Skepticism before a search: Inside the Trump Mar-a-Lago documents investigation
6 reporters on the byline. Long article. Looks like a good read.
The FBI was initially reluctant to investigate Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents, and cautious when it did so
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/21/trump-doj-garland-mar-a-lago-january-6/
FBI officials had a lot to worry about in late July as they discussed whether to search one of Donald Trump’s homes for evidence of crimes. Two concerns were paramount: Any search warrant should be authorized by the attorney general himself, and they did not want the former president to be at Mar-a-Lago when it happened.
The FBI also was wary of the remote possibility of a “blue on blue” confrontation — between the federal agents searching the location and the Secret Service agents who guard the former president, according to people familiar with the matter, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
But there were signs that Trump’s team might be concealing something. When Bratt’s team visited the basement storage room where many of Trump’s White House boxes were kept, they were not allowed to open the containers and look inside, according to court papers.
Three days later, deliberately dressed down in khakis and polo shirts to try to lower their profile, agents showed up at Mar-a-Lago with the warrant. They spent hours combing Trump’s storage room, residence and office, finding 103 classified documents — some in Trump’s desk, according to court papers. They also took about 13,000 nonclassified documents as part of the investigation.
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