The FBI reportedly seized national security documents from ex-President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home months before Monday’s high-profile raid.
FBI agents with a grand jury subpoena took the sensitive records from Trump’s residence in June, people with knowledge on the matter told CNN on Thursday.
During the June meeting, investigators were apparently shown where the documents were inside the basement of Mar-a-Lago.
Investigators searched Trump’s home again on Monday because they had evidence from at least one witness that there were possibly more classified documents at the Palm Beach property, according to one of the sources.
The subpoena suggests that the Justice Department made efforts to recover the records in a more low-key manner before sending FBI agents for the unannounced raid.
In January, the National Archives and Records Administration removed 15 boxes of documents including classified material from Mar-a-Lago. Whether Trump illegally took the records from the White House has been the subject of investigation ever since.
Trump has repeatedly said that he has cooperated with handing over the documents and interacted with Justice Department prosecutors on the matter.
Regarding the grand jury subpoena, Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich told CNN: ‘Monday’s unprecedented and absolutely unnecessary raid of President Trump’s home was only the latest and most egregious action of hostility by the Biden Administration, whose Justice Department has been weaponized to harass President Trump, his supporters and his staff.’
Shortly after the report, Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke for the Justice Department for the first time since the raid on Monday. Garland confirmed that he personally authorized FBI agents to search Mar-a-Lago.
‘The department does not take such a decision lightly,’ Garland said on Thursday afternoon. ‘Where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search and to narrowly scope any search that is undertaken.’
Additionally, the Justice Department filed a motion to unseal the search warrant.
‘In the days since, the search warrant and related materials have been the subject of significant interest and attention from news media organizations and other entities,’ the motion states.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Share this with