[689] The Justice Department began an investigation in April 2022 and convened a grand jury.[690] The Justice Department sent Trump a subpoena for additional material on May 11.[689] On June 3, Justice Department officials visited Mar-a-Lago and received some classified documents from Trump's lawyers.[689] One of the lawyers signed a statement affirming that all material marked as classified had been returned to the government.[691] Later that month an additional subpoena was sent requesting surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago, which was provided.[689][692][693]
On August 8, 2022, FBI agents searched Trump's residence, office, and storage areas at Mar-a-Lago to recover government documents and material Trump had taken with him when he left office in violation of the Presidential Records Act,[694][695] reportedly including some related to nuclear weapons.[693] The search warrant, authorized by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and approved by a federal magistrate judge, and the written inventory of the seized items were made public on August 12. The text of the search warrant indicates an investigation of potential violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice laws.