USA

Report: Trump Ordered Mar-a-Lago Boxes to Be Moved, Ex-Employee Says

FILE - An aerial view of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Aug. 31, 2022.

A former employee of Donald Trump has told federal agents the former president asked for boxes of records to be moved within his Florida residence after receiving a government subpoena demanding their return, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The FBI conducted a court-approved search on August 8 at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, seizing more than 11,000 documents, including about 100 marked as classified.

The employee, who was working at Mar-a-Lago, was cooperating with the Justice Department and has been interviewed multiple times by federal agents, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the situation. The witness initially denied handling sensitive documents and in subsequent conversations with agents admitted to moving boxes at Trump’s request, the newspaper reported.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Trump spokesperson said the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden had "weaponized law enforcement."

"Every other president has been given time and deference regarding the administration of documents, as the president has the ultimate authority to categorize records and what materials should be classified," Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich told the newspaper.

Budowich accused the Justice Department of leaking "misleading and false information" to the media.

The document investigation is one of several legal woes Trump is facing as he considers whether to run again for president in 2024.