Federal agents seized only one set of “top secret/SCI” documents, according to the search warrant affidavit. The agents took four sets of “top secret” documents, three sets of “classified” documents and three sets of “confidential” documents. The warrant affidavit did not contain details about those classified documents. In all, the unsealed warrant shows the FBI collected more than 20 boxes, as well as photo binders, sets of classified government material and at least one handwritten note. The warrant, which was unsealed and made public by order of a federal judge on Friday, was obtained by CNN ahead of its release. The moment marks an unprecedented week that began with the investigation — an evidence-gathering step in a national security investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. Among the items taken from Trump’s resort was a document related to the pardon of Roger Stone, a staunch Trump ally who was convicted in 2019 of lying to Congress during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. (Trump he pardoned Stone before leaving, sparing Stone a three-year sentence.) It is unclear how the Stone-related document seized during the investigation is connected to the broader criminal investigation into Trump’s possible mishandling of classified material. During the investigation, FBI agents also discovered material about the “President of France,” according to the warrant affidavit. The FBI’s search of the Palm Beach, Fla., resort on Monday followed days of silence from the Justice Department, as is the department’s standard practice for ongoing investigations. Then on Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the department had moved to unseal the search warrant and two attachments, including an inventory list, but also stressed that some of the department’s work must be done out of public view. “We are doing this to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations,” Garland said, explaining that he would not elaborate on the basis of the investigation. Trump said late Thursday on his Truth Social platform that he “will not object to the release of documents,” adding, “I am going one step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of these documents.” The court had ordered the Justice Department to confer with Trump about his request to unseal warrant documents from the FBI investigation and brief the court by 3 p.m. ET on Friday if he objects to their release. Trump’s team had been in touch with outside lawyers about how to proceed, and the former President’s trajectory was stalled by Garland’s announcement. In two posts on Truth Social after Garland’s statement, Trump continued to claim that his lawyers were “fully cooperating” and had developed a “very good relationship” with federal investigators before Monday’s Mar-a-Lago search. “The government could have anything they wanted if we had it,” Trump said. “Everything was fine, better than most previous Presidents, and then, out of nowhere and without warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided, at 6:30 in the morning, by a VERY large number of agents, even “insurance guys. “” This story and title have been updated with additional developments.
