DOJ Pushes Back Unsubstantiated Claims From Donald Trump Of Planted Evidence

Former President Donald Trump claimed that evidence was planted during the search of his Mar-a-Lago resort in August. And now, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has pushed back on the unsubstantiated claims.

It submitted a slightly amended list of the seized items and an affidavit that the list reflects what was taken during the search of Trump's property. A few weeks ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) submitted a first version of the inventory list. It only had one business day to compile the first list, but had more time in hand to submit the latest version, reported CNN.

In the updated version, the agency also said that it filtered out potentially privileged material. An unnamed FBI agent wrote in the affidavit that they are not aware of any documents or materials seized "from the Premises on that date by the FBI that are not reflected in the Revised Detailed Property Inventory … other than materials that the Privilege Review Team has not provided to the Case Team." Changes between the two versions were “minor," said the agent.

On the basis of a comparison of the two versions, the new version showed the same number of records marked classified as compiled in the previous inventory. The new version showed two fewer media clippings and two fewer empty envelopes with classified banners than the previous one. The revised one also showed a few dozen more government records without classified markings. They are out of the thousands documents that the FBI said it obtained in the search.

Judge Raymond Dearie was appointed as the special master to review the documents case following the FBI search of Trump's property. The judge has now requested that the FBI submit an inventory to provide a “full and accurate” picture of what was obtained in the August search. His request came after Trump and many of the former President's allies claimed, without evidence, that the FBI planted items during its August search, according to The Guardian.

Friday is the deadline for Trump to submit to the special master descriptions of any seized material that he claims are missing from the inventory. He can also submit details of the items that were included in the inventory that he said were not at the premises. Dearie said that this submission "shall be Plaintiff’s final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to the completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory."