Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the residence of former US President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. With a high degree of probability, they were interested in documents from the White House.
⠀
The search was focused on the materials that Trump brought with him to the residence in Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House. These boxes contained many pages of classified documents.
⠀
The agents were conducting a search to find out if any documents were left on the Trump estate.
⠀
In total, the FBI found 15 boxes of classified materials. It is noted that Trump delayed the issuance of these documents until there was a threat of measures to seize them. Along with the searches, interrogations of former Trump administration officials also intensified.
⠀
Trump himself believes that the searches are aimed at preventing him from nominating his candidacy for the presidency in 2024.
⠀
Earlier in the day, the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida amid a Justice Department investigation that he stole official presidential papers from the Palm Beach estate. Trump said the estate was “under siege, vandalized and occupied,” but did not say why the FBI raided. The search warrant was reportedly approved by the US Department of Justice.
⠀
Trump previously confirmed that he had agreed to return certain records to the archives, calling it “an ordinary and routine process.”
⠀
The search of the Trump home lasted more than nine hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was noted that during the search, three lawyers for the ex-US president were present.
⠀
During the investigation, FBI agents, in particular, broke into a “relatively new” safe at the Trump residence. Boxes with classified materials were taken outside the estate for further study. According to the source, law enforcement officers did not particularly look through the papers seized on the territory of the residence.
⠀
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis condemned the FBI raids on Trump’s estate. This is an escalation, he said, and another step towards using federal agencies against the political opponents of the regime.
