WASHINGTON —

Former President Donald Trump said in a lengthy statement Monday that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

The circumstances were not immediately clear. Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department did not return messages seeking comment Monday evening.

“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said in his statement.

The Justice Department has been investigating the discovery of boxes of records containing classified information that were taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump's presidency had concluded. It was not clear whether the FBI search was connected to that probe.

A separate investigation related to efforts by Trump allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol has also been intensifying in Washington.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —

A federal judge awaited arguments Thursday on whether to appoint an outside legal expert to review government records seized by the FBI last month in a search of former President Donald Trump's Florida home.

Lawyers for Trump say the appointment of a special master is necessary to ensure an independent inspection of the documents. This kind of review, they say, would allow for “highly personal information” such as diaries or journals to be separated from the investigation and returned to Trump, along with any other documents that may be protected by claims of attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.

The Justice Department says an appointment is unwarranted because investigators have completed their review of potentially privileged records and identified “a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information.”

The government says Trump lacks legal grounds to demand the return of presidential documents because they do not belong to him. The department has also expressed concerns that the appointment could delay the investigation, in part because a special master probably would need to obtain a security clearance to review the records and special authorization from intelligence agencies.

The hearing before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon was scheduled for 1 p.m.

Video below: Trump's legal team responds to DOJ's latest filing on Mar-a-Lago search

Cannon had said on Saturday, before the latest arguments in the matter, that her “preliminary intent” was to appoint a special master. It was not clear whether she might make a final determination Thursday or how her view might be affected by the fact that the Justice Department says it has already reviewed potentially privileged documents.

It was also not clear who might be serve as that outside expert. In some past high-profile cases, the role has been filled by a former federal judge.

Cannon was nominated by Trump in 2020 and confirmed by the Senate 56-21 later that year. She is a former assistant U.S. attorney in Florida, handling mainly criminal appeals.

The Justice Department and former President Donald Trump's lawyers face a Friday midnight deadline for submitting proposals for how the special master review of the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago — including classified documents — should work.

They'll be filing the briefs even as the Justice Department appeals the order requiring the review, in which a third-party attorney will sift through the materials from Trump's Florida home and segregate out the privileged documents that should be withheld from federal investigators.

While the appeal plays out, prosecutors are also asking that its review of classified documents be allowed to continue separate from the special master review. The parties have been instructed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to weigh in on the department's arguments about the documents in the filing due Friday.

With the Friday submission, the Justice Department and the Trump team will also be addressing questions about the review's logistics that are wonky, but stand to carry significance over how quickly the review will move and how much it will hinder the criminal investigation into the handling of documents from Trump's White House.

Cannon, a 2020 appointee of Trump who granted Trump's request for the review, has asked the parties to file jointly. But that doesn't mean the parties will be in agreement. Where they disagree, the judge has asked them to identify those disagreements.

Here's what to watch for:

Who do the parties nominate as special master?

The unique circumstances of the Mar-a-Lago search, coupled with Cannon's very murky order granting Trump's request for a special master, make the ideal candidate for the job a complicated formula.

The Justice Department has previously said that, if the reviewer is to handle classified materials, he or she should "already" have a top-secret clearance — a requirement the Trump team didn't oppose in earlier filings.

Video below: Mar-a-Lago search inventory released

It's also possible that the parties put forward candidates who do not have active security clearances but could go through the vetting process for one very quickly. Recent exiles from the government would fit the bill, as would former judges, who may not have clearance but would have been trusted with classified materials as part of their service on the bench.

But notably, the Justice Department asked Thursday that it not be required to share the classified materials it obtained with the special master — which may negate the need for a clearance.

As for legal expertise, reviewing for attorney-client privilege is the usual job of a special master. But the judge's order that executive privilege be part of what the special master looks at puts the review on uncharted territory. There is also lots of disagreement about the doctrine itself, though many legal experts are extremely skeptical of Cannon's view that it should play a role here.

One thing to look out for when the potential candidates are revealed is whether they have any experience litigating executive privilege, either on the federal side (where they would have likely pushed a broad view of its scope) or on the side of a party — such as Congress — seeking information from the executive branch (where they would have likely argued in favor of a narrow interpretation of the privilege).

What's the proposed scope of the review?

Cannon's Monday order signaled she wanted the special master review to help settle disputes over whether certain seized records were personal or presidential records, and whether the personal items of Trump's that were seized have evidentiary value.

The parties may sketch out how they believe the special master should make those determinations. DOJ has argued previously that its investigators should be allowed to hold on to certain personal items of Trump to the extent they provide evidence relevant to the statutes the government is investigating. (An inventory filed by the government details classified records being stored in boxes also containing Trump's clothing, gifts and press clippings.)

While the special master's job is to provide the court advice, the call on those questions will ultimately be up to the judge.

Thursday, DOJ added it plans to provide Trump with copies of all the unclassified documents that were seized and "that the government will return Plaintiff's personal items that were not commingled with classified records and thus are of likely diminished evidentiary value."

Cannon also declared a need for the special master to review for potentially privileged items. How a special master should approach attorney-client privilege is a well-developed area of law, though the judge has cast doubt on how the department was approaching the attorney-client privilege review when it was conducted with an internal "filter" team.

The judge also wants the special master to conduct a review for materials potentially covered by executive privilege, though her Monday order gave little guidance how that review would work in practice.

What does the Justice Department say about executive privilege?

How the special master should approach executive privilege could be the most contentious area of the joint filing.

The Justice Department has argued that there is no role for executive privilege to play in segregating the materials that should be withheld from investigators. Prosecutors may be disinclined to go into any detail over how it should be considered on Friday. They have previously argued in the case that the privilege is designed to protect the material from being disclosed to parties outside the executive branch.

The records that were seized at Mar-a-Lago by the executive branch are being disclosed within the executive branch in an executive branch function, the prosecutors have argued. By some definitions of the privilege, it could cover most or all the government records obtained in the search.

But the prosecutors have argued that there is no circumstance where a former president could be successful in asserting executive privilege over classified documents that are the subject of a criminal probe.

Trump's lawyers, meanwhile, have said little about which kinds of government records he would seek to assert executive privilege over and how he'd expect the special master to filter out the materials for him to do so.

The 15 boxes of White House records that were stored at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence contained items marked as classified national security information.

That is according to the National Archives and Records Administration. The agency said Friday that the matter has been referred to the Justice Department.

They revealed the information in response to a Feb. 9 letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Committee. House lawmakers had opened an investigation and the National Archives has reportedly asked the Justice Department to look into the matter. The FBI has not indicated what, if anything, will be done.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived at Palm Beach International Airport Wednesday evening to spend the final Christmas of his presidency at Mar-a-Lago.

The Federal Aviation Administration placed temporary flight restrictions around Mar-a-Lago's airspace on Tuesday and the Town of Palm Beach has placed checkpoints and closed roads around Mar-a-Lago. Those closures will be in effect through Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021.

The Trumps traditionally attend a Christmas service at Bethesda By The Sea in Palm Beach, but this year the church will be holding services virtually.

On Thursday, the first lady and President Trump wished everyone "a very Merry Christmas" in a video posted to the first lady's official Facebook page.

"President Donald J. Trump & I send our warmest wishes to all as we celebrate Christmas," the first lady captioned the video. "May the love we share with our family & friends fill our hearts with peace & joy!"

This story was first reported by Jason Davis at WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Town of Palm Beach, Florida, is considering its legal options as former President Donald Trump is still living at his Mar-a-Lago club, a possible violation of a 1993 agreement.

Town Manager Kirk Blouin said in a brief email Thursday that Palm Beach is examining its options and the matter might be discussed at the town council's February meeting.

Trump and the town agreed nearly 30 years ago when he turned the estate into a club that he would not live there more than seven days consecutively or more than 21 days a year.

Back in December, a lawyer for the DeMoss family, who owns property next door to the resort, sent a letter to the town in regards to the agreement, according to The New York Times and The Seattle Times.

Trump's office disputes that there's an agreement, saying nothing prevents him from living there.

According to the Palm Beach Post reported, when Trump converted the residence into the club, his lawyer assured the council in 1993 that Trump would not live at the club.

Former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, club has been partially closed because of a COVID outbreak.

That’s according to several people familiar with the situation, including a club member who received a phone call about the closure Friday.

A receptionist at the Mar-a-Lago club confirmed the news, saying it was closed until further notice, but declined to comment further. A person familiar with club operations said that, out of an abundance of caution, the club had partially closed a section “for a short period of time” and quarantined some of its workers.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation by name.