The US Department of Justice has released the highly anticipated affidavit that underpinned this month’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida home, confirming that the United States is investigating the alleged mishandling of classified documents by the former president.
The redacted document released on Friday provided more insight into the evidence that led the FBI to carry out an unprecedented search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8.
Its release came after a federal judge on Thursday ordered the Department of Justice to release a redacted version that had been submitted to the court.
“The government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records,” read the 38-page affidavit, substantial portions of which were blacked out.
The document stated that the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had received 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s office in January. “The FBI’s investigation has established that documents bearing classification markings, which appear to contain National Defense Information (NDI), were among the materials,” it read.
