WASHINGTON — Multiple sources confirm to ABC News that former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by FBI agents on Monday.
The sources told ABC News that the search began at around 10 am
The former president put out a statement Monday evening saying federal investigators were there and that they had even gotten into his safe. Trump was not there at the time of the search.
Sources tell ABC News that the search for Mar-a-Lago was related to the 15 boxes of documents that Trump took to his estate when he departed the White House — some of which the National Archives has said was marked classified.
MORE: Republicans speak out against FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate
In January, Trump handed over the documents to the National Archives, and attorneys for Trump said they were searching for any more records they may have.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News the FBI activities at Trump’s compound are court authorized.
The action marks a dramatic escalation in law enforcement scrutiny of Trump and comes as he has been laying the groundwork to make another bid for president.
“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said in his statement.
ANALYSIS: What we know, don’t know about Mar-a-Lago raid
Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including about whether Attorney General Merrick Garland had personally authorized the search.
A Biden White House official confirmed to ABC News Tuesday morning they received no advanced notice of the FBI raid.
Federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations, though it is possible that Trump could try to argue that, as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.
There are multiple statutes governing classified information, including a law punishable by up to five years in prison that makes it a crime to remove such records and retain them at an unauthorized location. Another statute makes it a crime to mishandle classified records either intentionally or in a grossly negligent manner.
The probe is hardly the only legal headache confronting Trump. A separate investigation related to efforts by Trump and his allies from him to under the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol has also been intensifying in Washington.
And a district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia is investigating whether Trump and his close associates sought to interfere in that state’s election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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