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Amid the latest discovery in Florida of additional classified documents in former President Donald Trump's possession, Trump said, "Everything should be returned, at once!"
On Friday, Trump made a post on his Truth Social platform calling the "taking of documents" by FBI agents "ILLEGAL."
"Under the Presidential Records Act and the very well established Clinton Socks Case, the raid of Mar-a-Lago by the FBI, and the taking of documents and many other items, was ILLEGAL," Trump said. "Everything should be returned, at once!"
Two days earlier, the Washington Post reported that an outside team hired by the former president found additional records outside his Mar-a-Lago home—which was raided for documents by the FBI in August—at a storage unit connected to Trump. The items were immediately turned over to the agency upon their discovery.
Tensions between the two sides have heightened in recent months, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) repeatedly seeking a sworn assurance from Trump's team that all records be returned and Trump's team unwilling to provide or sign such a statement.
In June, Trump's lawyers said a diligent search had been conducted. Yet evidence in the FBI's possession suggested there were still sensitive records in Trump's possession—a speculation that was later confirmed by August's court-authorized search. The government has reportedly recovered over 300 sensitive records from Trump since he left the White House.
In response to this week's reports of additional documents being found, Trump's team said he and "his counsel continue to be cooperative and transparent, despite the unprecedented, illegal and unwarranted attack against President Trump and his family by the weaponized Department of Justice."
The DOJ declined Newsweek's request for comment.
The search of the storage facility in Palm Beach, Florida, is part of a larger search that Trump's outside team is conducting. It also has searched the former president's Bedminster golf club in New Jersey as well as his home and office at the Trump Tower in Manhattan. So far, no other classified documents have been found at the other locations.
New reports say that the DOJ is asking a federal judge to hold Trump's office in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena issued in May that required all classified documents to be returned. A hearing on the matter is set for Friday.
If DC District Chief Judge Beryl Howell agrees to hold Trump in contempt, the former president could face daily fines until the demands of the subpoena are met. The cost of those fines will be left to Howell.
Update 12/9/22, 3:42 p.m. ET: This story was updated with refusal to comment from the DOJ.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more