The FBI raided President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, according to a statement he issued Monday.
Why the former president’s Florida resort was raided is unclear, although after 15 boxes of White House documents were delivered to Mar-a-Lago, the DOJ is looking into whether there was mishandling of papers. The Washington Post reports that some of these papers were classified.
According to The New York Times, the search appeared to be linked to this investigation, which was confirmed by two people familiar with the matter.
Trump blasted the raid, which he said was still ongoing, as “prosecutorial misconduct.” The former president also claimed that the operation was an “assault by” his political rivals to prevent him from running again in 2024.
“These are dark days for our nation, as my lovely home in Palm Beach, Florida, is now under attack by a large contingent of FBI agents. There has never been anything like this ever happen to a U.S. president before. This unanticipated raid on my house was not required or appropriate, as I worked and interacted with the relevant government agencies.”
Trump, in a lengthy statement, says the FBI executed a raid on Mar-a-Lago today: pic.twitter.com/x2RwEEEGWD
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) August 8, 2022
“It is prosecutorial misconduct, and weaponization of the legal system, and an assault by Radical Left Dems who don’t want me to seek re-election in 2024, especially given recent polls, and will do anything to prevent Republicans and Conservatives from winning in the upcoming midterm elections,” he continued.
According to Trump, the FBI “even broke into” his safe. The DOJ has also recently stepped up its inquiry into attempts to invalidate the 2020 election. While the inquiry is not a criminal investigation of Mr. Trump, former President Trump’s actions are being reviewed, according to an administration official who previously told NBC News.
