Former President Donald Trump said Monday that FBI agents raided his home. on palm beach, Florida, called Mar-A-Lago.
The Justice Department declined to comment, and Trump himself, in a statement, did not say why the agents were there.
What exactly happened on Monday? And because?
The last:
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Law enforcement officers searched Trump’s home in Florida on Monday.
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Two people familiar with the search told USA TODAY the action was related to Trump allegedly moving documents from the White House to his Mar-A-Lago estate when his term ended.
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Trump also claimed agents searched his safe, but gave no further details. “They even broke into my safe,” he said in his statement.
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The FBI notified the Secret Service ahead of the police action, allowing federal investigators access to the former president’s property, according to a person familiar with the matter.
What is going to happen
It remains to be seen what documents or other items might have been removed from the property or how those items might relate to an investigation.
Trump, along with many of his key allies, is under investigation for a range of issues, from the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill to the Trump family’s business dealings; It is not yet known how Monday’s action by law enforcement could affect any of those investigations.
See for yourself: FBI Searches Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago House in Florida
The best takeaways
what they are saying
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In a statement, Trump criticized the search. “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 you.” to a President of the United States before”.
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“It’s hugely significant, but also, I think, predictable to some degree, right, because it’s currently the subject of a number of criminal investigations,” former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told USA TODAY.
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“The idea that the FBI or any other law enforcement agency is raiding the home of a former president is staggering, period, and unprecedented. Even for Trump,” historian Matthew Dallek told USA TODAY.
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why does it matter
A police action at the home of a former US president has little, if any, precedent in American politics. The news shocked the political world on Monday, with Trump allies appearing in the conservative media to criticize the move and Trump opponents highlighting the potential danger to the nation’s 45th president.
You want to know more? this is what you missed
Read the full breaking news here: Former President Donald Trump says federal agents raided Mar-A-Lago, his Florida home
Previously: Justice Department plans to investigate handling of White House records sent to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort
The attorney general speaks: Garland promises to press charges against “anyone” criminally responsible for January 6 when pressed on Trump
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mar-A-Lago Raid: What Happened, Who Did It and Why