Witnesses Say FBI Missed A ‘Hidden Room’ & Closet In Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Residence During Classified Documents Raid

The FBI failed to investigate a secret room and closet in Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago resort when searching for sensitive documents, according to several witnesses.

Trump’s resort was raided by federal officers on August 8, 2022, when they executed a search warrant. They then searched the premises for any potentially classified material and they found 11,000 documents and took away at least 100 classified documents.

However, a team working for Special Counsel Jack Smith has since spoken to several witnesses claiming that a locked cabinet and a secret room had not been examined during the raid.

According to sources who had spoken to ABC News, investigators involved in this case have since asserted that Trump replaced a lock on the cabinet while searches were in progress while the “hidden room,” which is believed to be connected to the former president’s bedroom, also reportedly went unchecked.

FBI Director Chris Wray said in 2023, when he testified before Congress, that agents had worn casual clothes instead of “raid jackets” so that they would not draw attention.

Wray also told lawmakers that the team “take[s] great pains to be rigorous [and] professional.”

However, when the agents came to the locked closet, they chose not to enter it as they could not find a key. They were even informed that a space behind the door did not go anywhere, so they decided not to open it.

Additionally, sources said that FBI agents did not keep investigating since they believed they had spent enough time at the resort, a claim which the FBI denied.

It was determined that actions already taken met the parameters of the search warrant.

Sources had told ABC News that, unlike the locked closet, the FBI were not aware that the secret room even existed until they made their way off the premises.

It is unknown if Trump had been storing any other White House documents in his closet or hidden room, and if there are still government materials at Mar-A-Lago or another one of his properties that were not seized by Joe Biden‘s administration.

The Justice Department has not carried out any additional searches of Mar-A-Lago since its search in August 2022. It is also unclear if the department has, or at any point had, plans to conduct more searches.

On May 10, 2023, Trump called the CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins a “nasty person” after she asked him why he did not comply with the Justice Department subpoena for the classified records at Mar-a-Lago.

This was after Collins asked him if he showed anybody these classified documents, and he answered saying that he did not exactly reveal them to anyone and could not remember if he did, though he believed he had the right to do so since they were not classified.

Trump insulted the moderator during a 70-minute-long CNN town hall event in New Hampshire.

In November 2023, Trump was reportedly furious when hearing that Smith had subpoenaed at least 24 Mar-a-Lago workers, including a woodworker, a plumber, a chauffeur and a maid.

These people might have been called to testify against Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, at the criminal trial in Florida. 

The witnesses in the Mar-a-Lago investigation might consist of people from Trump’s close circle throughout his business and political career. These people include Secret Service agents and former intelligence officials, and those in the room with the former president when he was recorded in conversation about a military document stating war plans with Iran.

The Presidential Records Act clearly states that any White House records that concern governmental affairs are public property and need to be handed over to the National Archives once the president and vice president finish their term.