- Donald Trump filed a motion on Monday to have a "special master" review materials seized by the FBI.
- Trump also demanded the documents be returned so that he can give them back to the National Archives.
- The National Archives previously asked for the files before the agency approached the DOJ around February.
Donald Trump asked for all documents taken from his Mar-a-Lago home to be returned so that he can give the files back to the National Archives and Records Administration, while also claiming they will be needed again later for his presidential library.
"This Mar-a-Lago Break-in Search, And Seizure was illegal and unconstitutional, and we are taking all actions necessary to get the documents back, which we would have given to them without the necessity of the despicable raid of my home, so that I can give them to the National Archives until they are required for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library and Museum," Trump said on Monday in a press release posted on Truth Social.
The former president's statement came with his announcement of a lawsuit his attorneys filed in a Florida federal court on Monday.
The suit asks for a "special master," which is a court-appointed party, to review all the White House documents seized from his Palm Beach home by the FBI on August 8, along with a "more detailed" list of the items taken.
Trump's demand comes months after the National Archives first requested the return of any White House files in February. The agency then asked the Justice Department to investigate if the former president broke any federal laws.
It's also one in a series of ever-changing motives he's given for taking official documents — some of which are now known to be classified — by claiming that he needed the documents for his presidential library.
Trump previously said the documents were taken by accident, brought home from work, and that some of them were planted by the FBI.
DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley, in a statement to CNBC and other news organizations on Trump's action, said "The Aug. 8 search warrant at Mar-a-Lago was authorized by a federal court upon the required finding of probable cause. The Department is aware of this evening's motion. The United States will file its response in court."
His claim appears to stem from his previous defense regarding former President Barack Obama and how he transferred White House documents for his own presidential library. In Obama's case, a standard legal process for transferring White House records was followed.
Trump was set to receive the 15th presidential library. The National Archives set up a website soon after he left office, but the plans for the library so far have been nebulous.
A spokesman for Trump did not immediately return a request for comment.