President Donald Trump left Washington, D.C., on Friday without a deal for a share of Ukraine’s natural resources, but he did take something else with him.
Personal property confiscated by the FBI during its 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago was boxed up and loaded onto Air Force One to make the journey back to Florida.
“The FBI is giving the President his property back that was taken during the unlawful and illegal raids. We are taking possession of the boxes today and loading them onto Air Force One,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
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The Mar-a-Lago search was carried out pursuant to the classified documents investigation into Trump. Officials confiscated 33 boxes containing classified documents the president improperly took and stored following his first term in office.
Counselor to the president Alina Habba added in a post on X that she “personally” loaded the boxes onto Air Force One Friday evening.
“Justice has been and will continue to be restored in this country under President Trump,” she wrote. “TRUTH AND JUSTICE ALWAYS WIN IN THE END.”
Trump sued the Justice Department for $100 million in damages back in August of 2024, arguing that the search of Mar-a-Lago constituted an “intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process.
“President Trump is continuing to fight against blatant Election Interference by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s weaponized Department of Justice,” Cheung, then Trump’s 2024 campaign spokesman, said at the time.
The search of his Mar-a-Lago property sparked Trump’s crusade against a “politically motived” FBI and DOJ, and prompted First Lady Melania Trump to speak out about the invasion of her personal space.
“I never imagined my privacy would be invaded by the government here in America,” Melania Trump said in a video last year promoting her book. “The FBI raided my home in Florida and searched through my personal belongings. This is not just my story, it serves as a warning to all Americans, a reminder that our freedom and rights must be respected.”
The search itself led former Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint Jack Smith to serve as special counsel investigating both Trump’s handling of classified documents and his actions on and leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
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U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon would eventually dismiss the case against Trump in July of 2024, ruling that Smith had been unlawfully appointed.
