FBI search of Mar-a-Lago
On August 8, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the residence of former U.S. president Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida.
| Part of Federal prosecution of Donald Trump (classified documents case) | |
Evidence seized, arrayed, and photographed by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago on August 30, 2022 | |
| Date | August 8, 2022 |
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| Location | Mar-a-Lago |
| Motive | To recover missing classified documents which had been illegally kept by former United States president Donald Trump |
| Outcome | The seizing of over at least 300 classified government documents from Trump's Florida residence, as well as the seizing of 48 empty folders labeled "classified" Appointment of Jack Smith to investigate Trump's handling of classified documents Second indictment of Donald Trump |
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Business and personal
45th President of the United States
Tenure
Policies
Appointments
Presidential campaigns
Impeachments
Prosecutions
Interactions involving Russia
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| Donald Trump's handling of government documents |
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The search warrant application was authorized by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and approved by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, following a criminal referral by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The order, unsealed a few days after the search, showed that the FBI obtained the search warrant as part of an investigation into Trump relating to three federal criminal statutes:
- violations of the Espionage Act regarding unauthorized retention of national defense information;
- destroying or concealing records "with the intent to impede obstruct or influence" federal government activity;
- illegal removal or destruction of federal government records (without respect to cause).
Later, courts released the affidavit with redactions, giving the public a window into the FBI's goals in this search and what the FBI seized. In 2021, NARA tried to recover material, and Trump went through the material in his possession at the end of that year. Surveillance footage subpoenaed by the Justice Department in June 2022 showed boxes were moved in and out of a storage room at some point. The Justice Department said the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were likely "concealed and removed" to block investigation.
Over 13,000 government documents were recovered. They included nuclear-related information and FBI, CIA, and NSA information about national security interests. Of these documents, 337 were classified: 197 handed over in January 2022, 38 turned over under subpoena in June 2022, and 102 seized in the August search of Mar-a-Lago. Months later, at least two more documents with classified markings were uncovered at Trump locations.
On June 8, 2023, Trump was indicted on federal charges related to the documents. On June 13, 2023, Trump surrendered to federal custody and was arrested, booked, processed, and arraigned in the U.S. District Court of South Florida. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges. On July 27, a new version of the indictment (superseding the old) added three counts against Trump.