FBI 'searched Donald Trump's estate for classified nuclear documents’
12 August 2022, 09:45
The FBI were reportedly looking for "classified nuclear documents" when they raided Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida.
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The new report comes just hours after US Attorney General Merrick Garland said he "personally approved" to seek a search warrant on the former US President's Florida residence earlier this week.
Classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the items that the FBI was looking for during their search on Monday, people familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post.
The American newspaper reported on Thursday that the "unusual search underscored deep concern among government officials about the types of information they thought could be located at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club".
The sources did not tell the newspaper if such documents were found by agents, and the Department of Justice and FBI declined to comment.
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In a statement on Thursday evening, Mr Garland said the Department of Justice had asked a federal judge to unseal the search warrant to make it public, following criticism from many of Mr Trump's Republican supporters.
A request has been made to a Florida court for the warrant and the property receipt detailing what agents found inside the estate to be unsealed due to "substantial public interest".
If granted, it would mean the documents are made available to the public.
Mr Garland said the Justice Department did "not take the decision lightly" to probe the home of the former president.
In a statement, Mr Trump said he was encouraging the "immediate release" of the warrant - but repeated his claim the search was unnecessary and politically motivated.
Trumps home in Florida searched by FBI
Mr Trump has falsely described the search of his home as an “attack” by an “army” of FBI agents, and both he and his attorneys have claimed without evidence that FBI agents could have used the access the warrant granted them to plant evidence on his property.
But speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Mr Garland defended FBI agents and justice department officials.
"I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked," the attorney general told reporters.
Monday's search was the first time in American history that a former president's home has been searched as part of a criminal investigation.
