Former President Donald Trump said Monday that the FBI was searching his Mar-a-Lago estate.
According to published reports, Trump issued a lengthy statement that included claims of misconduct by authorities and, he said, “They even broke into my safe!”
The AssociatedPress reported that officials from the FBI and the Justice Department did not return messages seeking comment Monday evening.
“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said in his statement.
The AP noted that the Justice Department has been looking into whether boxes of records containing classified information were taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House, but it was not known if Monday’s FBI search was related to the document investigation.
In an email statement issued by Trump’s Save America political committee, the former president wrote: “These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently 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 Washington Post reported in February that the National Archives asked the Justice Dept. to investigate Trump’s handling of White House records “when officials recovered 15 boxes of materials from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence that weren’t handed back to the government as they should have been.”