FBI slammed for ‘error’ in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort search as Jack Smith questions witnesses about ‘hidden room’

Special counsel Jack Smith questioned several witnesses about a closet and a 'hidden room' inside Mar-a-Lago
PUBLISHED FEB 3, 2024
Special Counsel Jack Smith probed FBI oversight of 'hidden room' in Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort (Alex Wong/Getty Images, Getty Images)
Special Counsel Jack Smith probed FBI oversight of 'hidden room' in Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort (Alex Wong/Getty Images, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Special Counsel Jack Smith questioned witnesses about a "hidden room" in former President Donald Trump's luxury resort Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, that the FBI did not examine while searching the property in August 2022, reported ABC News.

According to the portal, the questioning was made in light of Smith's team's efforts to determine if there were any more classified documents they had not found earlier.

Trump, the current Republican frontrunner, is indicted over mishandling of classified documents that he illegally withheld at his luxury residence after his presidency.

BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 18: President Donald Trump hosts a Merry Christmas Rally at the Ke
Donald Trump is indicted for mishandling classified documents after his presidential term (Getty Images)

Anonymous sources informed ABC News that during the search, the FBI overlooked the 'hidden room' next to Trump's bedroom and also did not search a locked closet.

FBI agents reportedly could not find key to unlock closet

The sources revealed the investigators could not find a key to open the closet, and later, they learned that Trump allegedly changed the lock.

"Based on information gathered throughout the course of the investigation, areas were identified and searched pursuant to the search warrant," said a senior FBI official to ABC News.

PALM BEACH, FL - JANUARY 11:  The Atlantic Ocean is seen adjacent to President Donald Trump's beach
Classified documents were found from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago luxury resort in Florida (Getty Images)

Jordan Strauss, a former federal prosecutor and national security official in the Department of Justice, criticized the FBI's negligence. "You're searching a former president's house. You [should] get it right the first time," he told ABC News.

It remains unclear if the former President had hidden any classified documents in the "hidden room" or the "closed closet" or if Special Counsel Smith ever considered another search warrant.

Responding to the report, a Trump campaign spokesperson slammed President Joe Biden and the media, claiming the investigations were "just desperate attempts at election interference ... to stop the presumptive Republican nominee for President."

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND - JUNE 25:  Presumptive Republican nominee for US president Donald Trump visits T
Donald Trunp is currently leading the GOP presidential primary (Getty Images)

Trump is charged with 91 criminal cases over four indictments, including the classified documents mishandling and falsifying business records in relation to hush money payments. One for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election result, including allegedly instigating the Jan 6 Capitol attack, and another for allegedly trying to overturn Biden's victory in Georgia.

Internet reacts to FBI's alleged failure to search 'hidden room', locked closet

Responding to the FBI's failure to search the "hidden room" in Mar-a-Lago, social media users were left 'disappointed'.

One user remarked, "Good lord. It never ends."



 

Another user wrote, "Absolutely maddening."



 

"Very disappointing. The FBI are the experts, how could they make such an error?" a third response read.



 

A witty remark read, "Isn’t that the purpose of a hidden room……to be hidden?"

Another said, "Bit late now."



 



 

One user commented on Facebook, "What was in those two rooms that the FBI didn't search?"

"Another search warrant to come. Ain't it grand," a second user wrote.

Another user quipped, saying, "Be patience as time will tell!"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

MORE STORIES

Several progressives who have long called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have not yet commented on the agreement’s terms or timeline
12 hours ago
Trump posted a scathing montage, accusing Democrats of shutting down the government to please their 'radical left' base
1 day ago
John Kennedy is calling out Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the tough spot he’s in amid government shutdown
1 day ago
Top officials in the Trump administration discussed invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy military forces on US soil
1 day ago
Gavin Newsom rejected the bipartisan bill, calling it too costly and warning it could disrupt how California determines firefighter pay
2 days ago
The vote comes as California’s education agencies face a US Department of Justice lawsuit over alleged Title IX violations in girls’ sports
2 days ago
Donald Trump took aim at Sen Richard Blumenthal after his tense face-off with Attorney General Pam Bondi during a congressional hearing
2 days ago
Dick Durbin pressed Pam Bondi to justify sending troops to Illinois, accusing the Justice Department of hiding key information from the public
2 days ago
The comedian dubbed Chuck Schumer 'Hack-ie Mason', and then went on a rant against Democratic leadership in general
3 days ago
Trump promised America’s men and women in uniform that their pay is safe despite the government shutdown
4 days ago