The Warrant and Property Receipt have been unsealed. You can view them here and below.
The crimes being investigated, and covered by the scope of the warrant, were: “All physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime or other items illegally possessed in violation of 18 U.S.C. § § 793, 2071, or 1519.”
18 USC 793 — Gathering, transmitting or losing defencse information
18 USC 1519 — Destruction, alteration or falsification of records in Federal investigations
18 USC 2071 — Concealment, removal or mutilation
The affidavits supporting the warrant have not been unsealed, and it’s unclear whether Trump would have a copy.
The inventory does not give any indication what the records were, other than that some were marked as having high classifications, such as:
2A – Various classified/TS/SCI documents
lOA – Miscellaneous Secret Documents
11A – Miscellanous Top Secret Documents
14-A – Miscellaneous Confidential Documents
What also is clear is this was a wholesale rummaging through Trump’s office. They even seized a lot of boxes of documents that had no classification markings, including:
1 – Executive Grant of Clemency re: Roger Jason Stone, Jr.
2 – Leatherbound box of documents
5 – Binder of photos
6 – Binder of photos
7 – Handwritten note
8 – Box labeled A-1
9 – Box labeled A-12
10 – Box Labeled A-15
and over a dozen more boxes not involving classified information. This supports Andy McCarthy’s theory that the possession of classified documents was a pretext for a more wide-ranging sweep of Trump.
There is no indication in the listing that any of the documents concerned “nuclear weapons” as WaPo reported based on a leak.
“The premises to be searched, 1100 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, FL 33480, is further described as a resort, club, and residence located near the intersection of Southern Blvd and S Ocean Blvd. It is described as a mansion with approximately 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, on a 17-acre estate. The locations to be searched include the “45 Office,” all storage rooms, and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available to be used by FPOTUS and his staff and in which boxes or documents could be stored, including all structures or buildings on the estate. It does not include areas currently (i.e., at the time of the search) being occupied, rented, or used by third parties (such as Mar-a-Largo Members) and not otherwise used or available to be used by FPOTUS and his staff, such as private guest suites.”
All physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 793, 2071 , or 1519, including the following:a. Any physical documents with classification markings, along with any containers/boxes (including any other contents) in which such documents are located, as well as any other containers/boxes that are collectively stored or found together with the aforementioned documents and containers/boxes;b. Information, including communications in any form, regarding the retrieval, storage, or transmission of national defense information or classified material;c. Any government and/or Presidential Records created between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021; ord. Any evidence of the knowing alteration, destruction, or concealment of any government and/or Presidential Records, or of any documents with classification markings.
The government filed notice that Donald Trump has no objection to its motion to unseal the search warrant and list of evidence removed from Mar-a-Lago:
In accordance with the Court’s order directing the government to confer with counsel for former President Trump (Docket Entry 19) and consistent with Local Rule 88.9(a), the United States files this notice. Counsel for former President Trump—M. Evan Corcoran, Esq., and James Trusty, Esq.—have informed the government that the former President does not object to the government’s Motion to Unseal Limited Warrant Materials (Docket Entry 18), which asked this Court to unseal the documents in Docket Entry 17. Accordingly, the United States requests that the Court grant its Motion (Docket Entry 18) and unseal Docket Entry 17.
We are awaiting the court unsealing the documents on the docket.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that it already has seen the documents:
FBI agents who searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home Monday removed 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked as top secret and meant to be only available in special government facilities, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.The Federal Bureau of Investigation agents took around 20 boxes of items, binders of photos, a handwritten note and the executive grant of clemency for Mr. Trump’s ally Roger Stone, a list of items removed from the property shows. Also included in the list was information about the “President of France,” according to the three-page list. The list is contained in a seven-page document that also includes the warrant to search the premises which was granted by a federal magistrate judge in Florida….The list includes references to one set of documents marked as “Various classified/TS/SCI documents,” an abbreviation that refers to top-secret/sensitive compartmented information. It also says agents collected four sets of top secret documents, three sets of secret documents, and three sets of confidential documents. The list didn’t provide any more details about the substance of the documents.Mr. Trump’s lawyers argue that the former president used his authority to declassify the material before he left office. While a president has the power to declassify documents, there are federal regulations that lay out a process for doing so.
The NY Times also obtained the warrant and inventory prior to it’s release on the court’s website:
A list of documents removed from former President Donald J. Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, includes materials marked as top secret and meant to be viewed only in secure government facilities, according to a copy of the warrant reviewed by The New York Times.Federal agents who executed the warrant did so to investigate potential crimes associated with violations of the Espionage Act, which outlaws the unauthorized retention of national security information that could harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary; a federal law that makes it a crime to destroy or conceal a document to obstruct a government investigation; and another statute associated with unlawful removal of government materials.
It’s disputed by Trump that he needed to follow statutory procedures for declassification, and that he has inherent power not subject to congressional limits when it comes to declassifying documents within the executive branch.
Trump also posted on Truth Social that he had engaged in such a classification, and that there was no attempt to prevent the feds from taking what they wanted, so the raid was unnecessary.
Number one, it was all declassified. Number two, they didn’t need to “seize” anything. They could have had it anytime they wanted without playing politics and breaking into Mar-a-Lago. It was in secured storage, with an additional lock put on as per their request……They could have had it anytime they wanted—and that includes LONG ago. ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS ASK. The bigger problem is, what are they going to do with the 33 million pages of documents, many of which are classified, that President Obama took to Chicago?
We will update this post when the Court posts the warrant.
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