Trump moving to retrieve materials seized by FBI in Mar-a-Lago search

President Donald Trump is in the process of recovering materials taken during the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

This includes classified documents, according to two sources familiar with the matter, cited by CNN, per Caliber.Az.

The search, which took place in August 2022, led to the seizure of a variety of items, including over 100 classified documents. Court records show that these documents were mixed in with other materials such as clothes, gifts, unclassified documents, and press clippings.

One box contained documents marked with confidential, secret, and top-secret classification labels, along with “99 magazines/newspapers/press articles,” according to an inventory filed in federal court last month.

Other boxes detailed in the inventory included classified documents stored alongside press clippings, articles of clothing, and gifts. Additionally, the FBI recovered dozens of empty folders, some marked with “classified” banners, which were noted in the inventory. There were more than 48 such empty folders, as well as 42 marked to be returned to the staff secretary or a military aide, according to the Department of Justice.

These folders, which are typically used to obscure the contents and are often reused, can sometimes contain a tracking number, although this is rare, according to multiple sources familiar with White House procedures for handling classified material.

While Trump had previously faced accusations of unlawfully retaining sensitive materials after leaving office, his return to the White House would once again grant him broad authority over the control of U.S. government classified material.

In addition to classified documents, the FBI seized personal items such as golf shirts, birthday cards, and pictures of singer Celine Dion. Since Trump’s criminal case is now closed, the Justice Department is working on returning the seized items. Prosecutors and FBI agents have been instructed by the DOJ to return the materials that were seized during the investigation.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case related to classified documents in July, ruling that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional.

By Tamilla Hasanova