Explosive house search warrant against former US President
FBI raids Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Florida residence
The FBI is executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the luxury hotel and residence of former US President Donald Trump in Florida. The agents apparently also crack Trump’s safe. He speaks of “political persecution”.
The FBI is executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the former US President’s luxury hotel and residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Donald Trump (76) confirmed this. Trump gave no reason why the FBI agents are in Mar-a-Lago. The former president said the raid was unannounced and “they even broke into my safe.” Trump condemned the process as “political persecution”.
The raid comes as Trump is considering running for the presidency again. According to US media reports, the search is part of an investigation into Trump’s alleged destruction of classified information when he was forced to leave the White House in January 2021. “The search appears to be focused on material removed from the White House,” the New York Times reported.
Trump has been accused of withholding files and documents from his time in the White House and even flushing down the toilet. Trump rejected that. Actually, in the USA all correspondence of the president has to be archived and kept for posterity. After his term in office, Trump took several boxes with files to his property in Mar-a-Lago. Among them should have been important communication documents. Trump finally handed over several documents to the National Administration for Archives and Records.
“Besieged, mugged and occupied by FBI agents”
“These are dark times for our nation,” Trump wrote Monday night (local time) on the Truth Social network he co-founded. “My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently being besieged, raided and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” the statement said . “This unannounced raid on my home was neither necessary nor appropriate.” Trump was in New York during the Mar-a-Lago raid.
Apparently, the uniformed officers combed Trump’s private home and private club at Mar-a-Lago. The hotel complex remains open to guests. According to US media reports, the raid is said to last all day. Agents reportedly carried away more than a dozen cardboard boxes.
«Political instrumentalisation of the judiciary»
The raid is currently dominating US media and headlines. The police operation has been sharply criticized by Trump supporters. Kristi Noem (50), the governor of South Dakota, speaks of “an unprecedented political instrumentalization of the Department of Justice. They were after President Trump as candidate, as president, and now as past president. Using the criminal justice system in this way is un-American.”
Neither the US Department of Justice nor the White House initially commented on the explosive operation in Mar-a-Lago. For the first time ever, the residence of a former US President is searched. The political implications of the FBI operation are enormous. What do the US government and agencies know? In order to obtain such a search warrant, prosecutors must be able to establish reasonable suspicion that a criminal offense has been committed. (kes)