Q&A on the FBI’s Search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home
Former President Donald Trump announced that the FBI had searched Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, home on Aug. 8.
Trump’s son Eric told Fox News that the search warrant involved “more than 30 FBI agents” and that he was told it concerned documents sought by the National Archives.
Here’s what we know about the incident so far.
Why did the FBI search Mar-a-Lago?
The search warrant isn’t public, but multiple news organizations have reported, citing unnamed sources, that the search was in connection to an investigation into Trump taking classified documents with him when he left the White House and potentially mishandling them.
In January, the National Archives and Records Administration obtained 15 boxes containing presidential records from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence that should have been transferred to NARA at the end of Trump’s time in office under the Presidential Records Act. David S. Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., said in a letter to Congress that NARA “has identified items marked as classified national security information within the boxes” and because of that, “NARA staff has been in communication with the Department of Justice.”
In a Feb. 7 statement, NARA said: “Former President Trump’s representatives have informed NARA that they are continuing to search for additional Presidential records that belong to the National Archives.”
