It is said to have been Donald Trump's youngest son, Eric, who informed his father about the uninvited visit. "I was the one who got the call in the morning, and then I called my dad and let him know what was happening," he said on the Sean Hannity talk show. The TV man is more than a self-confessed Trump supporter, so it was hardly surprising that the family would first open up about the spectacular raid on their Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
It's unusual enough for the FBI to search the home of a former president. The fact that she hardly says a word about it, too. So it was Donald Trump himself who informed the public about the mission from New York. "My beautiful home, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, search and occupation by a large group of FBI agents," he wrote on his network, Truth Social, which he co-founded.
His son Eric later said: "Then 30 FBI agents - actually more - invade Mar-a-Lago, don't give any information, just come through the gates, start raiding the office, raiding closets. They even have broke into a safe. He (Donald, ed.) didn't even have anything in it." It is not officially known what exactly the federal police officers were looking for from the ex-head of state, but US media reports unanimously that it is about Trump's handling of partially secret files and documents from his time in the White House. The FBI carried out a corresponding search warrant, the broadcaster CNN quotes people familiar with the matter.
Since the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, US presidents have been obliged to archive all documents created during their term of office - from calendar entries to letters to minutes of meetings. The former president is said to have never taken this order seriously. He often tore up and threw away notes. Many of them were fished out of trash cans by White House employees, while others were flushed down the toilet, as renowned US journalist Maggie Haberman reveals in her forthcoming book. The US site "Axios" now also has pictures of it.
In February this year, the National Archives, which is responsible for presidential correspondence, said it had received partially torn and taped documents after Trump's departure from the White House on January 20, 2021. Trump had only recently complied with the archivists' request to return 15 boxes of documents that he had taken to Florida. Among them was a letter from North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Un. According to the Washington Post, those responsible for the National Archives then asked the Justice Department to investigate the former president for his handling of official documents.
It is still unclear whether the house search has anything to do with this request. Likewise, whether the National Archives wanted to get back missing documents in general in this case, or whether specific documents are involved. Because the ex-president is the focus of various investigators. For example, the New York prosecutor's office has been investigating some of his business practices for some time, and in Washington the House of Representatives is dealing with his role during the Capitol storm on January 6, 2021.
The parliamentary body believes that Donald Trump was instrumental in (co-)leading the uprising. It has also not yet been clarified whether documents from the White House can prove such assumptions. The relevant documents were delivered to the committee of inquiry at the beginning of the year – but they were also torn up. Trump had previously unsuccessfully sued the handover in court. In addition, nearly all Secret Service text messages were erased from the time. Officially due to device replacement.
According to reports, Trump could use the raid as an opportunity to announce his presidential candidacy soon. Candidate status would make criminal investigations against him more difficult. In addition, he would certainly describe the investigations against him as politically motivated.
Because many questions and details of the raid are still open, it is also unclear whether and what the consequences will be. The first reactions, however, suggest that the ex-president and his still numerous supporters of the ex-president see a kind of conspiracy behind the operation - instigated by ominous forces who want to harm Trump. The Democrats around US President Joe Biden are already being pointed out. The White House, however, denies knowing about the search. The US Department of Justice, on the other hand, will have been involved as it is also the country's chief prosecutor.
So far nothing has been heard from the ministry about the raid. In response to media inquiries, a spokeswoman also declined to say whether Attorney General Merrick Garland personally approved it. The handling of classified material is regulated by law in the USA. Those who take such documents with them or make them disappear face up to five years in prison.
Sources: DPA, AFP, "New York Post", Axios, CNN, "The Hill"
