An attorney representing former President Donald Trump informed the New York Attorney General's Office earlier this year that she conducted a "diligent" search of Mar-a-Lago -- just days before the United States Department of Justice would issue a subpoena for missing top secret national security documents.
Politico reports that attorney Alina Habba, who prior to working for Trump served as general counsel to a parking garage company, told a court that she had scoured "all desks, drawers, nightstands, dressers, closets, etc." inside Mar-a-Lago for documents requested by the New York AG's office as part of a civil investigation into Trump's business practices.
Habba's court filing also features a sworn affidavit from Trump where he says he "authorized Alina Habba to search my private residence and personal office located at The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida for any and all documents responsive to the Subpoena."
The reason this matters, writes Politico, is that Habba told the court that she searched for documents in many of the locations that would subsequently be searched by FBI agents who found that the twice-impeached former president had stashed top secret government documents at the resort despite receiving a subpoena to turn them over.
"Just six days after Habba said she examined every corner of Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department subpoenaed 'any and all documents or writings in the custody or control of Donald J. Trump and/or the Office of Donald J. Trump bearing classification markings,'" the publication writes. "After that subpoena was issued, Trump indicated that he responded by ordering staff to conduct a thorough search of the property for documents marked as classified."
