing records from Trump officials The Washington Post Archived from the original on October 2 2022 Retrieved October 1 2022 Schmidt Michael S Haberman Maggie Benner Katie October 6 2022 Justice Dept Is Said to Believe Trump Has More Documents The New York Times Archived from the original on October 7 2022 Retrieved September 7 2022 Stein Chris August 10 2022 Trump says he invoked fifth amendment in New York attorney general s investigation I declined to answer as it happened The Guardian Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Sneed Tierney August 11 2022 CNN and other news outlets ask court to unseal entire court record related to Mar a Lago search CNN Archived from the original on August 12 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 a b Polantz Katelyn Rabinowitz Hannah August 15 2022 DOJ opposes making public details in Mar a Lago search warrant s probable cause affidavit CNN Retrieved August 15 2022 a b c Cheney Kyle August 15 2022 DOJ says release of Mar a Lago affidavit would harm ongoing criminal probe Politico Retrieved August 15 2022 Polantz Katelyn August 16 2022 Judge to hold hearing on request to unseal Mar a Lago affidavit CNN Retrieved August 16 2022 a b c Wu Nicholas Desiderio Andrew Cheney Kyle Gerstein Josh August 18 2022 Trump Mar a Lago investigation still in early stages top DOJ official reveals Politico Retrieved August 18 2022 a b c Sneed Tierney Rabinowitz Hannah Polantz Katelyn Royal Denise August 18 2022 Takeaways from the court hearing on releasing more documents from the Mar a Lago search CNN Retrieved August 18 2022 a b Okun Eli August 16 2022 Politico Playbook PM Reinhart tees up affidavit showdown Politico Retrieved August 17 2022 Sneed Tierney Polantz Katelyn Hammond Elise Chowdhurry Maureen Vogt Adrienne Sangal Aditi August 18 2022 The latest on the Trump Mar a Lago search documents CNN Archived from the original on August 18 2022 Retrieved August 20 2022 Blake Aaron August 18 2022 Trump Release the full affidavit Trump s lawyers in court Meh The Washington Post Retrieved August 20 2021 Spencer Terry Balsamo Michael August 19 2022 Judge appears willing to unveil some of Mar a Lago affidavit Associated Press Retrieved August 20 2022 a b Mazzei Patricia Feuer Alan August 18 2022 Judge May Release Affidavit in Trump Search but Only After Redaction The New York Times Archived from the original on August 18 2022 Retrieved August 18 2022 Cheney Kyle August 22 2022 Judge says FBI s evidence for searching Mar a Lago is reliable Politico Retrieved August 22 2022 a b Cheney Kyle Gerstein Josh August 25 2022 Justice Department proposes deletions for Mar a Lago affidavit Politico Retrieved August 25 2022 a b c Sneed Tierney August 25 2022 Justice Department submits proposal under seal for redacting the Mar a Lago search warrant affidavit CNN Retrieved August 25 2022 Sneed Tierney August 25 2022 What s next in the fight over the Mar a Lago FBI search affidavit CNN Retrieved August 25 2022 a b Vogt Adrienne Sangal Aditi Hammond Elise August 26 2022 Live updates DOJ releases redacted Mar a Lago search warrant affidavit CNN Archived from the original on August 26 2022 Retrieved August 26 2022 a b c d Cohen Marshall Sneed Tierney Herb Jeremy August 26 2022 Justice Department releases redacted Mar a Lago search warrant affidavit CNN Archived from the original on August 26 2022 Retrieved August 26 2022 Savage Charlie August 26 2022 The Affidavit for the Search of Trump s Home Annotated The New York Times Archived from the original on August 27 2022 Retrieved August 27 2022 Phillips Amber Blake Aaron August 26 2022 Read the partially redacted Mar a Lago search affidavit annotated The Washington Post Archived from the original on August 27 2022 Retrieved September 22 2022 a b c d Vogt Adrienne Sangal Aditi Hammond Elise August 26 2022 Mar a Lago search warrant affidavit lists 4 main goals of investigation CNN Archived from the original on August 26 2022 Retrieved August 26 2022 a b Gerstein Josh Cheney Kyle August 26 2022 Trump Mar a Lago affidavit reveals handwritten notes highly classified material led to warrant request Politico Retrieved August 27 2022 Harvey Josephine July 10 2023 Ex Federal Prosecutor Flags Interesting Discovery In Trump Search Warrant HuffPost Retrieved July 10 2023 Read Full list of documents seized from Mar a Lago CNN September 2 2022 Retrieved September 5 2022 Wu Nicholas Cheney Kyle September 2 2022 Prosecutors detail items seized from Trump estate including dozens of empty classified folders Politico Retrieved September 5 2022 a b Savage Charlie Feuer Alan September 2 2022 F B I Found 48 Empty Folders That Had Contained Classified Documents at Trump s Home The New York Times Archived from the original on September 2 2022 Retrieved September 2 2022 Feuer Alan August 22 2022 Judge in Trump Search Case Issues Written Order Seeking Redactions The New York Times Archived from the original on August 22 2022 Retrieved August 23 2022 Polantz Katelyn Collins Kaitlan Sneed Tierney August 22 2022 Trump s legal team asks for special master to go through Mar a Lago evidence and determine if some should be returned CNN Archived from the original on August 22 2022 Retrieved August 22 2022 Gerstein Josh Cheney Kyle August 22 2022 Trump files suit demanding special master in Mar a Lago search case Politico Archived from the original on August 23 2022 Retrieved August 23 2022 Bump Philip September 6 2022 Why might Trump have wanted Judge Cannon for his Mar a Lago challenge The Washington Post Retrieved September 6 2022 Marimow Ann E Barrett Devlin September 6 2022 Judge s special master order a test of Trump s post White House powers The Washington Post Retrieved September 7 2022 Sneed Tierney August 27 2022 Trump re ups request for special master but glosses over some questions from the judge CNN Retrieved August 27 2022 Cheney Kyle Gerstein Josh August 26 2022 Trump lawyers renew plea for outside supervision of Mar a Lago search trove Politico Retrieved August 27 2022 Quinn Melissa Sganga Nicole Legare Robert September 1 2022 Judge orders release of detailed list of property seized in Trump FBI search CBS News Retrieved September 2 2022 Cheney Kyle Wu Nicholas Desiderio Andres September 5 2022 Judge orders halt to DOJ review of documents seized from Trump Politico Retrieved September 7 2022 Sneed Tierney Cohen Marshall Herb Jeremy Lybrand Holmes September 5 2022 Judge grants Trump s request for a special master to review materials seized from Mar a Lago CNN Retrieved September 7 2022 Cheney Kyle Gerstein Josh September 15 2022 Judge appoints special master rejects DOJ bid to delay Mar a Lago ruling Politico Retrieved September 16 2022 Cheney Kyle Gerstein Josh September 21 2022 Trump suffers setback as appeals panel rejects Cannon ruling Politico Retrieved September 21 2022 Savage Charlie Thrush Glenn Feuer Alan September 21 2022 Appeals Court Restores Justice Dept s Access to Sensitive Files Seized From Trump The New York Times Archived from the original on September 22 2022 Retrieved September 21 2022 De Vogue Ariane Polantz Katelyn October 11 2022 DOJ urges Supreme Court to stay out of Mar a Lago documents fight CNN Retrieved October 12 2022 Tucker Eric December 1 2022 Trump probe Court halts Mar a Lago special master review Associated Press Retrieved December 4 2022 a b Feuer Alan Savage Charlie December 1 2022 Appeals Court Scraps Special Master Review in Trump Documents Case The New York Times Retrieved December 4 2022 Sneed Tierney December 1 2022 Appeals court halts special master review of documents seized at Mar a Lago in major defeat for Trump CNN Retrieved December 2 2022 Collins Kaitlan de Vogue Ariane Sneed Tierney December 8 2022 Trump does not plan to appeal dismissal of Mar a Lago special master to Supreme Court CNN Retrieved December 9 2022 Epstein Jack Leonard Kimberly December 12 2022 The federal judge who appointed Trump s special master just threw out his lawsuit against the FBI s raid of Mar a Lago Business Insider Retrieved December 12 2022 Thrush Glenn Savage Charlie Haberman Maggie Feuer Alan November 18 2022 Garland Names Special Counsel for Trump Inquiries The New York Times Retrieved November 19 2022 Tucker Eric Balsamo Michael November 18 2022 Garland names special counsel to lead Trump related probes AP News Retrieved November 19 2022 Anderson Scott R Dhanani Saraphin Jurecic Quinta McBrien Tyler Orpett Natalie K Wittes Benjamin November 18 2022 Mr Smith Goes to Washington Lawfare Brookings Institution Archived from the original on November 18 2022 Retrieved November 19 2022 Savage Charlie June 19 2023 How Classified Evidence Could Complicate the Trump Documents Case The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved July 16 2023 Each of the 31 counts is based on a different sensitive document Becket Stefan June 13 2023 10 key takeaways from the Trump indictment What the federal charges allegedly reveal CBS News Retrieved July 16 2023 The 31 charges Trump faces for retaining documents all concern documents seized in the FBI s search or those handed over by Corcoran in response to the May 23 subpoena Trump is not charged with retaining any of the documents he voluntarily handed over to NARA earlier in 2022 No Trump mugshot but digital fingerprints The Atlanta Journal Constitution June 13 2023 Retrieved June 13 2023 Deist Jonathan April 4 2023 Did Trump Pose for a Mugshot at Manhattan Arraignment NBC New York Retrieved June 13 2023 Trump indictment live updates After arraignment back to NJ June 13 2023 Haberman Maggie Feuer Alan June 13 2023 Trump Ordered Not to Discuss Case With His Aide and Co Defendant New York Times Retrieved June 13 2023 Trump stops at Cuban eatery after court Associated Press June 13 2023 Retrieved June 13 2023 Schonfeld Zach June 13 2023 Trump ordered to not speak with Walt Nauta witnesses about documents case reports The Hill Retrieved June 13 2023 a b Wu Nicholas Cheney Kyle February 25 2022 House Dems step up investigation into Trump s handling of sensitive records Politico Retrieved August 13 2022 Wu Nicholas August 13 2022 Top House lawmakers ask intel officials to review national security damage from Trump document handling Politico Retrieved August 13 2022 Murray Sara Cohen Zachary Polantz Katelyn Diaz Daniella August 13 2022 House Democratic chairs request federal intelligence damage assessment after classified docs seized at Trump s Mar a Lago CNN Retrieved August 13 2022 a b Desiderio Andrew Wu Nicholas August 27 2022 Intel officials to assess national security fallout from Trump s Mar a Lago documents Politico Archived from the original on August 27 2022 Retrieved August 27 2022 Herb Jeremy Grayer Annie August 27 2022 US intelligence chief tells Congress she s conducting damage assessment of documents taken from Mar a Lago CNN Retrieved August 27 2022 Saric Ivana August 14 2022 Marco Rubio Mark Warner send bipartisan request for info on Mar a Lago search Axios Retrieved August 14 2022 a b c Niedzwiadek Nick Woodruff Swan Betsy August 14 2022 FBI warns of heightened threats as Hill Republicans demand more from Garland on Mar a Lago search Politico Retrieved August 14 2022 Herb Jeremy Grayer Annie August 27 2022 US intelligence chief tells Congress she s conducting damage assessment of documents taken from Mar a Lago CNN Archived from the original on August 27 2022 Retrieved August 27 2022 Desiderio Andrew August 22 2022 Gang of 8 wants to see Trump Mar a Lago search docs Politico Retrieved August 22 2022 a b Folkenflik David August 9 2022 Analysis Fox and right wing media snap to Trump s defense after FBI search All Things Considered NPR Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 12 2022 For the record the White House has said President Biden learned of the search from media reports and as of late Tuesday afternoon had not been briefed on the investigation by the Justice Department No credible reporting has surfaced to contradict those claims Mason Jeff Alper Alexandra Oatis Jonathan August 9 2022 Biden not briefed on raid at Trump s Florida home White House says Reuters Retrieved August 14 2022 Quinn Melissa August 9 2022 Biden didn t know about FBI search of Trump s Mar a Lago ahead of time White House says CBS News Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 10 2022 WH says it wasn t made aware in advance of Mar a Lago FBI raid Yahoo News August 9 2022 Retrieved August 14 2022 Klein Betsy August 17 2022 Biden rejects defunding the FBI amid calls from some Republicans CNN Retrieved August 17 2022 Collins Kaitlan Liptak Kevin Bertrand Natasha August 19 2022 White House officials privately express concern about classified information taken to Mar a Lago CNN Retrieved August 20 2022 Liptak Kevin August 26, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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