Trump pushes back on DOJ’s accusation

The former US leader has denied that he ‘concealed and removed’ secret documents

Former US President Donald Trump has blasted the FBI for throwing supposedly secret documents on the floor and photographing them during its raid of his Florida home earlier this month, arguing that he had declassified the papers that prosecutors wrongly accused him of concealing.

“Terrible the way the FBI, during the raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor – perhaps pretending it was me that did it – and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see,” Trump said on Tuesday in a Truth Social post. “Thought they wanted them kept secret? Lucky I declassified!”

Trump’s rant on social media came after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) claimed on Tuesday night that the ex-president’s team “likely concealed and removed” government records in violation of a grand jury subpoena. The accusation was included in a court filing in which the DOJ argued against Trump’s request to appoint a special master to examine the documents in question, saying such a review would “harm important governmental interests.”

President Joe Biden’s administration claimed to have found more than 100 classified documents during the August 8 raid. “The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the storage room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation,” the DOJ said in Tuesday’s filing.

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DOJ makes new claim against Trump

Critics of the administration, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers, have accused Biden of weaponizing federal law enforcement against political enemies, thereby turning the US into a “banana republic.” FBI whistleblowers also have come forward to report alleged misconduct and politicization of the agency to members of Congress.

Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo to DOJ employees on Tuesday prohibiting staffers from communicating with Congress unless they go through the Office of Legislative Affairs. He said the rule was necessary to protect the DOJ’s legal judgments and enforcement decisions from “partisan” influence.

Trump praised the whistleblowers for exposing the “really bad things” happening inside the DOJ and FBI. “This is the time, after many years of lawbreaking and unfairness, to clean things up. All things for a reason. Drain the swamp!”

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