The property receipt, also released Friday, from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home shows that some of the materials recovered were marked “top secret/SCI,” one of the highest levels of classification.
The search warrant identifies three federal crimes that the Justice Department is looking at as part of its investigation: violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and criminal handling of government records. The inclusion of the crimes indicates that the Department of Justice has probable cause to investigate these crimes because it was collecting evidence in the search. No one has been charged with any crime at this time.
Officers also took four sets of “secret” documents, three sets of “secret” documents and three sets of “confidential” documents, court documents show. In all, the unsealed warrant shows the FBI collected more than 20 boxes, as well as photo notebooks, sets of classified government materials and at least one handwritten note.
CNN obtained the warrant, which was unsealed and released publicly after a federal judge’s order before publication. The moment marks an unprecedented week that began with the search — an evidence-gathering step in a national security investigation.
The search warrant reveals new details about the scope of the FBI’s investigation
While details about the documents themselves remain scarce, the laws cited in the warrant offer new insight into what the FBI was looking for when it searched Trump’s home, an unprecedented move that has sparked a firestorm of criticism for part of the former president’s closest allies.
The laws cover “the destruction or concealment of documents to obstruct government investigations” and the illegal removal of government records, according to the search warrant released Friday.
Also among the laws listed is one known as the Espionage Act, which refers to the “retrieval, storage, or transmission of national defense information or classified material.”
The three criminal statutes cited in the order are from Title 18 of the United States Code. None of them depend solely on whether the information is considered unclassified.
One of the less sensitive items removed from the Trump compound, according to a receipt from the property, was a document on the pardon of Roger Stone, a staunch Trump ally who was convicted in 2019 of lying to Congress during its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. . (Trump pardoned Stone before leaving office, sparing Stone a three-year prison sentence.)
It is unclear how the Stone-related document seized during the search is tied to the broader criminal investigation into Trump’s possible mishandling of classified materials.
During the search, FBI agents also recovered material about the “President of France,” according to the warrant receipt. The French embassy in Washington declined to comment on the development on Friday.
FBI agents searched office 45 at Mar-a-Lago
Court documents released Friday also offer new details about the search itself, revealing that FBI agents were only allowed access to specific locations at Mar-a-Lago while combing Trump’s resort residence to find possible evidence of crimes.
The judge authorized the FBI to search what the bureau called “Office 45,” an apparent reference to Trump’s place in history as the 45th president. Agents were also allowed to search “all other rooms or areas” at Mar-a-Lago that were available to Trump and his staff to store boxes and documents.
“Locations to be searched include Office 45, all storage rooms and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available for use by FPOTUS and his staff and in which boxes or documents could be stored , including all structures. or buildings on the estate,” the order says, using the acronym “FPOTUS” to refer to the former president of the United States.
The FBI’s warrant request to the judge specifically said federal agents would prevent the areas from being rented or used by third parties, “such as Mar-a-Lago members” and “private guest suites.” . Trump owns the sprawling estate, and it is his primary residence as well as a members-only club and resort.
“It is described as a mansion with approximately 58 rooms, 33 bathrooms, on a 17-acre estate,” FBI agents told the judge in their request, describing the Mar-a-Lago property.
Trump did not object to the release of the search warrant
The FBI’s search of the Palm Beach, Fla., compound on Monday was followed by days of silence by the Justice Department, as is the department’s standard practice for ongoing investigations.
Then on Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the department had moved to unseal the search warrant and two attachments, including an inventory list, but also stressed that some of the department’s work has to keep out of public view.
“We do this to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations,” Garland said, explaining that he would not elaborate on the basis of the search.
Trump said in a late-night post on his Truth Social platform Thursday that he “would not oppose the release of the documents” and that he was “going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of these documents.”
The court had ordered the Justice Department to consult with Trump about his request to seal documents from the warrant and set a Friday deadline to report on whether he opposed their release.
Trump’s team had reached out to outside lawyers about how to proceed, and the former president’s orbit was caught off guard by Garland’s announcement.
In a pair of posts on Truth Social after Garland’s statement, Trump went on to say that his lawyers were “fully cooperating” and had developed “very good relationships” with federal investigators before Monday’s search of Mar-a – Lake
“The government could have had whatever it wanted, if we had it,” Trump said. “Everything was going well, better than most previous presidents, and then out of nowhere and without warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided, at 6:30 in the morning, by a large number of agents , and even ‘safeccrackers.'”
This story and headline have been updated with additional updates.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.