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FBI
agents seized thousands of government records, some marked as
highly classified, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in August. The
investigation is one of two criminal inquiries into the former
president being led by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Trump, who was indicted on Thursday in a separate inquiry in New
York, has denied any wrongdoing in the cases and describes them
as politically motivated.
After his advisers received a subpoena in May demanding the
return of the classified records, Trump looked through some of
the boxes of government documents in his home out of an apparent
desire to keep certain things in his possession, the Post
reported, citing people familiar with the investigation.
Investigators also have evidence indicating Trump told others to
mislead government officials in early 2022, before the subpoena,
when the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration was
working to recover documents from Trump's time as president, the
Post reported.
The FBI referred questions to the Justice Department, which did
not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to the Post, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said
that the "witch-hunts against President Trump have no basis in
facts or law," and accused Special Counsel Smith and the Justice
Department of leaking information to manipulate public opinion.
Smith's investigations are among a growing number of legal
worries for Trump, who in November launched a campaign seeking
the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
In addition to the New York probe, Trump faces a Georgia inquiry
over whether he tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in
the state.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Washington; Editing by Matthew
Lewis)
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