He said it concerned boxes of documents that Trump brought with him from the White House,and that his father has been co-operating with the National Archives on the matter for months.

The Justice Department has been probing the discovery of boxes of records containing classified information that were taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s presidency had concluded.The Washington Post reported the National Archives and Records Administration said it had retrieved 15 boxes of records containing classified information from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. Trump has previously maintained that presidential records were turned over “in an ordinary and routine process”.

Depending on what the search uncovers,the issue could be a powder keg for Trump due to a section of the US Code that makes it a crime if someone who has government documents “wilfully and unlawfully conceals,removes,mutilates,obliterates,falsifies or destroys” them.

Those convicted under the law face up to three years in jail and disqualification from holding office.

Trump has been teasing for months that he will launch another bid for the White House in 2024,despite his legal problems continuing on multiple fronts.

For the past year,a congressional committee has also been probing the 2021 attack on the US Capitol,culminating in a series of explosive hearings that have accused the former president of knowingly inciting the incident as part of a deliberate and co-ordinated attempt to overthrow the 2020 election.

Trump,infamous for exaggerations and lies,claimed that he was once again being politically persecuted by “radical left Democrats” and likened the events to Watergate,the 1972 bungled burglary that led to the biggest political scandal of its time.

“What is the difference between this and Watergate,where operatives broke into the Democratic National Committee?” he asked,before claiming:“Here in reverse,Democrats broke into the home of the 45th president of the United States.”

Within hours,Trump was using the incident to raise campaign money. His fundraising arm,Save America,sent out an email with a clip of former adviser Stephen Miller on Fox News describing the act as an “abomination”,with a link to “Donate to Save America”.

Supporters had also gathered outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to protest against the former president’s treatment,holding signs and shouting obscenities.

The execution of the search warrant raises the stakes for the Justice Department,which earlier on Monday,in a legal filing,defended its decision to seize the phone of John Eastman,the lawyer who helped devise Trump’s strategy to turn back the 2020 election results.

It comes three months before the midterm elections,and as candidates who espouse Trump’s false claims that the last presidential election was stolen are also steadily advancingthrough their primaries.

This has worried the old guard in the Republican Party who fears that some of those nominees are too extreme to appeal to mainstream voters,particularly in the suburbs where elections are won or lost.

The latest case study of Trump’s brand of election denialism emerged in Arizona on Tuesday,where three Republicans who back his lies won important positions in the critical swing state.

The White House is yet to respond to the matter,referring questions to the Justice Department,which is also yet to respond.

The Justice Department has charged about 800 people for their roles in the January 6 attack but has been criticised for moving too slowly in probing Trump and his inner circle.

Attorney-General Merrick Garland has simply said the department would “follow the facts,wherever they lead”.

“No person is above the law in this country,” Garland said in June.

The top House Republican,Kevin McCarthy – who wants the job of speaker if the Republicans win the midterms – claimedthe department had “reached an intolerable state of weaponised politicisation”.

“When Republicans take back the House,we will conduct immediate oversight of this department,follow the facts,and leave no stone unturned,” McCarthy tweeted. “Attorney-General Garland,preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”

- with Reuters

Get a note directly from our foreigncorrespondentson what’s making headlines around the world.Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.