Former President Donald Trump is back at his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago residence and is lamenting it had been “ransacked” by the FBI and would “never be the same” after the August seizure of documents.
Dozens of Trump supporters lined a nearby bridge, cheering and waving flags as his limousine crossed the bridge.
The former president wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had “a long and detailed chance” to look around the property. “Arrived in Florida last night and had a long and detailed chance to check out the scene of yet another government “crime,” the FBI’s Raid and Break-In of my home, Mar-a-Lago,” Trump wrote. “I guess they don’t think there is a Fourth Amendment anymore, and to them, there isn’t. In any event, after what they have done, the place will never be the same. It was ‘ransacked’ and in far different condition than the way I left it. Many Agents — And they didn’t even take off their shoes in my bedroom. Nice!!!”
A federal judge recently released an inventory of the haul of items taken by the FBI in its August raid. Trump insisted that he had declassified the documents before lawfully bringing them to his home. His legal team is working to block the Department of Justice from reviewing the documents.
Already, Trump’s lawyers have successfully argued for the appointment of a ‘special master’ to investigate the documents and review them for any signs of possible executive privilege.
According to a report by Business Insider, it’s not the first time Trump has expressed anger at the FBI’s raid and search of his personal items. He said investigators left former first lady Melania Trump’s closet a “mess” after the search and claimed that investigators even searched son Barron’s room.
Trump maintains raid was politically motivated
Trump maintains the raid was politically motivated and blasted both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for conducting it, at one point contending evidence may have been planted by the FBI, according to a report by The Hill.
Before returning to Mar-a-Lago, Trump announced his return, writing on Truth Social, “I’ll soon be heading to the scene of the unwarranted, unjust, and illegal Raid and Break-In of my home in Florida, Mar-a-Lago. I’ll be able to see for myself the results of the unnecessary ransacking of rooms and other areas of the house. It has already been proven that so much has been wrongfully taken; it is not a “pretty thing. So sad! The 4th Amendment, and much more, has been totally violated, a grave invasion of privacy.”
The Fourth Amendment protects Americans against unlawful seizure and search, but not against searches conducted in response to a lawfully acquired search warrant. The search was conducted after the DOJ claims it learned that members of Trump’s team falsely certified they had returned all classified documents.
Former President Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago after spending the majority of the past five weeks at his properties in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.
