Trump Ends Speculation of DC Area Visit, Teases 'Working' at His Golf Club Former President Donald Trump drives a cart at Trump National Golf Club on Monday in Sterling, Virginia. (Alex Brandon/AP)
By Jay Clemons | Monday, 12 September 2022 02:33 PM EDT
It wouldn't be breaking news to report former President Donald Trump likes to play golf.
But it's apparently a major news event when Trump makes an unannounced golfing trip to our nation's capital.
On Monday, a number of media outlets reported seeing Trump at Trump National Golf Club Washington D.C. in Sterling, Virginia.
The previous evening, Trump was apparently photographed wearing white golf shoes after deplaning from Dulles International Airport.
Trump's surprise visit to the metro area sparked varied speculation about the former president's reason for making a rare post-White House sojourn to Washington D.C.
On Monday morning though, via Truth Social, Trump offered a brief glimpse into his plans, writing, "Working today at @TrumpWashingtonDC on the Potomac River. What an incredible place!"
It's been five full weeks since the FBI executed a morning raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where federal officials reportedly seized 11 sets of materials that had possible markings of "classified" or "top secret."
As a follow-up, anonymous sources have accused Trump of mishandling secret documents, but nothing has been substantiated in a public forum.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted the Trump team's request for a special master in the legal-document dispute between Trump and the Justice Department (DOJ).
During the course of that ruling, Judge Cannon also identified a springtime letter from the National Archives and Record Administration to Trump's legal team, with the conclusion reading: "NARA will provide the FBI access to the records in question, as requested by the incumbent President, beginning as early as Thursday, May 12, 2022."
There's also the matter of presidential declassification, likely regarding the same sets of documents.
During a recent Newsmax appearance, Trump attorney Alina Habba told "Spicer & Co." the ongoing circus involving Trump's stored documents has become absurd.
Habba explained the Presidential Records Act gives Trump — and every other U.S. president, past and present — the authority to declassify documents while holding office.
And based on feedback she had received, Habba said Trump's team of Florida attorneys had been fully cooperating with NARA officials.
"So, it was a bit of surprise, you can imagine, when the [FBI] raid happened," says Habba.