Donald Trump has said that the FBI "raided" his Florida estate, complaining that the search constituted an "assault".
The former US President likened the "unannounced raid" to "prosecutorial misconduct" in a statement on Monday evening.
"These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents," Trump said, per NBC News. "After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate.
"They even broke into my safe," Trump said.
The 76-year-old added: "Nothing like this has ever happened to a president of the United States before."
Trump was not present while the raid took place, a source told CNN, and was instead at Trump Tower in New York.
The extraordinary search was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday, August 8. It has since been reported that the warrant was executed in relation to an investigation into Trump's handling of presidential documents.
The former POTUS is alleged to have removed classified documents from the White House that should have been returned to the National Archives once his presidency ended.
Trump's son, Eric, would later tell Fox News' Sean Hannity: "The purpose of the raid, from what they said, was because the National Archives wanted to, you know, corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession."
It is a federal offense to wrongfully remove classified documents, per a CNN senior legal analyst.
In response to the raid, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem slammed the FBI's "un-American" actions, tweeting: "The FBI raid on President Trump’s home is an unprecedented political weaponization of the Justice Department.
"They’ve been after President Trump as a candidate, as President, and now as a former President. Using the criminal justice system in this manner is un-American."
Additionally, in an opinion piece for Fox News, Former White House Political Director Matt Schlapp said: "President Biden’s politicized FBI just raided President Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago. This nation is becoming unrecognizable. Biden has successfully transformed America into a third-world country."
Christina Bobb, Trump's lawyer, was present during Monday's raid. She stated that Trump and his team cooperated with the authorities, and that the FBI "did conduct an unannounced raid and seized paper," NBC News reported.
Back in February, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) stated that Trump had to return 15 boxes of documents earlier this year after they were wrongfully removed from the White House.
Trump is currently the focus of multiple investigations, including the federal investigation into his involvement in the January 6 Capitol riots in 2021. The infamous insurrection resulted in Trump's second impeachment and is the subject of an ongoing House committee examination.
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