A revelation that could seriously harm Donald Trump.
According to documents released by the US Department of Justice, the US Federal Police (the FBI) seized documents classified as defense secrets during their search of Donald Trump's Florida home.
By taking these documents with him when leaving the White House, the former Republican president could have been guilty of an offense: the illegal possession of classified documents is a violation of an American law on espionage.
Several court documents were released Friday by a Florida judge: the warrant authorizing the search, before it was conducted, and a long inventory of the items seized Monday by FBI agents.
In this list is mentioned a set of documents concerning the "president of France", without further details.
The operation, carried out in Donald Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, provoked the fury of his supporters who castigated a "political persecution", as well as many Republican tenors.
Thursday, August 11, the Minister of Justice Merrick Garland had, in an exceptional speech, asked that a judge make public this warrant authorizing the search so that his reasons are known to all.
This request, very unusual, had been favorably received by Donald Trump.
"Not only will I not oppose the publication of the documents (...) but I will go further by ENCOURAGING their immediate publication", wrote Thursday evening the billionaire, who had nevertheless refrained from making the copy public. of the mandate he had received.
The ex-president assured in a press release on Friday that the documents recovered by the police had all been declassified.
“The ministry does not take this kind of decision lightly”
Thursday, during his brief televised address, Merrick Garland assured to have "personally approved" this search.
"The ministry does not take this kind of decision lightly," said the Minister of Justice, adding that the case was of "important public interest", three months before the mid-term legislative elections.
US Presidents are required by law to submit all of their emails, letters and other working documents to the US National Archives.
However, Donald Trump had taken, when he left the White House in January 2021, fifteen boxes of documents, which agents from the Archives had to recover in January, already at Mar-a-Lago.
Monday's search was the first ever to target a former US president.
Outraged, Donald Trump told the Truth Social network on Monday that his lawyers were cooperating "fully" with the authorities when "suddenly and without warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided, at 6:30 a.m., by a VERY large number of officers".
He complained in particular about the fact that FBI agents "searched the closets of the First Lady", Melania Trump.
On Wednesday, he also suggested that the federal police may have "placed" false evidence against him during this operation.
Gunman killed trying to break into FBI offices
Republican sympathizers, though known for their support for law enforcement, castigated the intervention of the FBI, so much so that an association of agents denounced calls "unacceptable (...) to violence against the police".
The Minister of Justice also reported "unfounded attacks" against his ministry and federal police officers.
On Thursday, a gunman who tried to enter FBI offices in Ohio (northern United States) was killed by law enforcement after a long confrontation.
The ex-real estate magnate, at the heart of the judicial news in the United States, was also subjected on Wednesday to a hearing under oath before the Attorney General of New York, who is investigating in civil on suspicion of fraud. fiscal financial affairs within the Trump Organization family group.
He then repeatedly invoked his right not to answer questions under the 5th Amendment of the Constitution.
With AFP
The summary of the
France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_EN