During searches of Mr Trump’s private home and office in Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found 11 sets of classified documents. Some of the documents were marked as top secret, with some of them intended only for viewing at a secure government facility. Trump claimed the documents were declassified. The author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald told an MSNBC panel discussion that the former president’s “secret power” was “messaging” and that he seized on that in the time between the FBI’s investigation into Mar-a- Lago and the official statement of the Ministry of Justice about it. “Then there was this loophole around how to interpret the FBI investigation, and he blew it, calling it a raid and saying that the United States had a broken legal system, just like third world countries and this was a political coup,” Mr. O.” Brian explained. “This was all embraced by Fox News and the regulators in the GOP. And they had about two new cycles worth of momentum from it. By the time Merrick Garland belatedly gave guidance to the American public about the intentions of the Department of Justice here, I think the wheel had turned,” he added. Mr O’Brien said it was possible the former president found some financial incentive in those documents. “Donald Trump’s business is under tremendous stress,” he said, explaining that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into his real estate dealings “could put him out of business.” “He owes a lot of debt. His son-in-law and the former finance minister made him money because of his ties to the Saudis,” Mr O’Brien added. “I think he saw people in his administration making money off their services. I think we can’t get beyond anyone that Trump saw some of these documents as ways to make money,” he said. “I think the third strong basket here is damage control for his own reputation, actions that you might have taken before your eyes while he was president.” On Monday, Trump told Fox News that Americans are “not going to stand for another fraud” as the unsealed search warrant revealed he is being investigated for obstruction of justice and possible violations of the Espionage Act, among other offenses.
