Former US President: FBI searches Trump's private residence Mar

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Police officers stand in front of an entrance to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday

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Wilfredo Lee/AP

FBI officials appear to have searched former US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago private residence.

"My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, search and occupation by a large group of FBI agents," Trump said in a lengthy statement.

"This unannounced search of my home was neither necessary nor appropriate."

Trump also confirmed to the US broadcaster CNN that the FBI was on his property.

Accordingly, Trump was not in Florida at the time of the search.

The background is so far unclear.

So far there has been no comment from the FBI, the White House or the Justice Department.

Trump wrote in his statement that US federal police officers also opened his safe.

It is about "the use of the judicial system as a weapon" and an "attack by the radical left-wing Democrats who are desperately trying to prevent me from running for president in 2024".

Trump published the statement on the Truth Social network he co-founded.

Trump is said to have taken documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago

As the "Guardian" reports, the FBI operation began around 6 p.m. (local time).

It could possibly be related to the fact that Trump illegally took documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency, the "Guardian" quotes an unnamed person who is familiar with the processes.

The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, also reported that the search was related to the documents.

After his term in office, Trump took several boxes with files to his property in Mar-a-Lago, although they should have been handed over to the National Archives.

Among them are said to have been important communication documents - including letters from North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un and a letter from Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.

The search also comes as the U.S. Justice Department is pursuing its investigation into the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Trump is not a suspect in these investigations.

However, Attorney General Merrick Garland recently made it clear that anyone criminally responsible for the storming of the Capitol must be held accountable.

"No one is above the law."

aar/Reuters/AP