US Justice Dept.: Trump papers included material on intelligence, sources

The US Department of Justice has released the court papers that justified the unprecedented FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida.

The Department of Justice on Friday said it was investigating Trump for removing White House records because it believed he had illegally retained documents.

It said the documents included some government intelligence-gathering and human intelligence sources.

The heavily redacted affidavit contained some new details though it did not unveil any major revelations.

The unsealed affidavit Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate concluded that probable cause existed to believe that evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed would be found on the premises.

The affidavit laid out the basis for a judge authorizing the FBI search of Trump's estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, earlier this month.

The FBI in the affidavit used to justify the August 8 raid of Mar-a-Lago.

The agency said it was conducting a criminal investigation into "improper removal and storage of classified information" and "unlawful concealment of government records."

According to the document released on Friday, an unidentified FBI agent said the FBI had reviewed and identified 184 documents "bearing classification markings" containing "national defense information," after Trump in January returned 15 boxes of government records to the US National Archives.

The agent said that the FBI believed there was probable cause to believe more documents were still inside Mar-a-Lago.

"There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found at the premises," the agent added.

The Justice Department also said on Friday in a separate batch of unsealed records that it has "a significant number of civilian witnesses" who are helping with its investigation.

US President Joe Biden said he will "let the Justice Department take care of" Trump's refusal to return classified documents.

Biden said on Friday it depends "on the circumstances" if it is appropriate for a president to take home classified documents.

The FBI raid was part of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of documents.

The agents seized boxes containing a large amount of highly classified documents that Trump had not returned to the government despite multiple requests and a subpoena to do so. Trump has vehemently denounced the raid as a witch-hunt.

In a social media post, the former president said the US is now a lawless country and a failing nation.

Trump accused the Justice Department under Biden of conducting a "witch hunt" and said the judge "should never have allowed the Break-in of my home."

“Affidavit heavily redacted!!! Nothing mentioned on ‘Nuclear,’ a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover – WE GAVE THEM MUCH,” Trump posted on Truth Social, the social media site he helped launch.

Trump had more than 300 classified documents in his possession after leaving office, which were retrieved by the National Archives in January.

The New York Times in a report on Monday revealed that the initial batch of documents recovered by the National Archives, an agency charged with the preservation and documentation of government

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