Ex-US President Donald Trump has said his Florida home was "raided" by the FBI, and that agents broke open a safe.
A senior Trump adviser in Palm Beach told CBS that the search by federal agents on Mar-a-Lago was about the presidential records.
His son Eric said on Fox News on Monday night that he had spent the day with his father and that the search happened because “the National Archives wanted to corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession”.
Asked how the documents ended up at Mar-a-Lago, Eric Trump said the boxes were among items that got moved out of the White House during “six hours” on Inauguration Day, as the Bidens prepared to move into the building.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is considered a potential 2024 presidential candidate, said in a statement on Twitter that it was “an escalation in the weaponisation” of US government agencies.
1. A police car is seen outside former US President Donald Trump's residence
A police car is seen outside former US President Donald Trump's residence in Mar-A-Lago, Florida on August 8, 2022. Donald Trump said that his Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida was being "raided" by FBI agents in what he called an act of "prosecutorial misconduct." Photo: GIORGIO VIERA
2. Supporters of former President Donald Trump hold flags in front of his home at Mar-A-Lago
Supporters of former President Donald Trump hold flags in front of his home at Mar-A-Lago on August 8, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. The FBI raided the home to retrieve classified White House documents. Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui
3. Former US President Donald Trump residence in Mar-A-Lago
Former US President Donald Trump residence in Mar-A-Lago, Florida is pictured on August 8, 2022 amid the raid by the FBI Photo: GIORGIO VIERA
4. Palm Beach Police officers speak near Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach
Palm Beach Police officers speak near Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach. The search intensifies the months-long probe into how classified documents ended up in more than a dozen boxes located at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. Photo: Andres Leiva