Former President Donald Trump lambasted last week's FBI raid on his Florida home as a "sneak attack on democracy" that was conducted purely for political reasons.
Trump took to Truth Social late Sunday night to again blast the FBI's actions on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.
"America has never suffered this kind of ABUSE in Law Enforcement!" Trump posted. "For the FBI to RAID the home of the 45 President of the United States, or any President for that matter, is totally unheard of and unthinkable.
"This Break In was a sneak attack on democracy (our Republic!), and was both unannounced and done at a time when the President was not even present. It was for political, not legal reasons, and our entire Country is angry, hurt, and greatly embarrassed by it. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
FBI agents removed 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked as top secret, the Justice Department said on Friday. The department also disclosed that prosecutors had probable cause to believe Trump may have violated the Espionage Act.
The former president's allies, however, insist the White House documents that Trump brought to Mar-a-Lago had been declassified.
Trump himself said the president had "the power to classify and declassify documents."
"As we can all relate to, everyone ends up having to bring home their work from time to time. American presidents are no different," Trump said in a statement read by Just the News founder John Solomon on Fox News. "President Trump, in order to prepare work for the next day, often took documents including classified documents to the residence.
"He had a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them," the statement continued. "The power to classify and declassify documents rests solely with the president of the United States."
On Sunday, Trump chastised the FBI for seizing "executive privileged material," and subsequently demanded the agency return his materials as soon as possible.
"Oh great! 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. By copy of this TRUTH, I respectfully request that these documents be immediately returned to the location from which they were taken. Thank you!" Trump posted on Truth Social.
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