FBI sought nuclear weapons papers in raid on Trump

Merrick Garland confirms he is seeking for the search warrant on the ex-president to be unsealed so the details can be made public.

Attorney-General Merrick Garland confirms he has asked for the search warrant to be unsealed. Picture: AFP.

Classified papers relating to nuclear weapons were reportedly among the documents sought by the FBI in its raid this week on former president Donald Trump’s residence in Florida.

US Attorney-General Merrick Garland said overnight on Thursday he had “personally approved” the raid on Mr Trump’s Palm Beach estate and, in a highly unusual move, was requesting to be made public the warrant justifying the search and the inventory of what the FBI agents found.

Mr Garland did not reveal the reason for the unprecedented search of the home of a former US president, and condemned “unfounded attacks” on the FBI and the Justice Department that followed it. “I personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant,” he said in his first public statement since Monday’s raid. “The department does not take such a decision lightly.”

While noting that “ethical obligations” prevented him detailing the basis of the raid, Mr Garland said he had asked a Florida judge to unseal the warrant because Mr Trump had publicly confirmed the search and there is “substantial public interest in this matter”.

Mr Trump, who has a copy of the search warrant but has — so far — declined to reveal its contents, said late on Thursday night he would not oppose the unsealing of the warrant. “Not only will I not oppose the release of documents... I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents,” he wrote on Truth Social, the social media site he launched this year.

Some analysts suggested Mr Garland was effectively daring him to block the motion, given that Mr Trump has insisted the raid was baseless and politically motivated.

Andrew Weissmann, a former Justice Department official, said Mr Garland had “called Trump’s bluff” by putting the onus on the former president to object or consent to release of the document.

The Justice Department motion to unseal the warrant noted – and did not dispute – statements by Mr Trump’s representatives that the FBI was seeking presidential records and potential classified material.

The search related to potential mishandling of classified documents taken to the Mar-a-Lago estate after Mr Trump left the White House in January 2021.

The Washington Post cited anonymous sources close to the investigation as saying classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the papers sought by the FBI agents during the raid. The newspaper did not clarify if the nuclear weapons involved belonged to the US or to another country.

The FBI raid on Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence sparked a political firestorm, and comes as he is weighing another White House run in 2024.

Mr Trump said his lawyers had been “co-operating fully” and “the government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it”.

“And then, out of nowhere and with no warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided at 6.30 in the morning,” he said, adding agents even “went through the first lady’s closets and rummaged through her clothing and personal items”.

Leading Republicans from former vice-president Mike Pence down have rallied around Mr Trump, and some members of his party have harshly denounced the Justice Department and FBI, accusing them of partisanship in targeting the former president.

Mr Garland criticised what he called “unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors”.

The Justice Department typically does not confirm or deny whether it is investigating someone, and Mr Garland – a judge who has a reputation as a stickler for protocol — took pains to emphasise the law was being applied fairly. “Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy,” he said. “The rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favour.”

Since leaving office, Mr Trump has remained the country’s most divisive figure and a force in the Republican Party, continuing to sow falsehoods that he actually won the 2020 vote.

On Wednesday, the 76-year-old was questioned for four hours by New York Attorney-General Letitia James, who is investigating the Trump Organisation for fraud.

Mr Trump is also facing legal scrutiny for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and over the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.

The former president was impeached for a historic second time by the House of Represenativse after the Capitol riot – he was charged with inciting an insurrection – but was acquitted by a trial in the Senate.

AFP