US: US federal agents this week searched former President Donald Trump's Florida home in search of documents related to nuclear weapons.

The Post reported that it was unclear whether such documents were found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. The report was not immediately confirmed by Reuters.

After Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago was political vendetta, the US Justice Department asked a judge on Thursday to make public the warrant authorizing the search.

The request means more information about what investigators were seeking during the unprecedented search of the former president's home may soon be made available to the public.

The Justice Department believes that some of the documents Trump removed from the White House in January 2021 are classified, so the move was part of an investigation into whether he did so illegally.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, the choice of Democratic President Joe Biden, the nation's top law enforcement official, announced in a press conference that he had personally approved the search. Additionally, the Justice Department wants to issue an amended receipt for the items it confiscated.

"It's not a choice the department makes casually. According to Garland, whenever possible, it's common to look for less invasive methods as an alternative to searches and to focus on any search.

It was extremely unusual for him to publicly confirm the discovery. To protect people's rights, US law enforcement officials usually do not discuss ongoing investigations. In such a situation, on Monday evening, Trump himself announced a search.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the FBI removed about 10 boxes from Trump's property during the search.
Trump was not in Florida when the search was being conducted. He demanded immediate release of records related to the raids late on Thursday.

“Not only will I not oppose the release of documents related to the un-American, unjust and unnecessary raids and sabotage of my home in Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago, but I am going one step further. Immediate release, even if they are created by radical Left Democrats and potential future political rivals who have a strong and powerful vested interest in attacking me, as they have done over the past six years. The release of the warrant was unknown.

Trump's lawyers must notify the government by 3 p.m. Friday. ET (1900 GMT) if they would object to the warrant being made public. US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, hearing the case, examined the warrant to ensure that the Justice Department had sufficient justification for a search.

The Justice Department has asked the judge to seal the warrant, but has not requested that the sworn statement supporting the warrant, which may contain classified information, be done the same.

John Rowley and Evan Corcoran, two of Trump's lawyers, did not respond when asked for comment.
Earlier, Trump said on his Truth Social app that "a very good relationship had been established, and my lawyers and representatives were cooperating." If we had, the government could have got what it wanted.

In one of several federal and state investigations into Trump from his time in office and business, the unprecedented finding signaled a significant escalation. A separate investigation by the Justice Department involved a failed attempt by Trump aides to submit fake slates of voters to rig the 2020 presidential election.

The National Archives referred the matter to the department earlier this year, starting an investigation into the removal of Trump's records.

Former archivist David Ferriero claimed in the past that Trump gave the government 15 boxes back in January 2022. Some of the items were later found to be "marked as national security information," according to the archives.

A person with knowledge of the trip claims that FBI agents visited Trump's property a few months before the search and looked for some boxes in a locked storage room.

The source claimed that agents and Corcoran reviewed the material throughout the day. According to a second source who has been made aware of the situation, the Justice Department also has Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage.

Garland's Justice Department has come under severe criticism and online threats since Monday's search. Trump's supporters in Washington and some of his fellow Republicans claim that Democrats are using the federal government as a weapon against the former president.

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