Breaking: FBI Searches Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Home In Florida

A search warrant was executed by the FBI on Monday at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

This action forms part of an inquiry into the handling of presidential documents, comprising classified documents, that may have been taken to Trump's Mar-a-Lago Estate.

Officials are investigating the discovery of boxes of records containing classified information that were taken to the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate when he left office. 

The FBI has searched Donald Trump's estate in Florida, with the former president claiming "the 'unannounced raid' of his home represented "dark times for our nation."

A senior US official said FBI agents were at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach "for the majority of the day."

Following Mr Trump's exit from the White House, the US Justice Department has been investigating the discovery of boxes of records containing classified information that were taken to Mar-a-Lago.

They were retrieved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in January, which then asked the Justice Department to examine whether Mr Trump's handling of White House records violated federal law, noting some of the boxes contained items "marked as classified national security information."

The move by the Justice Department to search Mar-a-Lago over the removal of 15 boxes of presidential records from the White House, including classified documents, as well as the destruction of other materials, marks a dramatic escalation in the inquiry.

Mr Trump earlier gave details of Monday's operation, saying the action represented "dark times for our nation" and as "not necessary or appropriate".

"My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said in a bitter statement on Monday evening, adding: “They even broke into my safe!” 

His lawyer Christina Bobb, who said she was present during the search, told NBC News some papers had been seized.