Former US President Donald Trump waves to photographers camped outside Trump Tower as he leaves to meet with New York Attorney General Letitia James for a civil investigation on August 10, 2022 in New York City.
Former US President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower to meet with New York Attorney General Letitia James for a civil investigation on August 10, 2022 in New York City.James Devaney/GC Images
  • The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago on Monday and found 11 boxes of documents.

  • The Justice Department was told in June that there were no classified materials on the property, according to The New York Times.

  • What led to the search of Mar-a-Lago is provided in the report.

The FBI searched Mar-a-Lago on Monday after Donald Trump's lawyer told the Justice Department that all classified materials had been returned.

Four people familiar with the document were cited by The New York Times. The counterintelligence official who visited Mar-a-Lago on June 3 gave the statement to the justice department.

The FBI recovered 11 boxes of classified records from Mar-a-Lago during it's Monday search, some of which were labeled "top secret" and intended to be stored in special government facilities. Trump denied wrongdoing and claimed that he declassified all the documents.

The June statement signed by Trump's lawyer could cast doubt on Trump's claims that he and his legal team were fully cooperating with the Justice Department investigation prior to the raid.

The attorney general made the search warrant public after being accused of being politically motivated. The Justice Department was looking into possible violations of three laws related to the handling of government documents, including the Espionage Act.

Republican lawmakers are still asking for more information on what led to the raid. The events that led to the Justice Department taking such a drastic step have been reported by the Times.

Trump's office didn't reply immediately.

The lawyer's June statement was dismissed by the spokesman.

He told the Times that the water of the raid is being carried by a media willing to run with suggestive leaks, anonymous sources and no hard facts.

Business Insider has an article on it.