Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago raid: Why former US President’s house was searched

Donald Trump‘s Florida residence Mar-a-Lago was searched by FBI officials on Monday. While Trump described it as an “unannounced raid” and “prosecutorial misconduct”, the FBI has not officially released a statement. The White House also said there was no prior information about the search.

Media reports suggest, citing unnamed officials, have claimed that the raid was in connection with an ongoing investigation, which is focused on allegations that Trump took critical White House documents.

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Frank Figluizzi, the former Assistant Director of the FBI, spoke to MSNBC on Monday and discussed the raid. Figluizzi said the search is likely to be connected with one of two things: The National Archives investigation on the January 6 committee’s Congressional probe.

The National Archives, earlier this year, said that Trump had not submitted all presidential documents after the end of his term. This started a month-long tussle between the former President and the National Archives. The case was then referred to the Justice Department.

Donald Trump also ran into documentation trouble with the House Select Committee this year. After US courts ordered the former President to hand over his documents, the January 6 committee received documents that had been torn up and taped back together.

Trump and his allies sought to cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system and a Democratic-driven effort to keep him from winning another term in 2024 — even though the Biden White House said it had no prior knowledge of it.

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Christopher Wray, the current FBI director, was appointed by Trump five years ago and served as a high-ranking official in a Republican-led Justice Department.

“After working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Donald Trump said in his statement on Monday evening.