New court documents released Tuesday showed that the “use of deadly force” was authorized by the Justice Department to find confidential documents from the residence of former US President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in August 2022 by breaking into the former president's open safe.
Trump, 77, was accused of illegally withholding confidential documents after leaving the Oval Office in 2021. He was indicted in the case in 2023.
The most recent information, reported by the New York Post stated that FBI officials were instructed to recover and place in their custody “classified information, [National Defense Information]and U.S. government records.”
The report also revealed that officers were asked to conceal their “police equipment and come armed with ammunition, handcuffs and medium and large bolt cutters.”
The Bureau noted in its statement: “The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force.”
“No one ordered additional action to be taken and there was no deviation from the norm in this matter.”
Lawyers said the nearly 10-hour unconstitutional search swept through the residence's gym and kitchen, as well as former first lady Melania Trump's bedroom and Barron Trump's bedroom.
The documents were only recovered from a basement storage room, the business magnate's office and nearby rooms.
District Judge Aileen Cannon indefinitely postponed the trial over classified Trump documents.
