The warrant used to search Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate this week suggests the former U.S. president is under investigation for obstructing and concealing evidence by withholding official classified records, according to multiple reports.
A copy of the warrant reviewed by the New York Times, NBC News, Fox News and other outlets — before the document’s official release to the public — listed three federal laws Trump was alleged to have violated, including the Espionage Act, which outlaws the unauthorized holding of national security information that could aid a foreign adversary in harming the U.S.
A receipt of items taken from Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., home and political headquarters reveals FBI agents found several materials that were considered top secret or classified during Monday’s search, according to the reports.
Friday’s reports came before Trump’s legal team filed notice advising the U.S. Justice Department it would not object to the warrant’s unsealing, which had been requested on Thursday. Trump had already stated publicly he would allow the document, as well as a receipt of items taken by FBI agents from his Florida home on Monday, to be made public.
Shortly after the Trump team’s filing, a federal judge in Florida ordered the warrant and property receipt to be unsealed.
The department asked a court for the warrant to be unsealed due to what Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday was “significant public interest” in the unprecedented search of a former president’s home.
Garland and the FBI have faced significant public and political pressure to reveal more about the search, which has sparked speculation on both sides of the political divide and a slew of attacks from Trump’s fellow Republicans.
More to come…
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