WASHINGTON – New information was reported about what FBI agents were searching for when they raided President Trump’s Florida home as the Justice Dept. asked a court to unseal the search warrant.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that nuclear documents are among the items that FBI was trying to find.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said he personally approved Monday’s search warrant. He also said the Justice Department filed the motion asking a court to unseal that warrant and the list of what the FBI took from Mar-a-Lago.
As speculation and rumors started to swirl surrounding the FBI’s raid, Garland said the Justice Department doesn’t take decisions like this lightly. He also said when possible it is standard practice to “seek less intrusive means” and that Trump’s lawyers were there when the raid happened.
“Copies of both the warrant and the FBI property receipt were provided on the day of the search to the former president’s counsel, who was on-site during the search. The search warrant was authorized by a federal court upon the required finding of probable cause,” Garland said.
News4JAX learned that Trump’s team has contacted outside attorneys about how to proceed. Sources said one of the options they are considering is challenging the Justice Department’s motion to unseal the warrant.
Trump and his team of lawyers have until 3 p.m Friday to oppose the Justice Department’s request.
Sources said Monday’s search was one of many that have happened at Mar-a-Lago. One was conducted by the National Archives, which said it retrieved 15 boxes of materials back in January, that Trump improperly took from the White House.
By February, Archives officials said some of those documents were marked as containing “classified national security information.”
Shortly after that discovery, the Justice Department started investigating eventually concluding there were other classified materials at Trump’s residence that he had not turned over.
Monday’s search came after a subpoena the Justice Department obtained.
Trump said his team is “cooperating fully” with the investigation and that the FBI’s raid was “out of nowhere and with no warning.”
There is other documents prosecutors file in court when asking for a search warrant.
Many news outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post and TV news networks are also asking to see affidavits from investigators laying out why they believe there’s probable cause a crime was committed and the evidence of that crime.
For now, the Justice Department has not asked a court to unseal any of those affidavits.