The search at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate was a month ago. What we've learned since.
One month after federal agents descended on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, an unprecedented search of a former president's home, there have been a series of key revelations amid an intensifying court battle.
- Court documents released since the Aug. 8 search showed the former president had classified documents marked "secret" and "top secret" at his estate.
- Arguing before a judge, the Department of Justice suggested there were efforts to conceal and possibly obstruct their investigation.
- A federal judge granted Trump's request for a special master to conduct an independent third party to review of the documents seized by the FBI, a win for Trump that the Justice Department said could impede the probe.
Here's more of what we have learned since the search and other key developments related to the Justice Department's ongoing investigation.
The initial search of Mar-a-Lago
On Aug. 8, news reports came out that federal agents searched Mar-a-Lago in what was later confirmed to be part of an ongoing DOJ probe of whether Trump removed classified presidential documents when he left office.
Later in the day, Trump confirmed the search in a statement, saying it was “not necessary or appropriate.”
Back in January, the National Archives and Records Administration retrieved 15 boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago and found that the documents were classified – 67 of those documents were marked as confidential, 92 secret and 25 top secret. NARA flagged their findings to the Department of Justice which inevitably resulted in the launch of a criminal investigation and the search of Mar-a-Lago.
Trump responds and calls for release of documents
Days after the search on Aug. 11, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department filed a motion to unseal the search warrant that authorized the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago.
In response, Trump said “Not only will I not oppose the release of the documents,” he also encouraged “the immediate release of those documents, even though they have been drawn up by radical left Democrats and possible future political opponents.”
Later, Trump also called for the release of “the completely unredacted affidavit,” the Justice Department used to justify its search.
The Justice Department opposed releasing the affidavit, arguing the release could compromise the identity of witnesses and that it "implicates highly classified materials" that could impede the investigation.
Top secret documents found at Mar-a-Lago
On Aug. 12, the search warrant authorizing the search and property receipt outlining what was retrieved from Mar-a-Lago was unsealed.
The search warrant cited possible violations of the Espionage Act, obstructing an investigation, and mismanagement of classified records. In the search, the FBI recovered classified documents labeled “secret,” “top secret” and confidential.”
On Aug. 26, the Justice Department released a heavily redacted version of the affidavit used to justify the search of the Mar-a-Lago estate and outlined what prompted the Justice Department’s investigation.
The affidavit revealed that the Justice Department sent Trump's legal team a letter saying that Mar-a-Lago "does not include a secure location authorized for the storage of classified information." Trump's team was told to secure the room and await further notice.
The records retrieved earlier this year from Mar-a-Lago were also revealed to have included information about clandestine human sources, some of the most guarded information in U.S. intelligence.
Related: Read the (redacted) affidavit that supported the search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort
Trump lawyers request third party review, DOJ objects
In reaction, Trump’s lawyers started making efforts to stall or halt the Justice Department’s review of classified material by calling for a special master to review the retrieved documents for material that could fall under executive privilege, which would shield the documents from the Justice Department’s inquiry.
The Justice Department opposed an appointment of a special master, arguing to a federal judge that it would impede their investigation. Federal prosecutors also claimed they had evidence to suggest it was “likely” that efforts were made to conceal documents that still remain at Mar-a-Lago.
The department also released a photo showing the documents found at Mar-a-Lago in a filing in response to Trump’s request for a special master. The photo shows various records labeled “Secret” and “Top Secret” strewn across a rug in Mar-a-Lago.
What was found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago?: Read the list detailing what FBI agents recovered.
Related: What Trump Mar-a-Lago photo shows vs. what we know about handling classified documents
“No justification” for Trump to retain documents
One of Trump’s former Attorney Generals, Bill Barr, now an open Trump critic, told USA Today that Trump had “no justification” to seek a special master and retain the documents the FBI retrieved.
Trump also claimed that the records the FBI seized were declassified, but Barr told USA today that he did not believe Trump did so, and if he did, it “would be more reckless than just taking the documents.”
Barr also said that had Trump returned the documents as requested by the National Archives and Records administration months before a subpoena was served, there would have been “no harm, no foul.”
Judge approves Trump's request for a special master and independent review
On Labor Day, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida approved Trump’s request for a special master to be appointed to review the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago for claims of attorney-client and executive privilege.
What is a special master?: Court appointee to review documents Trump stored at Mar-a-Lago.
Cannon has given the Department of Justice and Trump until Friday to submit candidates to fill the role of special master. In the meantime, the Department of Justice is blocked from reviewing the documents until they are cleared by the special master.
In concern for national security, Cannon’s ruling permits the director of national intelligence to continue to review the documents, but any review related to the Justice Department’s probe into Trump is halted.
Barr called the ruling "deeply flawed" on Tuesday in an interview on Fox News. Barr expressed doubt that Trump's claims of executive privilege as a former president would hold up if the Justice Department appeals Cannon's ruling.
Judge cites "reputational harm" to Trump in ruling
In her ruling, Cannon took into consideration Trump’s standing as a former president, which meant the investigation and the “stigma associated with the subject seizure is in a league of its own.”
If any indictment were to come out from the investigation, Cannon said it “would result in reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude.”
As a result, “these unprecedented circumstances call for a brief pause to allow for neutral third party review,” said Cannon.