In the US, Federal investigators have seized documents from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida as part of a raid on Monday morning, amid an intense criminal investigation overseen by the US justice department into his affairs.
The move was part of an ongoing investigation examining the former president’s potentially unlawful removal and destruction of classified White House records, and the potential destruction of other materials.
Commentators in the US say that this advanced step taken by the federal bureau appears to indicate potential legal jeopardy for Trump.
Punitive punishments could beckon for any proven wilful and unlawful removal or destruction of presidential records.
The penalties for which include fines, imprisonment AND much more importantly, disqualification from holding current or future office, with Trump expected to win the Republican nod to run again for the governor-in-chief in 2024.
Trump issued a bitter statement on Monday evening: “My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents” adding: “They even broke into my safe!”
A furious Trump compared the raid to “Watergate” blaming as he would “Radical Left Democrats” who in his eyes are motivated negatively as they… “desperately don’t want me to run for president in 2024 … who will do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming midterms elections”.
The records were eventually returned after negotiations with Trump’s lawyers – only for officials to then discover that the former president had taken with him some documents clearly marked as classified and sensitive for national security.
