BREAKBREAK,
A federal judge issued a search warrant amid accusations by the former president that the investigation was politically motivated.
The The FBI has recovered documents labeled “top secret” from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released after a federal judge sealed the authorization order Unprecedented inspection this week.
A property receipt sealed by the court on Friday showed that FBI agents took 11 sets of classified files from the property during a search Monday. A property receipt is a document prepared by federal agents to indicate what was taken during a search.
The FBI’s search of Trump’s residence was based in part on suspicions of violations of the US Espionage Act involving the illegal storage of sensitive defense documents, the subpoena showed.
The records seized included some marked as top secret and some as top secret. Court records do not provide specific details about the documents or What information they may contain.
“Top Secret” is the highest classification level of US government documents. U.S. law prohibits the publicity or mishandling of confidential materials.
In a statement Friday, Trump announced that documents seized by agents at his Florida club had been “declassified,” and argued that he would turn over the documents to the Justice Department. law if required.
While sitting presidents have the power to declassify information, that right lapses as soon as they leave office, and it’s unclear whether the documents in question have ever been declassified.
Trump also continued to possess the documents despite numerous requests from agencies, including National Archivesto turn over the presidential records under federal law.
U.S. District Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same judge who signed the search warrant that triggered the FBI’s search Monday, sealed the warrants and property receipts Friday at the request of the Justice Department after the Justice Department Minister of Justice Merrick Garland claimed there was “substantial public interest in this matter” and Trump supported the “immediate” release of the subpoena.
Trump’s attorneys were provided with copies of the subpoenas and property receipts on Monday and can make them public at any time.
The Justice Department told the judge Friday afternoon that Trump’s lawyers had no objection to the proposal to make it public.
In messages posted on his Truth Society platform, Trump wrote, “Not only will I not oppose the release of the document… I’m going to take it a step further by ENJOYING its release… those documents immediately.”
The Justice Department’s request is notable because such documents traditionally remain sealed during the pending investigation. But the ministry seems to realize that its silence since the search has created a space for bitterness verbal attack Trump and his allies, and the public has a right to side with the FBI on what prompted Monday’s action at the former president’s home.
“The public’s clear and strong interest in understanding what happens in these cases has heavy implications for non-sealing,” a petition filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday.
The Trump House Search spark rage among his supporters, with several Republican lawmakers promising to investigate the Justice Department, including Garland, if they win power in upcoming midterm elections.
Trump has described the search as a Democratic-led political attack aimed at preventing him from running for president in 2024. President Joe Biden’s White House has repeatedly said it had no prior knowledge of the campaign. the search and it did not interfere with the Department of Justice. investigate.
To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must prove to a judge that there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed. Garland said he personally approved the order, a decision he said the department did not take lightly when it comes to standard practice when it comes to choosing less intrusive tactics than searching a person’s home.
