Staff Reporter: Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that FBI agents had searched his Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla., and opened his safe.
The FBI and Department of Justice declined to comment, although Eric Trump said Monday night that he was told the raid was related to the possible mishandling of government secrets the Justice Department is known to be investigating after the National Archives retrieved White House records from Mar-a-Lago.
“The purpose of the raid was, from what they said, was because the National Archives wanted to corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession,” the former president’s son told Fox News. “And my father has worked so collaboratively with them for months. In fact, the lawyer that’s been working on this was totally shocked. He goes, ‘I have such an amazing relationship with these people and all of a sudden, on no notice, they send 20 cars and 30 agents?'”
The younger Trump said he got a call about the raid being executed on Monday morning and informed his father.
The search, which would have required a court order from a federal judge, signals the president is under greater scrutiny from federal investigators than was previously known.
In a statement put out by his political action committee, Trump said Mar-a-Lago was “under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.”
“After working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” the statement said.
Trump went on to blame Democrats who don’t want him to run for president in 2024 for the incident, and said the same people also want to stop Republicans from winning in the midterm elections.
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