Donald Trump being investigated under Espionage Act, unsealed search warrant reveals

12 August 2022, 21:14 | Updated: 13 August 2022, 01:53

Former US president Donald Trump is being investigated under the Epsionage Act, warrant papers have revealed.

The warrant, which allowed FBI agents to search Mar-a-Lago, was unsealed by a federal judge in Florida.

It revealed that it was approved on 5 August - three days before the raid - with law enforcement having until 19 August to execute the search.

Among 20 boxes recovered by authorities were 11 sets of classified documents from when Mr Trump left the White House - including some which were labelled top secret, US media reported.

They included binders of photos, a handwritten note and information about the 'President of France'.

As well as four sets of top secret documents, the list includes three sets of "secret documents" and three sets of "confidential" documents.

Mr Trump denies any wrongdoing and said the items were declassified.

The warrant, signed by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, indicates that FBI agents were looking into potential violations of the Espionage Act, which makes it illegal to keep or transmit potentially dangerous national security information.

It described Mr Trump's property as "a mansion with approximately 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, on a 17-acre estate".

Officers were allowed to search the "45 Office" - a reference to Mr Trump's role as the 45th American president - "all storage rooms, and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available to be used by FPOTUS (Former President of the United States)".

It marked the first time a former president's home was searched in a criminal probe.

Read more: FBI 'searched Donald Trump's estate for classified nuclear documents’

Read more: FBI raids Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

Donald Trump's spokesman, Taylor Budowich, told CBS: "The Biden administration is in obvious damage control after their botched raid where they seized the president's picture books, a 'hand written note', and declassified documents."

He added: "This raid of President Trump's home was not just unprecedented, but unnecessary—and now they are leaking lies and innuendos to try to explain away the weaponisation of government against their dominant political opponent.

"This is outrageous."

At the time, Mr Trump claimed his Florida home had been "raided" and was "under siege", with agents breaking open a safe.

He told his 3.8 million followers on his Truth social platform the documents were "all declassified" and he would have handed them over at any point - there was no need to "seize" them.