The FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida villa is part of an investigation into whether the former US president took classified documents with him when he left the White House, revealed sources familiar with the matter.
In a long message, Donald Trump revealed the conduct of the search, alleging that federal agents had opened a safe in his residence. He described the operation as “a raid without warning” which he called misconduct on the part of prosecutors. Later Tuesday, the former president was due to travel to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to meet with members of the Republican Study Committee, a group that has pledged to promote Donald Trump’s agenda in Congress. .
Two people familiar with the case confirmed on condition of anonymity that the searches carried out on Monday were linked to the search for documents. They also aimed to ensure that Donald Trump did not hold other confidential archives or documents at his residence.
The search carried out on Monday accelerated the investigation carried out for months seeking to explain how confidential documents could have ended up in boxes of archives of the White House which, they, ended up at Mar-a-Lago.
In a separate case, a grand jury is also looking into Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. All of this comes on top of the many legal wrangles stalking the businessman-turned-politician and a potential candidate for a comeback in the presidential race.
Victim according to his side
As has been the case since the arrival in politics of Donald Trump, two camps quickly formed on Monday evening. On the one hand, the former president and his supporters have positioned themselves as victims of maneuvers by the Democrats who would seek to instrumentalize justice to prevent him from being a presidential candidate in 2024.
“These are dark times for our nation as my magnificent residence in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida is currently besieged, raided and occupied by a large contingent of FBI agents,” Donald Trump complained. in a written message. Nothing like this has ever happened before to a President of the United States. “After collaborating and cooperating with relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my residence was not necessary or appropriate,” he added.
“No one is above the law […]not even a former president,” Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi commented Tuesday on NBC — who, like most of the other tenors in her camp, has been calling for years for the former tycoon to real estate is accountable.
Donald Trump’s ex-right-hand man, Mike Pence, denounced the search of the former American president’s home, to whom he could be opposed in 2024 to seek the Republican presidential nomination. “I share the deep concern of millions of Americans following the unprecedented search of President Trump’s private residence,” he tweeted.
As soon as the search was announced, a group of supporters of Donald Trump went to the luxurious residence of the former businessman to shout their anger. Several of them were waving “Biden is not my president” flags, yet another reminder that more than a year and a half after Donald Trump’s defeat in the election, tens of millions of Americans remain firmly convinced that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him.
“It’s not just my house that was attacked – it’s the home of every patriotic American for whom I fought”, also pleaded Donald Trump in an email to his activists, suggesting a donation of 5 5000 dollars to fight a “witch hunt”.
For its part, the White House had never been informed of the police operation. Current FBI Director Christopher Wray was appointed by Donald Trump five years ago.
A decision made by the secret services
Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson would not comment on the operation. She would not confirm whether Attorney General Merrick Garland personally authorized the search.
Just before executing the warrant obtained, the FBI informed the secret services, according to a third party familiar with the progress of the operation interviewed by the Associated Press. Secret Service agents then contacted the Justice Department and obtained confirmation that the warrant was valid before granting police access to the villa.
US justice is investigating a possible breach related to the archives since the National Archives and Records Administration said it received about fifteen boxes of White House archives from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. Confidential documents were even found in these boxes.
According to the independent agency responsible for the archives, Donald Trump should have given him all these documents when he left the White House.
Many US federal laws govern the management of archives and confidential government documents. Simply moving these documents and storing them in an unauthorized location may constitute a criminal offence.
Although executing a search warrant does not mean that criminal charges will be laid, investigators must still satisfy a judge that there is reasonable cause to believe that a crime has been committed to obtain said warrant. mandate.
With Agence France-Presse