Trump now accuses FBI of ripping off padlock THEY asked him to install on the Mar-a-Lago basement where boxes of documents were kept - as report claims an INFORMANT told agents where to look
Former President Donald Trump has raged on his Truth Social app several times since his office and private residence were searched by the FBI
In a recent post he appeared to confirm an earlier CNN report that Justice Department officials made a rare visit to Mar-a-Lago months before the raid
It comes as one outlet is reporting that an FBI informant tipped off federal agents about what files Trump had and where they were
The raid is apparently related to documents sought by the National Archives
It comes amid a new Newsweek report that an FBI informant within the ex-president's circle tipped the feds off to what classified documents Trump had and where.
Trump fumed in a recent post on his Truth Social app that federal agents broke a padlock they allegedly asked him to put on the room where the documents were kept.
'In early June, the DOJ and FBI asked my legal representatives to put an extra lock on the door leading to the place where boxes were stored in Mar-a-Lago - We Agreed,' the ex-president wrote.
They were shown the secured area, and the boxes themselves. Then on Monday, with no notification or warning, an army of agents broke into Mar-a-Lago, went to the same storage area, and ripped open the lock that they had asked to be installed.
He finished, 'A surprise attack, POLITICS, and all the while out Country is going to HELL!'
Earlier this year the National Archives and Records Administration said it took 15 boxes of records out of Mar-a-Lago, roughly 12 months after Trump left office. Some of those files were apparently labeled 'classified.
At one point the former president himself reportedly stopped in to say hello and 'make small talk' before leaving again.
Days after the investigators' visit, they reportedly sent a letter to Trump's staff on June 8 asking them to secure the room where they observed the documents being stored.
It was then that the padlock was reportedly placed on the door.
But Newsweek's report claims that the FBI was instead tipped off by an informant about the files.
The informant also reportedly helped feds time the raid for when Trump was away to avoid giving him an opportunity to use it as a political opportunity.
A government source told the outlet that agents were 'seeking to avoid any media circus' with the unannounced search.
'So even though everything made sense bureaucratically and the FBI feared that the documents might be destroyed, they also created the very firestorm they sought to avoid, in ignoring the fallout,' the person reportedly said.