China News Agency, Washington, August 11 (Reporter Chen Mengtong) US Attorney General Garland said in Washington on the 11th that he personally authorized a federal judge to apply for a search warrant against former President Trump's private residence Mar-a-Lago.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an application with the court to release the details of the search warrant and property receipt.
This is the first time the U.S. Department of Justice has spoken out publicly about the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.
On the 8th, former US President Trump issued a statement saying that Mar-a-Lago was surrounded, searched and occupied by a large number of FBI personnel, and one of his safes was forcibly opened.
Garland spoke about the matter for about five minutes at the Justice Department that day, but did not answer reporters' questions.
He said the reason for applying for a search warrant was that "there is a significant public interest in this matter".
According to the practice of the US judiciary, the outside world is still unable to know the specific content and search details of this investigation.
The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the matter, said the investigation focused on whether Trump or his aides took classified documents or other official materials that were supposed to be returned to the government.
Following the incident, the Justice Department and the FBI came under fire from congressional Republicans who questioned the political motives of the Justice Department's investigation.
In his speech on the 11th, Garland supported the FBI's law enforcement work.
"Upholding the rule of law means applying the rule of law equally, without fear and favoritism," Garland said. "That's exactly what the Department of Justice is doing."
Trump was in New York when the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago.
Garland revealed that Trump's lawyer was at the scene and FBI agents provided him with a search warrant and receipts for the searched property.
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