As some readers recall, President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by the FBI in August 2022 as part of a classified documents investigation.
Newly released internal FBI documents reveal that agents initially believed they had “no probable cause” to execute a search warrant for classified records at the former president’s Florida home.
Emails obtained by Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) detail the bureau’s internal deliberations with the Justice Department over whether sufficient probable cause existed. The communications indicate the FBI argued that Trump’s attorney, Evan Corcoran, was the most effective avenue to recover classified materials, though Corcoran later recused himself and became a witness.
The documents also show the FBI sought to execute the warrant in a “professional, low key manner” while being mindful of the “optics of the search.” However, agents eventually turned on lights and sirens before swarming the complex. They entered even Melania Trump’s Versailles Master Bedroom, and a professional safe cracker later accessed items in the former president’s office.
The former president was not present at his estate during the raid, having relocated to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.