Topline
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will not oppose release of documents tied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s recent search of his Mar-a-Lago residence and instead called for their “immediate release” in a statement, amid reports the FBI agents were looking for nuclear weapon-related records during the search.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower to meet with New York Attorney General Letitia … [+]
Key Facts
In a statement, the former president said he is “encouraging” the release of these documents while alleging without evidence they were “drawn up by radical left Democrats and possible future political opponents.”
Trump’s statement continued to paint the search effort as a politically motivated witch hunt against him, adding “my poll numbers are the strongest they have ever been.”
The former president’s statement comes just hours after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland requested a Florida court to unseal the warrant relating to the search, noting the issue has “substantial public interest.”
Aside from the warrant, the Justice Department wants to also release a list of items that were seized from the property and two other documents.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Garland said he “personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant” and the DOJ did not take this decision “lightly.”
Tangent
According to the Washington Post, FBI agents searching Trump’s Florida residence were looking for nuclear weapon-related records, although it is unclear if any such documents were actually recovered from the property. It is also unclear if the unsealed warrant will specifically mention any nuclear weapon-related documents as they are considered highly sensitive materials.
Crucial Quote
On his Truth Social platform, Trump once again railed against the FBI’s search earlier on Thursday, claiming that his “attorneys and representatives were cooperating fully, and very good relationships had been established.” He added “The government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it. They asked us to put an additional lock on a certain area – DONE! Everything was fine, better than that of most previous Presidents, and then, out of nowhere and with no warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided.”
Key Background
On Monday, FBI agents searched Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence as part of a probe into the former President’s alleged violation of federal laws on handling of classified White House records. Earlier this year, the National Archives and Records Administration said it received 15 boxes of government documents from the Trump-era White House from Mar-a-Lago, including some that contained “classified national security information.” By taking these sensitive documents to his private residence, the former president may have broken federal record-keeping laws. Ever since the search, Trump’s allies in the Republican party have rallied around him and have even echoed his unsubstantiated claims about the investigation being a witch hunt against him.
Further Reading
Garland Asks Court to Release Trump Search Warrant (Wall Street Journal)
FBI Agents Reportedly Looked For Nuclear Documents In Search Of Trump’s Home (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/08/12/trump-calls-for-immediate-release-of-documents-linked-to-fbi-search-of-mar-a-lago/