(CNN) — The federal criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s possible mishandling of classified documents escalated this week in a significant and unprecedented way, with the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at Trump’s home at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.
The Justice Department investigation of the USA refers to the documents that Trump withdrew from the White House when his term ended in January 2021. Earlier this year, officials of the National Archives and Records Administration, known as NARA (for its acronym in English), they recovered 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s lawyers had previously worked with NARA to voluntarily surrender some documents, But the recent Mar-a-Lago raid clearly indicates a new phase in the investigation. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and says the investigation is a politically motivated farce intended to derail his potential bid to return to the White House.
This is the chronology of the investigation against Trump
May 2021
A NARA official gets in touch with the Trump team after realizing that several important documents were not delivered before Trump left the White House. Hoping to locate the missing documents, NARA attorney Gary Stern contacts someone who served in the White House counsel’s office under Trump, who was the point of contact for matters. register. The missing documents include Part of Trump’s correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong Unas well as the map of Hurricane Dorian that Trump infamously altered with a felt-tip pen.
Fall 2021
The NARA gets frustrated for the slow delivery of documents after several months of talks with the Trump team. Stern contacts another Trump attorney to intervene. The archivist asks about several boxes of records that were apparently taken to Mar-a-Lago during Trump’s move to Florida. NARA still hasn’t received the White House documents it seeks.
January 2022
After months of discussions with the Trump team, NARA recovers 15 boxes of Trump White House records at Mar-a-Lago. File management says in a release that some of the records he received at the end of the Trump administration were “shredded by former President Trump,” and that White House officials had to glue the pieces together. Not all of the ripped-out documents were reconstructed, NARA says.
February 9, 2022
The media, including CNN, report that NARA asked the Justice Department to investigate the handling of White House records by Trump and whether he violated the Presidential Records Act and other legislation related to classified information. The Presidential Records Act requires that all records created by a sitting president be turned over to the National Archives at the end of his administration.
February 18, 2022
The NARA reports to the Department of Justice that some of the documents recovered at Mar-a-Lago include classified material. It also tells the Justice Department that, despite being warned it was illegal, Trump shredded documents while he was president, and that senior Trump administration officials failed to properly preserve his social media posts, draft tweets and deleted tweets.
April and May 2022
On April 7, the NARA publicly acknowledges for the first time the Justice Department has been involved, and news outlets are reporting that prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. Around this time, FBI agents discreetly interview the trump aides at Mar-a-Lago about his handling of presidential files as part of his expanding investigation.
May 12, 2022
The media reports thatInvestigators Subpoenaed NARA to access the classified documents recovered at Mar-a-Lago. The subpoena, which is part of the process to allow investigators to take possession of the NARA documents, is the first public indication that the Justice Department uses a grand jury in its proceedings.
June 3, 2022
Four investigators, including a top Justice Department counterintelligence official, visit Mar-a-Lago seeking more information on the classified material that was brought to the residence in Florida. The four investigators meet with two of Trump’s attorneys, Christina Bobb and Evan Corcoran, and take a look at the basement room where the documents are kept. Trump appears briefly to greet the officials but does not answer any questions.
June 8, 2022
Trump’s lawyers they receive a letter from federal investigators, asking them to further secure the room where the documents are kept. In response, Trump aides add a lock to the Mar-a-Lago basement room.
August 8, 2022
the fbi execute a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, which represents a significant escalation in the investigation of classified documents. The search focused on the area of the resort where Trump’s offices and personal quarters are located. Federal agents remove boxes of material from the property. It was the first time in US history that a former president’s home was searched as part of a criminal investigation.