President Biden's Democrats have just passed a key plank of their climate-and-healthcare agenda in Congress, but it's Trump who's dominating the news cycle.

Here's a reminder of what happened on this momentous day:

• A federal judge in Florida unsealed the warrant that led to the search of Mar-a-Lago
• The document revealed that papers uncovered there were marked top secret, and some were so sensitive that they are only meant to be viewed in protected government facilities
• One document is said to be about the "President of France", while another is about the clemency Trump granted as president to his convicted friend, Roger Stone
• Trump argues he used his presidential authority to declassify all the documents in question before leaving office
• He also suggested that agents may have planted evidence at the property during the raid as part of a long-running "hoax" against him

This live coverage was brought to you by Brajesh Upadhyay, Matt Murphy, Max Matza and Holly Honderich.

Gary O'Donoghue
Washington Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It’s been a week for the obliteration of precedents.

First the revelation that a former president’s home had been searched by the FBI, made public by Donald Trump himself.

That brought three days of him and his supporters shaping that ostensibly bad news narrative into familiar themes – namely that the “political witch-hunt” was continuing and that the state was still out to get him.

Then, on Thursday the Department of Justice decided it had had enough of being traduced – doing something they do not do and requesting the details of what they were looking for and what they found be published.

And here we are with the most top secret of classified documents being hauled away from a private, beachfront golf club and the FBI citing potential crimes involving the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice.

You might think this would put anyone on the back foot, but for the former president and his backers these are as much opportunities as they are jeopardies.

They burnish his self-described position as an outsider and reinvigorate his supporters' desire for a second Trump term in which a “third world country” - to quote President Trump - can be made great again.

This isn’t over by a long chalk.

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Defenders of Trump have been making comparisons to his old political foe, Hillary Clinton, who was found to have herself mismanaged sensitive government documents during her time as US secretary of state.

She, too, was investigated under the Espionage Act for her use of a private email server.

Problems first emerged for Clinton in 2014 after the state department said it was unable to transfer her emails to a congressional committee because it didn't have them.

Instead of being kept on government servers, as is required under the same laws now being cited to investigate Trump, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate used a personal email that had servers at her New York home.

Her lawyers transferred around 30,000 work-related emails to the state department, and deleted roughly the same number that she maintained were not work-related.

Clinton claimed that none of the emails turned over were classified, but that was proven wrong by an FBI investigation.

Announcing the results of the investigation in 2016, FBI Director James Comey said that 113 emails were classified, but that some had vague markings which did not make clear the sensitive nature of the documents.

The FBI probe concluded in 2016 that classified information had been improperly transferred, but that it was not done deliberately.

Trump capitalised politically on the controversy, leading chants at rallies of "lock her up".

In recent days, Clinton has been having a laugh at her old adversary's expense...

Trump's lawyers have said the president has the power to declassify anything, so what he took with him from the White House was declassified. Legal experts agree that a sitting president has the power to declassify any information, but they must follow a procedure.

Tom Dupree, former principal deputy assistant US attorney general, told the BBC the process includes filling out forms and giving certain authorisations. Also, a president can declassify documents, but a former president cannot.

"That begs the question whether President Trump when he was still President Trump actually declassified these documents,” said Dupree.

He said the justice department will have to pore through each document to ascertain whether these were in fact declassified, and could there be any possible justification for Trump retaining those documents.

"Once they've completed that review, then they've got to decide do they need to do further investigation? Do they need to go back? Do they need to look in other places? Do they need to interview witnesses?

"And once that process is complete, they'll make a decision as to whether or not to charge anyone with a federal crime."

Brajesh Upadhyay
BBC News, Washington

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Much of the analysis in the wake of the search has focused on one obscure criminal law mentioned in the unsealed warrant: Section 2071 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

Crucially, it states anyone convicted under that law shall "be disqualified from holding" federal office. This is why some are suggesting a conviction could all but end Trump's rumoured hopes of returning to the White House.

"That's a real law, and if Donald Trump violated that law… that has real penalties, including the fact that he may never be able to serve in federal office ever again," presidential historian Michael Beschloss told MSNBC.

Some legal experts, however, insisted that the law was unlikely to apply or survive any kind of appeal, as the only constitutional restrictions on presidential eligibility are citizenship, residence and age.

Read more:

Could Trump investigation stop him running in 2024?

In a statement on Truth Social, his online platform, Trump earlier on Friday suggested FBI agents could have planted information during their search of Mar-a-Lago.

Trump's insinuation came a day after Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray publicly defended the integrity of federal agents.

Trump also denied a report in the Washington Post that agents had been seeking classified documents related to nuclear weapons.

"Nuclear weapons issue is a Hoax... two Impeachments were a Hoax, the Mueller investigation was a Hoax, and much more," wrote Trump, adding: "Same sleazy people involved."

"Why wouldn’t the FBI allow the inspection of areas at Mar-a-Lago with our lawyer’s, or others, present. Made them wait outside in the heat, wouldn’t let them get even close - said 'ABSOLUTELY NOT.' Planting information anyone?" he added.

Trump was in New York at the time of the search. His Florida-based lawyers were present, but the FBI barred them from entering the areas being searched.

Agents also reportedly asked that CCTV cameras at Mar-a-Lago be switched off during the morning raid, but the Trump Organization refused to comply.

A lawyer for Trump said on Thursday they may disclose video and photos of the search.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump suffered another legal setback on Friday when a New York judge ruled that a criminal case against his company - the Trump Organization - and its longtime chief financial officer can proceed.

Former CFO Allen Weisselberg appeared in court to hear the judge's response to his February request to dismiss all 15 charges against the company and himself.

Prosecutors allege that the defendants are guilty of criminal fraud and tax evasion. They say the alleged scheme allowed Weisselberg to avoid paying taxes of some $1.8m (£1.5m) in off-the-books income.

Jury selection is set for 24 October.

Image source, Getty Images

Reaction from Democratic members of Congress has been muted so far as they've just been voting a major bill through the House. But some have been piling on via social media.

Ilhan Omar of Minnesota tweeted: "Nothing to see here folks, just a former President of the United States being investigated for the violation of the Espionage Act."

Eric Swalwell of California urged Trump supporters to break from the former president, telling them that he "stole Top Secret documents" and "put a target on the backs of cops".

"If you’ve been aboard the Trump Train the last 7 years, you’ve been given an unexpected stop. Time to get off. Wherever you think this is going, it’s not," he added.

Swalwell, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, has in the past faced national security scrutiny after federal agents reportedly warned him he was being targeted by a woman who was allegedly a Chinese spy.

Image source, Getty Images

It was the National Archives and Records Administration (Nara) that sounded the alarm about classified files at Mar-a-Lago, triggering the chain of events that led to Monday's FBI search of the club.

In recent days Trump has been saying that his predecessor, Barack Obama, took 33m pages of documents, "much of them classified", to Chicago at the end of his presidency.

Not so, says the National Archives.

In a statement on Friday, the National Archives said that it had obtained “exclusive legal and physical custody” of Obama’s records when he left office in 2017.

It said that about 30 million pages of unclassified records were transferred to a National Archives facility in the Chicago area and that they continue to be maintained “exclusively" by the National Archives.

Katty Kay
US special correspondent

More questions than answers right now on what this means for Trump's future.

First of all, why was he keeping classified documents, including one set marked top secret and only meant to be viewed in a secure government facility? What did he want to do with them?

Trump claims they were all declassified. Clearly the Department of Justice disagrees.

On the politics: the fact Trump is being investigated under the Espionage Act sounds dramatic, but will it cause any of his supporters to think twice about his fitness for office? Seems unlikely.

Millions of Americans are now convinced the federal government is unfairly targeting Trump.

On the law: legal scholars are in uncharted waters and will have to examine the implications of this. The big question being, if found guilty, would it make Trump ineligible for a re-election bid?

Early reaction to this week's drama suggests a clear split between those who are galvanised to support the president and those who are reminded how exhausted they were during the Trump presidency.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, among the files seized by FBI agents during their raid on Mar-a-Lago were items cryptically marked "Info re: President of France".

It is unclear what the files may refer to and French President Emmanuel Macron has yet to comment on the seizure.

But officials at the Élysée Palace told CBS News they "have no comment on a judicial American procedure".

Joshua Nevett
BBC Politics

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He has been out of office for more than a year-and-a-half, but legal issues stemming from his time in office still pose some risk for Trump.

The FBI raid on his Florida home on Monday has focused attention on his handling of official papers while president.

Two criminal investigations are ongoing: one into possible election interference; another into potential financial crimes.

A US congressional inquiry may recommend criminal charges over Trump's activities surrounding the riot at the Capitol in Washington last year.

As he contemplates a 2024 presidential run, read more about the legal cases that could threaten everything.

How big are Donald Trump's legal problems?

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At a news conference in Washington earlier on Friday, Trump's Republican allies slammed the DoJ inquiry and raised concerns about the tactics employed by federal agents.

“Because many other options were available to them, we are very concerned about the method that was used in raiding Mar-a-Lago and the nine hours that transpired while they were in the president’s home," said ranking House of Representatives Intelligence Committee member Mike Turner of Ohio.

New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, said the Republicans plan to investigate the president "and his administration’s weaponisation of the Department of Justice and FBI against Joe Biden’s political opponents".

To launch such a committee-level inquiry, Republicans would need to win control of the House in November's mid-term elections.

"President Trump has been targeted from day one of his presidency by the FBI," added congressman Markwayne Mullin, of Oklahoma.

There are three levels of classification in the US government. The lowest -"confidential" - is reserved for information that could damage US national security.

This is followed by the "secret" classification, which could cause "serious" damage if revealed.

The third classification level, "top secret", is reserved for information that could cause "exceptionally grave" damage to US security.

Apart from these three classifications, there are additional control measures for the most highly sensitive documents - Special Access Programmes (SAP) and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).

The SCI designation is listed in the warrant inventory, but it's not clear if any files were recovered from Mar-a-Lago under the SAP level of classification.

Sources close to the inquiry told the New York Times that investigators had been looking for SAP material, which the newspaper describes as "a designation that is typically reserved for extremely sensitive operations carried out by the United States abroad or for closely held technologies and capabilities".

On Thursday night, the Washington Post reported that federal agents had been searching for material "relating to nuclear weapons", but did not say that such files had been recovered from the Florida estate.

Now that the documents have been officially unsealed, we can take a closer look at what they say.

Beyond the standard forms, the warrant authorises agents to search Trump's huge Mar-a-Lago estate - but specifically any areas used by FPOTUS (Former President of the United States) and not those of other guests.

Image source, PACER

The next page, however, lists exactly what agents were sent to look for: "evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed".

It cites three United States laws:

• 793, on Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information, external
• 1519, which covers Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations, external and bankruptcy
• 2071, about Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally, external

Image source, PACER

Also unsealed was a receipt of what the agents took.

Among more than two dozen entries, it lists items including classified and top secret documents, a grant of clemency for Trump's former adviser Roger Stone, and unknown information about the President of France.

Image source, PACER

Image source, Getty Images

This wasn't the only legal headache for Trump this week.

On Wednesday, he had to answer questions from New York prosecutors investigating whether he illegally inflated the value of his assets in order to get favorable loans and tax breaks.

He had unsuccessfully sued to block the interview, which is known in the US as a deposition.

The former president refused to answer questions for the entire morning and most of the afternoon, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

In the past, Trump has attacked other public officials who have mishandled government documents, most notably his 2016 presidential opponent Hillary Clinton after it was revealed she kept her government emails on a private server.

Trump has also repeatedly criticised any suspect who invokes the Fifth Amendment right, calling it “disgraceful”.

See this clip:

The court document lays out that Trump is being investigated for violating a federal law known as the Espionage Act.

The warrant says agents are authorised to seize evidence that uncovers efforts by Trump to unlawfully retain sensitive information that could aid US adversaries or destroy or conceal US government documents.

Here’s what the warrant says FBI agents were looking for:

• Any physical documents with classification markings, along with any containers/boxes
• Details about the storage or transmission of national defence information or classified material
• Any government and/or presidential records from Trump’s tenure
• Any evidence of the knowing alteration, destruction or concealment of any government and/or presidential records, or of any documents with classification markings.

A spokesman for Donald Trump has told the BBC's US partner CBS News that "the Biden administration is in obvious damage control after their botched raid".

"They seized the President’s picture books, a 'handwritten note,' and declassified documents," said Taylor Budowich.

A receipt for the items seized by FBI agents in the warrant is three pages long.

The inventory includes the clemency letter granting legal amnesty to Trump ally Roger Stone, a leatherbound box of documents and one document titled "info re: President of France".

Also listed are documents labeled Top Secret (TP) and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).

Some items on the list include "miscellaneous secret documents".

The warrant is signed at the bottom by Trump lawyer Christina Bobb, who was present at Mar-a-Lago for the raid.

Image source, Getty Images

The warrant says that agents are to search the "45 Office" - which refers to Trump being America's 45th president - as well as "all storage rooms" and all rooms used by Trump and his staff in which boxes could be stored.

The warrant specifically excludes certain areas from being searched, including private guest suites or other facilities being rented or occupied by golf club members or guests.