The FBI has returned boxes of personal property seized in their raid of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, The Hill reported. In August 2022, the agency took 33 boxes from the home ostensibly to recover mishandled classified documents.
"The FBI is giving the President his property back that was taken during the unlawful and illegal raids. We are taking possession of the boxes today and loading them onto Air Force One," Steven Cheung, White House communications director, said in a statement Friday.
Trump's counselor, Alina Habba, posted to X, formerly Twitter, that she witnessed the return of his boxes. "I just personally loaded the infamous 'boxes' back onto Air Force 1 to head home where they belong. Justice has been and will continue to be restored in this country under President Trump. TRUTH AND JUSTICE ALWAYS WIN IN THE END. God Bless America."
I just personally loaded the infamous “boxes” back onto Air Force 1 to head home where they belong. Justice has been and will continue to be restored in this country under President Trump. TRUTH AND JUSTICE ALWAYS WIN IN THE END. God Bless America 🇺🇸
— Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) February 28, 2025
Habba noted that the FBI's raid on Trump was unnecessarily intrusive. Agents rummaged through closets belonging to wife, Melania Trump, and son, Barron Trump, and took things like newspaper clippings and photos that had nothing to do with the investigation.
Moreover, the premise of the government's argument that justified the raid didn't hold up under judicial scrutiny. Last July, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon effectively dismissed Trump's case by ruling that special counsel Jack Smith's appointment to investigate Trump was unconstitutional.
Now, after years of lawfare being waged against him, Friday's move was a win that took Donald Trump one step closer to restitution. "They [boxes] are being brought down to Florida and will someday be part of the Trump Presidential Library," Donald Trump said on his Truth Social Friday.
"Justice finally won out. I did absolutely nothing wrong," the president added.
"This was merely an attack on a political opponent that, obviously, did not work well. Justice in our Country will now be restored," Donald Trump concluded.
The effort to take Donald Trump out began with his first presidential run in 2016 when the Russia collusion hoax began. According to the Associated Press, that charge was leveled on a faulty premise that allowed the government to spy on his campaign before it ultimately fell apart.
Still, the charge hung over him during his first term and was routinely a line of attack. By the time he left the White House in 2021, Donald Trump was impeached twice and called an "insurrectionist" over his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Then, as Donald Trump announced he would once again seek the presidency in 2022, his enemies were at it all over again again. In all, Donald Trump faced four separate criminal cases while building up his campaign.
As each case would crumble one by one, Trump promised he would be vindicated in the end. Now, he finally got that chance as the FBI turned his things back over to him after its case fell apart.
Donald Trump will never get back the time and money he wasted defending himself against all of these attacks. However, he has prevailed against everything they could possibly throw at him, and now he will get at least a portion of the long-overdue restitution.
