Search of Mar-a-Lago
FBI finds significant number of top secret documents on Trump
Former US President Donald Trump (archive image) has apparently stored secret documents that are considered “top secret” in his Mar-a-Lago estate
© Mandel Ngan / AFP
The FBI found “top secret” documents during a search of ex-President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. The action was therefore about a possible violation of the anti-espionage law in the United States.
During a search of ex-President Donald Trump’s home, the FBI seized a significant number of “top secret” documents. In the search warrant published by a judge on Friday, the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida was justified, among other things, on suspicion of possession of sensitive defense documents. Accordingly, it was about a possible violation of the anti-espionage law in the United States.
In addition to the search warrant, a list of the documents confiscated was also published. Accordingly, some of the documents confiscated in Mar-a-Lago “should only have been accessible in special government institutions”. Among other things, these documents contained information about the President of France.
Trump presents himself as a victim
Trump previously said he would not oppose the search warrant being released. At the same time, however, he repeated the accusation that he was the victim of “unprecedented political arming of law enforcement agencies” by “radical left-wing democrats”.
The US Department of Justice, which is also the country’s top law enforcement agency, asked a federal judge on Friday to clear the search warrant.
US media name confiscated documents
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the 20 boxes of documents confiscated from Trump’s mansion included folders with photos, a handwritten note and a pardon letter that Trump gave to his close confidante Roger Stone. According to research by the “Washington Post”, documents on nuclear weapons were also confiscated – which Trump himself later apparently rejected with the statement that “the nuclear weapons thing is fictitious”. The ex-president even suggested the FBI may have “planted” incriminating material at his property.
The raid has caused anger and outrage in right-wing circles. Several high-ranking politicians from the Republican Party, including former Vice President Mike Pence, had accused the Justice Department of a possible political motive for the raid.
Trump fans threaten the FBI – or attack immediately
In addition, there had been threats of violence against the FBI in online forums, which the agency’s director, Christopher Wray, described on Wednesday as “reprehensible and dangerous”.
Against this background, an incident in Cincinnati, Ohio, caused a stir on Thursday. There, according to the FBI, a man had tried to break into the federal police office. After a car chase, the man then pointed his gun at the police officers, who then shot and fatally injured him.
The attacker reportedly called on US citizens to take up arms on Donald Trump’s Internet service “Truth Social” before the attack. The Internet account of 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer, identified by the authorities, read: “This is your call to arms,” as several US media reported on Friday, citing screenshots.