Donald Trump’s lawyers said in June that all classified documents had been turned over from Mar-A-Lago, according to The New York Times and CNN. More than two months later, the FBI is knocking on the door.

On August 9, the FBI retrieved 20 boxes of classified documents from the estate of former Florida president, Mar-A-Lago.

Earlier this year, archival authorities took 15 document boxes.

At least one of Trump’s lawyers signed a statement in June claiming that Trump had handed over all boxes of classified documents, wrote the American newspaper The New York Times on Saturday.

They have spoken to four sources familiar with the statement.

American CNN TV channel has also spoken to two sources who confirmed that a Trump attorney signed such a statement.

Raise a new question

According to The New York Times, the written statement was made after the head of counterintelligence at the Justice Department, Jay I. Bratt, visited Mar-a-Lago on June 3 this year.

The statement, which has not been discussed before, is a possible indication that Trump and his team have not put all their cards on the table in a meeting with federal investigators, the paper said.

That might help explain why the Justice Department had to go to the extreme to actually search Trump’s property, after trying to resolve the issue by talking to Trump and his team.

The statement raises new questions about how many people are involved in the ongoing investigation into Trump’s handling of classified material, it wrote CNN.

Donald Trump and his supporters believe he has disclosed documents he has at his home in Mar-a-Lago, according to several American media outlets.

Found “highly classified” document

The FBI found eleven classified documents during the search. In addition, some documents must have been classified as “highly classified”.

Yesterday, a search warrant was announced.

In addition, Reuters reports that information about Donald Trump’s pardon of Roger Stone should have been found in the search.

Stone was a former Trump adviser and was convicted of lying under oath, among other things.

To obtain a search warrant, the prosecution must prove that a crime has been committed. Attorney General Garland has confirmed that he personally approved a search of Trump’s home by the FBI.

The Washington Post wrote that there was a reasonable suspicion that Trump had secret nuclear weapons documents on which the house search was based. Trump himself has dismissed this.

FBI agents are also said to be interested in other objects and materials they suspect are in Mar-a-lago.

Prolonged conflict with the authorities

Since last year, Trump has been in conflict with the National Archives (NARA) over public documents he allegedly brought home.

After much back and forth, the Archive authorities got it 15 document boxes handed over from Trump in February this year. These were apparently all the documents he was sitting on.

Now the federal police have taken more boxes.

– If you add it now, Trump has brought 35 boxes of documents from the White House with him, US legal expert and researcher Sofie Høgestøl told VG.

Several documents were also assessed.

– Not only did he carry a lot of paperwork, he was also dishonest when dealing with the authorities, Høgestøl said.

This is not the only investigation Donald Trump is currently facing.

– He is the first former president to be investigated by federal police. This is historic, the expert said.

Trump has been implicated in more than 3,500 lawsuits, according to a survey United States of America Today did in 2016.

In 2017, among other things, he had to pay NOK 215 million in settlement, after he was accused of fraud by people who had taken a Trump University course that was supposed to teach people how to make money from real estate.

– He was a man used to being in legal trouble, said Høgestøl.

However, Høgestøl cautioned that the former president was only being investigated.

– There is no indication that Trump has been charged.

Donald Trump is considering running for president

It is rumored that Trump will run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Already in September maybe we’ll see an announcement from Trump.

It may also look like Donald Trump has managed to regain support in the party.

Nothing stands legally in the way of running for president if you have a criminal conviction, and far from it if you are under investigation.

– But what are the political consequences of a police investigation?

In the end, it is the voters who have to decide, Høgestøl said.