The Real Goal Behind the FBI Trump Raid Wasn't Nuclear Documents, Officials Say

Catch up: The FBI raided former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida for possibly violating federal laws relating to classified documents. The FBI claimed that the documents were highly sensitive, with some even involving nuclear weapons.

The real target: According to two high-level U.S. intelligence officials that spoke to Newsweek, the real goal of the raid was to confiscate Trump’s “private stash” of documents. The sources say Trump compiled these documents to exonerate himself of Russia collusion claims or other 2016 election-related charges. The FBI was afraid that Trump could weaponize the information for political gain.

The nuclear weapons theory was just a way to justify the raid: The intelligence officials say that nuclear weapon documents were never the focus—only used to justify the raid on the residence while protecting the source who informed them about Trump’s private stash.

Big picture: If these sources are correct, the intelligence community created a false narrative to raid Trump and prevent the former president from proving his innocence and/or revealing dirt on his political opposition.