Donald Trump claims that the FBI planted evidence in the search of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
After the Justice Department demanded that a federal judge restore access to hundreds of classified documents the FBI retrieved in its recent search of his Palm Beach residence, the former US president repeated the claim on his Truth Social network.
An official had reviewed the documents and the judge had stopped access to them.
—Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 8, 2022
"They leak, lie, plant fake evidence, allow the espionage on my campaign, deceive the FISA Court, and then they ask me, as the 45th President of the United States, to trust them," wrote Trump.
He claimed that the FBI had plotted to ruin him over his ties to Russia while he was president.
He praised Cannon, whom he appointed, as "brilliant and brave".
Trump has claimed that the FBI planted evidence in the immediate aftermath of the raid, but has not said what they planted or offered evidence to back up his claim.
He has accused the FBI of being part of a political plot against him at a rally.
In response to a recent picture released by the DOJ taken during the raid, showing piles of folders with classified markings in Mar-a-Lago, Trump said the photo had been set up to make him look bad.
False claims of law enforcement misdeeds can attract penalties, but the 45th president's defences are different. Many of the documents taken by the FBI are protected under privilege rules and his lawyers argued for an independent official to review them.
There is no evidence that many of the documents were declassified by Trump before he left office.
If Abbott doesn't grant it access to the classified documents by September 15, the DOJ will file an appeal.