Trump accuses FBI of staging photos of scattered docs during raid
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Former US President Donald Trump accuses the FBI of throwing documents "haphazardly all over the floor" and complains that they took pictures of them for the public.
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Pages from a Department of Justice court filing on August 30, 2022 (Photo: AP)
Former US President Donald Trump accused the FBI on Wednesday of staging a scene during the raid of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, claiming that they scattered documents on the floor and took pictures of them for the public.
"Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
The FBI recovered 11 sets of classified documents among roughly two dozen boxes it seized as part of its investigation into potential criminal violations by the former president, according to the inventory from the raid.
Read: Trump mixed top secret docs with magazines, other items: FBI
Following the raid, A New York Times report said a Trump lawyer made a written statement in June that the former US President had returned all classified documents to the US government.
Trump said FBI agents were "planting" evidence at his residence and filed a federal lawsuit seeking the appointment of a neutral third party to review material seized by the FBI.
Trump aims to initiate this bid to stop the federal agency from delving into the material seized from him until a special court official can be appointed to review the documents in question.
The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida released last Friday a redacted affidavit and related explanatory files associated with the FBI’s raid.
The affidavit claims that an FBI investigation established there was probable reason to believe that more sensitive records may have been improperly kept at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, prompting the raid.
Two days ago, the FBI concluded an initial review of the documents seized in the raid, according to a court filing on Monday.
The court filing also revealed that the FBI set aside documents potentially covered by attorney-client privilege, which Trump had been claiming was violated.
The raid led to Trump facing a criminal investigation over potential violations of the Espionage Act and additional statutes relating to obstruction of justice, as well as the destruction of federal government records, according to the search warrant executed by FBI agents at the former President's home.
The violation of the Espionage Act has a possible punishment of 10 years in federal prison, the statute for obstruction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, and the statute for the destruction of records carries a potential lifetime ban on holding public office.
The whole debacle with the Department of Justice deals a Trump mighty legal blow, which constitutes his latest, as he fights numerous other cases, including the January 6 Capitol riots, which could obstruct his path to a new presidency at the White House in 2024.
For his part, Trump claimed the raid was a continuation of the Democrats’ political ploy against him to prevent his candidacy for president in 2024. According to analysts, the FBI's raid on his home has only strengthened his positioning in the next presidential election in 2024 in case federal law enforcement authorities fail to convict him on felony charges.
