MIAMI — When teams of FBI agents knocked on the door of Mar-a-Lago on Monday, they were were looking for classified documents that former President Donald Trump had allegedly taken with him when he left the White House, a source familiar with the Palm Beach raid said.
The FBI carried out a search warrant at the posh club owned by Trump, but it was not related to the Justice Department’s investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, the source told the Miami Herald.
In a lengthy statement, Trump called the raid at his residence unnecessary and “unannounced.” He said the law enforcement officials “broke into” his safe at Mar-a-Lago.
FBI agents obtained the search warrant from a federal magistrate judge in West Palm Beach to gather dozens of boxes containing alleged classified materials. They had probable cause for the search because Trump and his lawyers had already turned over documents containing classified materials to the National Archives and Records Administration.
But agents suspected that Trump was still unlawfully holding more classified documents from his presidency in his private club and residence at Mar-a-Lago, the source said.
If FBI agents found evidence at Mar-a-Lago that is relevant to the Jan. 6 investigation, they would have to obtain another warrant from a federal magistrate to haul it away.
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