The Washington Post reported Thursday (11) that the FBI’s operation at former President Donald Trump’s Florida mansion last Monday (8) was on a mission to obtain confidential documents related to nuclear weapons.
The newspaper said it spoke to people familiar with the case but spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to the US press, the operation was part of an investigation into whether Trump took confidential documents with him when he left the White House instead of handing them over to the National Archives as required by law.
According to the newspaper, a spokesman for Trump did not respond to a request for comment, and the Justice Department and FBI also declined to comment on the case.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that he “personally approved” the search of Trump’s home and condemned the “baseless attacks” on the FBI following the unprecedented crackdown on a former US president.
Garland, who has the equivalent role of Attorney General, did not explain the reason for the operation but stressed that there was a “probable cause” and that she had asked a court to release documents from the case.
“Personally, I concurred with the decision to seek a search warrant on this matter,” Garland told reporters. “The Ministry does not take such a decision lightly.”
2 of 2 Merrick Garland, Attorney General and Chief Justice Department — Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP/File
Merrick Garland, Attorney General and Chief Justice Department — Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP/File
The FBI raids on Trump’s home in MaraLago, Fla., this week have sparked a political storm in an already polarized country, with the former president campaigning for a new candidacy for the White House.
Republican figures supported the former president, who was absent from the search.
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Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence, a possible rival in 2024, expressed his “deep concern” and appreciated that the search appeared to be motivated by “partisanship”.
Garland criticized the “baseless attacks on the professionalism of FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors”.
Since leaving office, Trump has been a major influence in the Republican Party. The tycoon continues to claim without any evidence that he won the 2020 presidential election.