FBI agents raid former US president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida
Washington, Aug 9: The FBI has raided Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort and residence in Florida and broke open his safe as part of a reported probe into whether he took classified documents from the White House, triggering an angry outburst from the former US president who called it an attempt by the Democrats to block his presidential bid in 2024.
These are dark times for our nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents. Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before, Trump said in a statement on Monday.
The FBI search was related to the 15 boxes of documents that Trump took to Mar-a-Lago when he departed the White House in January 2021 -- some of which the National Archives has said were marked classified, according to US media reports.
In January, Trump handed over the documents to the National Archives, and attorneys for the 76-year-old Republican Party leader said they were searching for any more records they may have.
The Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment on the raid.
Trump, who was the 45th President of the US, was not at his Palm Beach estate during the search and was in the New York City area.
The dramatic escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of Trump comes as he prepares for a possible third presidential run in 2024. The raid took place amid a separate grand jury investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden, his Democratic Party rival.
After working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate, Trump said.
Trump alleged that such an assault could only take place in broken, third-world countries.
Sadly, America has now become one of those countries, corrupt at a level not seen before, he said.
Trump blamed the Democratic Party who did not want him to run for president in 2024 for the raid, and said the same people also want to stop Republicans from winning in the midterm elections in November.
It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponisation of the justice system, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don't want me to run for President in 2024...," he said.
He demanded that the lawlessness, political persecution and witch-hunt must be exposed and stopped.
They even broke into my safe! What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States, the former president said.
Trump's son, Eric, told Fox News that "the purpose of the raid, from what they said, was because the National Archives wanted to, you know, corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession."
In February, the National Archives asked the Justice Department to investigate Trump's handling of White House records.
The National Archives, charged with collecting and sorting presidential material, has previously said at least 15 boxes of White House records were recovered from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort -- including some that were classified.
The estate sits on 20 acres that border the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Florida's Intracoastal Waterway on the other. In 2018, Forbes valued the Mar-a-Lago estate at USD 160 million. Trump keeps a section of the estate private for his family's personal use.
In early June, a handful of investigators made a rare visit to the property seeking more information about potentially classified material from Trump's time in the White House that had been taken to Florida.
Under the Presidential Records Act, documents received and sent by the president are required to be preserved by the office.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders rallied around Trump, their party's de facto leader, who is weighing another run for president in 2024.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel claimed in a statement that Democrats "continually weaponise the bureaucracy against Republicans.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, wrote that he had "seen enough."
"Attorney General (Merrick) Garland: preserve your documents and clear your calendar. I've seen enough. The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponised politicisation," the Republican leader wrote.
But the chair of the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Trump's handling of documents, called on the Justice Department to "fully investigate" the former President's handling of information.
"Presidents have a solemn duty to protect America's national security, and allegations that former President Trump put our security at risk by mishandling classified information warrant the utmost scrutiny," Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York said.
"Although details of today's actions at Mar-a-Lago are still emerging, it is clear that the Department of Justice must fully investigate President Trump's potentially grave mishandling of classified information."
Trump is facing another investigation for allegedly helping incite the mob on January 6, 2021, with a web of lies about the 2020 US presidential election being marred by widespread voter fraud.
Trump is the only US President to have never held political office prior to his presidency.
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Chandrayaan-5 to have heavier lander with longer mission life: ISRO Chief
Bengaluru (PTI): India is planning to collect samples from the Moon and bring them back to Earth under Chandrayaan-4, while Chandrayaan-5 will involve a heavier lander with a longer mission life, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said on Wednesday.
He also spoke about ISRO's future missions including the one to study Venus and the other on Mars landing mission.
"Now we are working on the continuation of the Chandrayaan programme. In Chandrayaan-4, we plan to collect samples and bring them back. Chandrayaan-5 will involve a heavier lander with a longer mission life," he said at the inaugural ceremony of ISRO's fourth edition of the Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START 2026) programme here.
He recalled that in Chandrayaan-3, the lander's mission life was only 14 days.
"In the future mission, we are talking about a life of around 100 days. The rover will also be heavier. Chandrayaan-3 had a rover of about 25 kg, while the future mission will have a rover of about 350 kg," Narayanan said.
Referring to ISRO's future programmes like the Venus Orbiter Mission, he said, "We have already accomplished the Mars Orbiter Mission, and now we are working on a Mars landing mission."
"These are some of the projects being discussed for government approval. So there is a lot of interest in the science area."
He noted that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the vision of the space programme has been expanded and said, "We are currently working on the Gaganyaan programme and are planning to send our own astronauts into space and bring them back safely, possibly within the next two years."
"We are also planning to build our own space station by 2035. Additionally, we are working on landing Indians on the Moon and bringing them back safely by 2040. Brainstorming activities have already begun. So there are many activities happening in the space sector. Apart from application-related activities that ensure food security, water security, communication, and safety for citizens, there are many initiatives planned in the science area as well," he added.
Narayanan noted that India's space programme has accomplished 10 scientific missions so far, including AstroSat, which recently completed a decade in orbit and was still functioning very well.
He also highlighted India's various lunar exploration missions -- Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, and Chandrayaan-3 -- saying they led to many scientific discoveries.
"We are progressing in a big way," he added.
Highlighting the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission in the year 2023, the ISRO chairman said that India became the first country to successfully achieve a soft landing near the south pole of the Moon.
"Not only did we achieve the landing, but many discoveries were made. Around eight minerals were identified, seismic activity was studied, and the thermal profile of the Moon's surface was understood. Electron clouds were also studied. So many discoveries have come from that mission," he added.
Referring to the launch of Aditya-L1, the ISRO chairman said, "India is the fourth country to successfully place a satellite to study the Sun, and a large amount of data has already come out, and we have released the data as well."
Emphasising India's Space Vision 2047, he recalled that the country, which started with very humble beginnings, has developed significant capabilities.
"Today, we have the capability to conceive, design, and build our own launch vehicles, as well as conceive, build, and place satellites in orbit. Fifty years ago, we did not have this capability. Today, we can build satellites and the payloads required for them," Narayanan said.
Citing an example, he said that earlier optical cameras used lenses that were only about one inch in diameter.
"But today, in ISRO, cameras with optics of about 1.7 metres in diameter and almost one foot in thickness are being developed. These optics are being built at the LEOS (Laboratory For Electro Optics Systems) laboratory in Bengaluru for space observation. Many such activities are happening in the space sector," he noted.
He pointed out that the US, after 1969 and almost after 50-55 years, has again shown interest in landing on the Moon.
"The Artemis programme is already a very vibrant programme, with many activities going on. An accord was signed in 2023, and India is also a signatory to that accord," he said.
Speaking about China and Russia leading efforts to build the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), the ISRO chairman noted, "When we talk about such space stations, one aspect is technology development. The second aspect is the large number of scientific experiments that will take place there. There is also a lot of competition today."
"There was a time when only government organisations across the world carried out space activities. Today, companies like SpaceX have advanced significantly. In fact, they have overtaken many others in terms of launches," he added.
He said that the main idea behind programmes like START 2026 is to encourage the next generation of youngsters to develop interest in this field and to build scientific temper so that they can become great leaders in building the nation.
