Trump calls to return papers seized by FBI

Trump calls to return papers seized by FBI

Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com

Former President Trump on Sunday called on the FBI to return documents reportedly seized at Mar-a-Lago that are protected by attorney-client and executive privileges.

“Oh great!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“It has just been learned that the FBI, in its now famous raid of Mar-a-Lago, took boxes of privileged ‘attorney-client’ material, and also ‘executive’ privileged material, which they knowingly should not have taken,” Trump continued.

“By copy of this TRUTH, I respectfully request that these documents be immediately returned to the location from which they were taken,” he added. “Thank you!”

Citing unidentified sources familiar with the investigation, Fox News on Saturday evening reported that the FBI seized five boxes that included information covered by attorney-client privilege as part of its extraordinary search at Trump’s Florida property on Monday. The network also reported that its sources said some records could be covered by executive privilege.

The unsealed search warrant revealed agents were authorized to seize any documents or records with classified markings or related to the “transmission of national defense information or classified material” as part of the FBI’s investigation into whether Trump violated the Espionage Act and other federal statutes by retaining records at his Florida resort.

An attached property receipt also unsealed Friday indicated the FBI seized 33 items from Mar-a-Lago, including 11 sets of classified items.

Trump has defended himself previously by claiming he declassified the documents.

Attorney-client privilege enables communications between an attorney and their client to remain private during an investigation, while executive privilege allows the president to keep some communications private from the other two branches of government.

But the latter privilege is not absolute. During the Watergate scandal, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Nixon that executive privilege cannot be used to withhold evidence “demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial.”

Source: thehill.com

Senior writer at the Chicago Morning Star

Related Posts
FBI warns about armed protests by Trump supporters ahead of Biden inauguration
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning about the plans of armed protests
Former Chicago Public Schools employee admits his crime in federal court
Pedro Soto, a 45-year-old Chicago man, pleaded guilty in federal court for committing the crime
FBI Operation in Kankakee arrests 15 Central Illinois men
15 men from Central Illinois have been arrested by law enforcement officials over the weekend.
Federal investigation ensnares Marty Sandoval
A federal investigation has caught another Chicago law-maker. More FBI raids are going to take
Police apprehends an armed man at VA hospital
An armed man opened fire inside and outside the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. Police
Ward Office of Ald. Carrie Austin raided by federal agents
Federal agents have raided the Chicago’s Ald., Carrie Austin, ward office in the 34th ward
Bank Robber escape using Lyft car to O’Hare: FBI
A man accused of bank robbery hire a Lyft car to O’Hare Airport for getaway.
Trump-appointed judges made it tougher to vote
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has harmed the administration of the 2020 election by continuing
Trump returns to campaign trail after testing positive for COVID-19
Donald J. Trump, the president of the United States of America, has returned to the
People protest against Senate Majority Leader’s vow to replace Ginsburg on supreme court
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, vowed the voting in Senate for the replacement of