According to the FBI, Donald Trump hid documents at Mar-a-Lago to slow down the investigation against him

Documents seized from former US President Donald Trump’s residence in Florida were “likely hidden” to obstruct the investigation against him, says a Justice Department document released overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. This procedural document explains in the most detailed manner to date the reasons which led the American federal police (FBI) to search the residence of the former president on August 8 to recover extremely confidential documents that he did not had not returned after leaving the White House, despite multiple requests.

Prior to the operation, the FBI uncovered “multiple sources of evidence” showing that “classified documents” were still in Donald Trump’s sprawling Mar-a-Lago residence, the document says. “The government also had evidence that government documents were likely hidden and taken away…and that actions were likely taken to obstruct its investigation,” it added.

The Justice Department included a photo on the back page that shows documents seized by federal police marked “Top Secret” strewn across a floral-patterned carpet. He also says he explained the process that led to the raid, in order to “correct the incomplete and inaccurate account presented in the statements” of the former president.

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Information provided by undercover agents

The department’s statement responds to a request made last week by Donald Trump, who feels he is being persecuted by the government, to have an independent third party review documents seized from his home by the FBI. However, naming this third party could block the access of investigators to the documents, and justice should not do so “because these documents (seized) do not belong” to Donald Trump, underlines the document. Such a measure “is not necessary and would seriously harm government interests, including in terms of national security”, it is underlined.

According to the Justice Department, some of the documents seized on August 8 bore the sign “HCS,” which in US intelligence community parlance refers to information provided by “human sources,” informants and other undercover agents. Investigators suspect the Republican of having violated an American law on espionage which very strictly regulates the possession of confidential documents.

Donald Trump assures him that these documents have been declassified. Flirting with the idea of ​​a candidacy for the presidential election of 2024, he denounces a “witch hunt” led against him by the administration of his successor Joe Biden, and believes that justice should “never have authorized this breaking and entering” at his home.

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