Trump Returns Seized Mar-a-Lago Documents To His Florida Home: ‘Justice Finally Won Out’

President Donald Trump transported boxes of classified documents back to Florida on Friday, nearly two years after the FBI seized them during a court-ordered search of his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022. The return of these materials follows the dismissal of the classified documents case against him in November after his victory in the 2024 presidential election. 

When the National Archives alerted the Justice Department in 2022 that Trump had failed to return a collection of classified documents after leaving office, an FBI search of his Florida estate uncovered over 15 boxes of classified records that had not been surrendered.

Although Trump had returned some materials, his refusal to give back the remaining documents caused him to be charged with mishandling classified information and obstructing efforts to retrieve the documents, both of which he pleaded not guilty to. Trump argued that the records were declassified and therefore personal property, a claim that federal law allows only if proper declassification procedures are followed before leaving office—something he reportedly did not do.

In a statement, Trump celebrated the return of the documents, asserting that “justice finally won out,” framing the investigation into his handling of presidential records as a politically motivated act. “The Department of Justice has just returned the boxes,” Trump said. “They are being brought down to Florida and will someday be part of the Trump Presidential Library.”

The documents were returned via Air Force One. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung described the boxes as “personal items that belong to the president.”

Alina Habba, counselor to the president and his personal lawyer, similarly agreed that the documents “are President Trump’s things. These are his items, and they needed to be returned to him.” She dismissed concerns over how the documents would be stored and whether the White House would implement new security measures in light of the prior court case. She defended his right to keep them, saying, “They were personal items. You can’t just go into somebody’s home in this country. This is what differentiates us from a third world country.”