Donald Trump revives claims the FBI planted evidence in Mar-a-Lago raid …

Former president Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally to support local candidates at the Mohegan Sun Arena on September 03, 2022 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Donald Trump has again claimed the FBI planted evidence at Mar-a-Lago.

It's a claim his lawyers have not made in court appearances.

Trump has offered shifting defences in response to the August 8 raid.

Donald Trump has made fresh claims that the FBI planted evidence in the August 8 search of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida an argument notably absent in legal filings by his attorneys.

The former US president repeated the claim in a posting on his Truth Social network Thursday, after the Justice Department demanded that a federal judge reinstate access to hundreds on classified documents the FBI retrieved in its recent search of his Palm Beach residence.

The judge, Aileen Cannon, had on Monday suspended access to the documents until an independent official had reviewed them.

"They leak, lie, plant fake evidence, allow the spying on my campaign, deceive the FISA Court, RAID and Break-Into my home, lose documents, and then they ask me, as the 45th President of the United States, to trust them," wrote Trump.

He also referenced his longstanding, and unfounded, claim that hostile FBI officials had conspired to smear him over his ties to Russia during his presidency.

In an earlier message he praised Cannon, whom he appointed, as "brilliant and courageous."

Trump has previously claimed the FBI planted evidence in the immediate aftermath of the raid, though has not specified what they planted or offered evidence to back his claim.

He has repeatedly suggested the FBI is part of a political plot against him, describing the agency as "monsters" at a rally last Saturday.

But in response to a recent picture released by the DOJ taken during the raid, showing piles of folders with classified markings in Mar-a-Lago, Trump did not deny the folders were in his possession but said the photo had been set up to make him look bad.

The 45th president's defences are different to those his attorneys are offering in court, where false claims of law enforcement misconduct can attract penalties. His lawyers have focussed on claims that many of the documents taken by the FBI are protected under privilege rules, and were successful in arguing for an independent official to review them on this basis.

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They have also argued that many of the documents were declassified by Trump before leaving office, but no evidence has emerged to substantiate that claim.

The DOJ has requested that Abbott grant it access to the classified documents by September 15, or it will file an appeal.

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Donald Trump revives claims the FBI planted evidence in Mar-a-Lago raid ...