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Trump says he refused FBI request to turn off Mar-a-Lago cameras during search for secret documents

‘What is that all about? We said no,’ Trump posted on Truth Social

Bevan Hurley
Tuesday 16 August 2022 21:54 BST
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Eric Trump blames Biden administration after FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago

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Donald Trump has claimed he refused an FBI request that security cameras be turned off during a search of Mar-a-Lago last week.

In a post to Truth Social on Tuesday, Mr Trump wrote: “In the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, the FBI demanded that all security cameras be turned off. What is that all about? We said no!”

Mr Trump’s media mouthpieces have spent much of the the past week teasing what may have been captured on cameras during the 8 August search of his Palm Beach home.

Trump attorney Christina Bobb said during an interview with  Real America’s Voice that that the former president and his family watched the FBI search from New York.

Ms Bobb, who was present during the search, said the Trumps “probably had a better view than I did because they had the CCTV they were able to watch. I was stuck in a parking lot.”

“They were actually able to see the whole thing... They actually have a better idea of what took place inside,” she told the network.

Ms Bobb added that staff had initially complied with an FBI request that all cameras be turned off.

Donald Trump departs Trump Tower two days after FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach home
Donald Trump departs Trump Tower two days after FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach home (REUTERS)

However, they’d been turned back on soon afterwards on the advice of Trump’s attorneys.

Eric Trump told DailyMail.com the footage showed FBI agents acting “improperly” and going into areas of Mr Trump’s main residence that they were not authorised to enter.

On Fox News on Monday, he said that they would release footage of the raid “at the right time”.

The FBI reportedly removed 11 sets of classified documents from the property, including some of which were marked top secret and concerned nuclear weapons.

According to the search warrant, the Justice Department is investigating whether Trump broke three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.

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