Trump search warrant: FBI took top secret documents from Mar-a-Lago

A seven-page document including the warrant was unsealed on Friday afternoon.

The Justice Department had asked a court to make it public on Thursday, a move considered rare amid an ongoing investigation.

As well as the top secret documents, the list includes three sets of “secret documents, and three sets of “confidential” documents.

The warrant indicates that FBI agents were looking into potential violations of the Espionage Act, which makes it illegal to keep or transmit potentially dangerous national security information.

The removal of classified documents or materials is prohibited by law – a crime for which Mr Trump increased the penalties while in office. It is now punishable for up to five years in prison.

The warrant notes that the locations searched at Mar-a-Lago include an area called the “45 office” and storage rooms, but not private guest suites being used by Mr Trump and his staff. It was approved by a judge on 5 August, three days before it was carried out on Monday, 8 August.

In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the items recovered were “all declassified” and securely stored.

He said he would have been willing to hand the items over before the search warrant was carried out.

“They could have had it anytime they wanted – and that includes long ago,” he said. “All they had to do was ask.”

Monday’s search marked the first time the property of a former president has been searched as part of a criminal investigation.

Mr Trump and many of his Republican allies have condemned the move as politically motivated.