The FBI may have missed a 'hidden room' in the hunt for documents at Mar-a-Lago: report
- Two spaces may have been skipped in the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago, sources told ABC News.
- Special Counsel Jack Smith has reportedly asked about a closet and a "hidden room" off Trump's bedroom.
Special Counsel Jack Smith's team has been asking about two Mar-a-Lago locations that the FBI may have skipped in 2022 when it sought to recover missing classified documents, sources told ABC News.
Unidentified sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that in several interviews ahead of former President Donald Trump's indictment over the documents, Smith's team tried to find out if further documents were still to be recovered from two potential locations.
The FBI recovered hundreds of documents during its August 2022 raid. However, the reported line of questioning suggests that Smith's team believes further documents could remain in two locations not searched by the FBI.
The unnamed sources told ABC News that the FBI didn't search a "hidden room" off Trump's bedroom that they had been unaware of, as well as a closet that was locked on the day.
Trump is alleged to have had the lock on the closet — comprising an under-stairwell space equipped with shelves — changed without the knowledge of the FBI and while his attorney was elsewhere in Mar-a-Lago's basement, the outlet reported.
When agents approached the closet, they were told the space went nowhere, and they decided not to break it open, the sources said.
Smith's team learned soon after the search that officers had missed some of the rooms, the sources said.
It's unclear if any remaining classified documents are in either of the spaces, ABC News reported.
Former federal prosecutor and Department of Justice national security official Jordan Strauss told the outlet that the reported omissions are "a bit astonishing," as the FBI is "notorious for their relentlessness and follow-through."
Business Insider was unable to independently confirm the report, and a spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment, sent outside of working hours.
But a Trump spokesperson told ABC News that the document case comprises "just desperate attempts at election interference ... to stop the presumptive Republican nominee for President."
Trump, who has all but seen off the competition in the race to become the GOP's presidential nominee, faces a criminal trial related to the documents, which is set to begin on May 20.