FBI investigating former US president Donald Trump for a possible violation of the Espionage Act after a raid on his Florida mansion.
A search warrant issued Friday night revealed agents seized 11 sets of classified papers after a raid on his home in Mar-a-Lago on Monday.
The Washington Post quoted “people familiar with the investigation” as reporting that documents related to: nuclear weapons were among the items sought from Mar-a-Lago.
The paper said there was “deep concern” at high levels of the US administration about the kind of information the ex-president had taken when he left the White House last year, and that it “was in danger of falling into the wrong hands”.
The search and seizure warrant
/ via REUTERSSome of the papers were marked top secret and were intended to be available only in special government facilities.
Mr Trump labeled the report a “hoax” and that information he did have was “declassified”.
The three-page list of recovered items contained an inventory of 20 boxes of items and folders with photos.
The warrant was unlocked after the US Department of Justice asked a judge to share receipt of the seized content so the public could see the details for themselves.
Mr Trump, who had encouraged authorities to release details of the FBI raid, denied allegations last night that the documents contained classified documents about nuclear weapons.
The unsealed order made it possible to remove “all physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime or other items illegally possessed.”
This included all documents with classification markings, national defense information, government reports between January 20, 2017 and January 20, 2021.