Trump Says FBI Has Returned Materials Seized From Mar-a-Lago: 'Will
Boxes seized from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate as part of special counsel Jack Smith's now-dismissed case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents were returned to Mar-a-Lago and Trump's care, the president announced Friday. Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Friday to celebrate the return of boxes of materials seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022.

Among the returned items were files at the center of the now-dismissed criminal case accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents after his first presidency and obstructing efforts to retrieve them.

Trump Says FBI Has Returned Materials Seized From Mar-a-Lago: 'Will
President Donald Trump celebrated the return of the documents and other materials on Friday. @realDonaldTrump via Truth Social

The materials were loaded onto Air Force One before Trump's departure for Mar-a-Lago on Friday evening, according to White House communications director Steven Cheung. "The FBI is giving the president his property back that was taken during the unlawful and illegal raids," Cheung stated.

Trump, who maintained throughout the legal battle that he had the right to keep the documents, celebrated the return, saying they would one day be included in the Trump Presidential Library.

"The Department of Justice has just returned the boxes that deranged Jack Smith made such a big deal about," Trump's Truth Social post said. "Justice finally won out."

The return of the materials follows a judge's decision to dismiss the case last year. After Trump's reelection in November, prosecutors abandoned efforts to appeal the ruling, citing Justice Department policy barring charges against a sitting president.

"I did absolutely nothing wrong," Trump wrote. "This was merely an attack on a political opponent that, obviously, did not work well. Justice in our Country will now be restored."

Alina Habba, counselor to the president, noted that the boxes contained personal items belonging to Trump family members, but did not provide further detail.

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