U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon unsealed a series of documents Monday evening related to the FBI’s investigation into former President Trump and the agency’s raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022. The newly released documents provide a detailed look into the personnel involved in the raid and a minute-by-minute timeline of the events that unfolded on August 8, 2022.
One of the unsealed documents, an FBI file, suggests that the agency’s investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents was dubbed “Plasmic Echo.” The document, marked as restricted to case participants, also refers to the investigation as a “Sensitive Investigation Matter.”
Another unsealed FBI memo shed light on Attorney General Merrick Garland’s role in the investigation. In a document dated March 30, 2022, Garland provided his approval to upgrade the investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents to a “full investigation.”
The unsealed documents reveal that the personnel involved in the Mar-a-Lago raid consisted of four agents from the FBI Washington Field Office, one FBI Headquarters personnel, 25 agents from the FBI Miami Field Office, one DOJ Counterintelligence and Export Control Section attorney, and one attorney from the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Florida.
The timeline provided in the documents shows that the FBI team entered the Mar-a-Lago premises at 8:59 a.m. on August 8, 2022, and concluded their search at 4:33 p.m. During the raid, the FBI searched Trump’s “45 Office,” including a safe, after receiving approval from the U.S. Attorney’s Office SDFL at 1:33 p.m.
Following the raid, the seized evidence was transported to the FBI Field Office Miami, where it was temporarily stored before being flown to the FBI Washington Field Office the next day. The evidence was transferred from the FBI Miami Filter Team Lead to the FBI Washington Field Office Filter Team upon arrival at Reagan International Airport.
The unsealed documents provide a comprehensive account of the Mar-a-Lago raid, contrasting with Trump’s claim that he was in full cooperation with investigators. The release of these files offers new insights into the FBI’s investigation and the events surrounding the high-profile search of the former president’s estate.
