“There was no reason for a raid — it is all politics!” he added.
The Justice Department sought the warrant after the National Archives engaged in a protracted months-long effort to retrieve documents taken from Trump’s White House to Mar-a-Lago. After the Archives organized the return of 15 boxes of presidential materials from Mar-a-Lago in January, it referred the matter to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation.
In May, FBI agents reviewed the 15 boxes provided to the National Archives, and the search warrant affidavit details the amount of classified material that was found.
According to the affidavit, a “preliminary review” of the 15 boxes revealed that 184 documents contained classified markings, “including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed he’s cooperated with the efforts by Archives officials and federal investigators to retrieve presidential records brought to his residence at the end of his presidency.
“WE GAVE THEM MUCH,” Trump said Friday on Truth Social, touting his “close working relationship regarding document turnover” with investigators.
However, some allies of the former President expressed concern over the contents of the affidavit, which described in detail the sheer volume of sensitive materials that were kept for months at Mar-a-Lago and haphazardly stored in unsecure locations on the premises.
“[Trump] really needs a competent defense attorney, even more so now,” said one Trump ally.
CNN reported earlier Friday that the former President and members of his legal team huddled at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club earlier this week ahead of the court-mandated deadline for the redacted affidavit to be unsealed.