Trump's spokesman accused the Washington Post of 'colluding' with the FBI over a report nuclear secrets were kept at Mar-a-Lago

• Donald Trump's spokesman has hit back at a Washington Post report on the Mar-a-Lago raid.
• Taylor Budowich accused the Post of "collusion" with FBI officials.

A spokesman for former President Donald Trump has hit back at a Washington Post report claiming that FBI agents retrieved highly classified documents about a foreign power's nuclear weapons in a search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

Taylor Budowich, Trump's director of communications, described the US newspaper as "the propaganda arm of the Biden administration" – but did not address the substance of the claims.

"Instead of operating openly and honestly, they collude in never-ending leaks and lies at the expense of the integrity of the FBI and DOJ," he added.

Notably absent in the statement is any denial that Trump was keeping nuclear records at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump and his allies have claimed that the August 8 FBI raid is a plot by the former president's political enemies, and have long sought to portray the media as working with hostile officials.

Supporters argue Trump had broadly declassified the records found at Mar-a-Lago, and also that some are shielded by executive privilege rules.

Legal experts have questioned Trump's defense, saying that no evidence has emerged to back claims he declassified the documents, and questioning tha validity of the executive privilege claim.

Previously, Trump had denied reports that nuclear weapons documents were among the items found at Mar-a-Lago.

A federal judge on Monday granted Trump's request for an independent official to be assigned to review the documents taken by the FBI to see if any are covered under privilege rules, stalling the Justice Department's probe.