Donald Trump says Mar-a-Lago home ‘raided’ as FBI executes search warrant – live updates | Donald Trump

The Guardian’s Congressional reporter, Hugo Lowell, has this recent update from law enforcement officials this evening.

Justice Department officials are declining to comment on any element of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, including whether it informed the White House ahead of time, whether attorney general Merrick Garland approved the court-approved search warrant – or even if he was briefed on the raid.

This seems to be more of an indication than anything that the justice department is very concerned about appearing political.

The justice department is not supposed to get involved in politics, so it’s not surprising that it declined to comment on a high-profile raid of a former president’s home.

Mar-a-Lago, a sprawling complex in Florida, has been described as a “the winter White House” during the Trump presidency, a place from which the country’s leader would variously entertain heads of state and order US missile attacks.

The private club – situated on an eight-hectare estate that is now the focus of an FBI search warrant – attracted annual membership fees of $200,000 and became symbolic of Donald Trump’s time in office, blurring the ethical lines between his own business empire and his presidential duties.

The centrepiece of the estate, which Trump bought in 1985, is a 126-room mansion complete with expansive verandas and surrounded by perfectly manicured lawns. It was built in 1927 for a cereal heiress and socialite, Marjorie Merriweather Post, who willed it to the US government in 1973. However, neither Richard Nixon or Jimmy Carter used it and it was returned to private ownership in 1981.

During his presidency, Trump became renowned for spending significant time at his properties, with his Mar-a-Lago home the most frequented. A Washington Post tally reported he was there for all or part of 142 days of his presidency, over 32 visits.

Read the full report below:

Here is a little more context on the search from the Guardian’s Congressional reporter, Hugo Lowell.

The Justice Department has been quietly examining the prospect of opening a criminal investigation into the matter of Trump’s removal of documents since at least April, according to a source with knowledge of the inquiry.

In January, as the National Archives and Records Administration (Nara) prepared to transfer records from the Trump White House to the House select committee investigating January 6, it found around 15 boxes worth of materials had been improperly taken to Mar-a-Lago.

The records were eventually returned to Nara after negotiations with Trump’s lawyers – only for officials to then discover that the former president had taken with him some documents clearly marked as classified and sensitive for national security.

“Because Nara identified classified information in the boxes,” the chief archivist David Ferriero said in a letter to Congress at the time, “Nara staff has been in communication with the Department of Justice.”

The saga also prompted the House oversight committee, led by congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, to open a separate investigation that noted “removing or concealing government records is a criminal offense”. Trump must be held accountable, the New York Democrat said.

Trump is facing investigations and lawsuits on a number of fronts. Here’s a recap of a few notable cases.

Missing national records

The US National Archives and Records Administration (Nara) in February notified Congress that it had recovered about 15 boxes of White House documents from Trump’s Florida home, some of which contained classified materials.

The US House of Representatives Oversight Committee at that time said it was expanding an investigation into Trump’s actions and asked the Archives to turn over additional information. Trump previously confirmed that he had agreed to return certain records to the Archives, calling it “an ordinary and routine process”.

Attack on the US Capitol

A congressional panel investigating the January 6 attack by Trump supporters on the US Capitol is working to build a case that he broke the law in trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

Vice chair Liz Cheney has said the committee could make multiple referrals to the Justice Department seeking criminal charges against Trump, who accuses the panel of conducting a sham investigation.

In a March court filing, the committee detailed Trump’s efforts to persuade Mike Pence to either reject slates of electors for Joe Biden, who won the election, or delay a congressional count of those votes.

The committee cannot charge Trump with federal crimes. That decision must be made by the Justice Department, led by attorney general Merrick Garland. If the Justice Department brings charges, prosecutors’ main challenge will be proving that Trump acted with corrupt intent, experts said.

Trump also could be charged with “seditious conspiracy”, a rarely used statute that makes it illegal to overthrow the US government by force, a charge that has already been levied against multiple participants in the assault.

Wire fraud

Democrats said in a June hearing of the 6 January committee that Trump, a Republican, raised some $250m from supporters to advance fraudulent claims in court that he won the election, but steered much of the money elsewhere.

This raises the possibility that he could be charged with wire fraud, which prohibits obtaining money on “false or fraudulent pretenses”, legal experts said.

Donald Trump’s eldest son Eric has given an interview with Fox News this evening, claiming 30 FBI agents “ransacked” his father’s home.

To have 30 FBI agents – actually more than that – descend on Mar-a-Lago and give absolutely no notice go through the gates, start ransacking an office, ransacking a closet … you know they broke into a safe.”

Eric Trump said 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.

“My father always kept press clippings,” Eric Trump said. “He had boxes, when he moved out of the White House.”

The search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home appears to have been related to an investigation into the former president unlawfully taking White House classified documents with him to the residence after his presidency.

The discovery of classified information at the Palm Beach property was referred to the Justice Department by the National Archives and Records Administration, which said it had found classified material in 15 boxes at the residence, according to the Associated Press.

Federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations, though it is possible that Trump could try to argue that, as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.

There are multiple statutes governing classified information, including a law punishable by up to five years in prison that makes it a crime to remove such records and retain them at an unauthorized location.

Another statute makes it a crime to mishandle classified records either intentionally or in a grossly negligent manner.

The news that the FBI executed a search on Trump’s home has come as a surprise to many US officials.

Many of Trump’s advisers have said they are unclear exactly why the search warrant was issued, according to the New York Times.

President Biden’s top aides found out about the search from reports on Twitter and had no advance notice, a Democratic source familiar with the matter told the newspaper.

Senior White House officials said they only saw the news via former President Trump’s statement.

Donald Trump issued a statement on Monday, saying his Mar-a-Lago home had been “raided” and that authorities had even broken into a safe.

Read the full statement, released shortly before 7pm ET, below:

These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents. Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before. After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate. It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections. Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries. Sadly, America has now become one of those Countries, corrupt at a level not seen before. They even broke into my safe! What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States.

The political persecution of President Donald J. Trump has been going on for years, with the now fully debunked Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so much more, it just never ends. It is political targeting at the highest level!

Hillary Clinton was allowed to delete and acid wash 33,000 E-mails AFTER they were subpoenaed by Congress. Absolutely nothing has happened to hold her accountable. She even took antique furniture, and other items from the White House.

I stood up to America’s bureaucratic corruption, I restored power to the people, and truly delivered for our Country, like we have never seen before. The establishment hated it. Now, as they watch my endorsed candidates win big victories, and see my dominance in all polls, they are trying to stop me, and the Republican Party, once more. The lawlessness, political persecution, and Witch Hunt must be exposed and stopped.

I will continue to fight for the Great American People!”

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

I’m Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments.

It is 8.30pm in Florida where former US president Donald Trump has said FBI agents raided his estate on Monday and broke into his safe.

The reported raid comes amid a US justice department investigation of Trump’s removal of official presidential records to the Palm Beach, Florida, club.

What we know so far:

• Trump claimed FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday and broke into his safe, adding that his estate “is currently under siege, raided, and occupied.”
• The FBI executed a search warrant around 6pm ET which appears to have been related to an investigation into Trump unlawfully taking White House classified documents with him to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency, according to a source familiar with the matter.
• The search appeared to concern boxes of classified documents that Trump brought with him from the White House to the Florida club, the New York Times reported, citing two unnamed people familiar with the investigation.
• Trump said: “After working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate … They even broke into my safe!”
• Trump was not at the estate at the time of the raid and was in the New York area, according to CNN.
• Trump compared the FBI raid to “Watergate” and blamed it on “Radical Left Democrats” who he said “desperately don’t want me to run for president in 2024 … who will do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming midterms elections”.
• The US justice department launched an early-stage investigation into Trump’s removal of records to the Florida estate, a source familiar with the matter said in April.
• The investigation comes after the US national archives and records administration in February notified Congress that it had recovered about 15 boxes of White House documents from Trump’s Florida home, some of which contained classified materials.
• Trump initially delayed returning the 15 boxes of material requested by officials for many months, only doing so when there became a threat of action being taken to retrieve them.
• The US justice department and the FBI has declined to comment on the raid.