In a closed-door congressional interview, former FBI Washington Field Office official, Steven D’Antuono, shed light on a disagreement that occurred between the FBI and the Justice Department regarding the recovery of sensitive documents held by former President Donald Trump after he left office. D’Antuono, who has since transitioned to the private sector, disclosed details of this dispute during a private interview with the House Judiciary Committee. The disagreement, while considered an “everyday discussion,” caused concern among law enforcement officials involved in the planning and execution of the Mar-a-Lago search. Portions of the interview transcript reviewed by POLITICO revealed the inner workings of this clash.
According to D’Antuono’s account, the Justice Department wanted FBI agents to promptly execute a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago to seize any potentially classified documents, expressing fears that such sensitive materials could end up in the wrong hands. However, the FBI’s Washington Field Office team, led by D’Antuono, preferred to approach Trump’s attorneys to seek permission to conduct the search. They argued that since Trump did not spend his summers at Mar-a-Lago, it was prudent to coordinate the search properly. D’Antuono shared in the interview, “We made comments like this — like, ‘no one is down there anyway at this point,’ right… It’s empty. The [former] president is gone. He was in Bedminster, or wherever he was. Let’s plan this the right way. We’ve got time.”
Contrarily, DOJ officials were concerned that if Trump’s team was asked again to turn over any remaining classified documents, those documents might disappear. To mitigate this risk, the FBI developed a surveillance plan for Mar-a-Lago in the event that Trump’s team attempted to remove any disputed papers from the premises. D’Antuono elaborated on this plan during the interview, explaining, “Again, no one was there. So if they brought in — they meaning the [former] president’s, you know, people — brought in a big box truck, we would see it, right, and we would have the search warrant in hand and be able to act at that point.”
The retention of these sensitive documents by Trump now forms the basis of a 37-count federal felony indictment against him, which was unsealed just two days after D’Antuono’s congressional interview. The indictment alleges that Trump maintained a collection of highly classified materials, including documents pertaining to overseas nuclear holdings and military plans, at his Florida club.
Describing the dynamics leading up to the Mar-a-Lago search, D’Antuono emphasized the differing desires between the FBI and DOJ, stating, “There was consternation from both sides… DOJ wants stuff. We were pushing back. That’s the beauty of our system, right. It’s like, that’s the judicial system in a sense.” He clarified that although there may have been a back-and-forth, it was not intended as a “showdown” but rather a routine discussion that occurs in every case.
In the end, the DOJ prevailed. On August 8, 2022, the FBI conducted the search at the former president’s club and successfully retrieved a significant volume of classified documents. Notably, Trump himself was not present at Mar-a-Lago on that day, which was considered advantageous by the FBI. D’Antuono acknowledged in the interview that he had concerns about the potential risks associated with conducting the Mar-a-Lago search while the subject of the investigation was present, stating, “Who wants the subject of the search present at any search you do? You don’t normally want that, right… It just makes it easier and less of a spectacle at that point. And honestly, I didn’t want the spectacle for obvious reasons of why we’re sitting here today… It’s a reputational risk, right, and that’s the way I looked at it from the Bureau.”
When approached for comments regarding this story, D’Antuono declined, and a spokesperson for the DOJ also declined to comment.
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