During an appearance on Fox News on Monday, October 13, 2025, Eric Trump made significant allegations, suggesting that evidence was planted by former Special Counsel Jack Smith during the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, in August 2022. However, Smith was not put in charge of the investigation until three months after the search.

The 41-year-old executive of the Trump Organization was promoting his new book on the network when he began discussing the investigation into classified documents. Eric Trump recounted receiving a call about federal agents arriving at his father’s Florida home with a search warrant and claimed the FBI immediately insisted that security cameras be turned off.

Eric Trump then made a central claim, alleging that Smith was “planting manila folders on the office of my father, taking these you know, glamorous photoshoots where he has them all fanned out like a turkey.” He further stated that investigators conducted what he described as organized photo sessions with classified documents spread across the carpet.

There is a critical issue with the timeline of Trump’s allegations. The FBI executed its search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022, following unsuccessful attempts to retrieve documents through Trump’s cooperation. Smith, however, was not appointed as special counsel until November 2022, more than three months after the search.

At the time of the Mar-a-Lago search, Smith was serving as chief prosecutor at The Hague, focusing on war crimes from the 1990s Kosovo conflict. He had to travel from Europe to the U.S. to take on his role overseeing both the classified documents case and the investigation into January 6 events.

Eric Trump has reiterated similar accusations in various right-wing media outlets recently. In an October 7 interview with Steve Bannon, he claimed Smith was planting classified folders in his father’s office. Three days later, he told Megyn Kelly that Smith was arranging folders on a carpet in carefully planned photo shoots, suggesting his father would not leave classified materials spread out on office carpeting.

The FBI search resulted in the seizure of substantial evidence, including at least 26 boxes containing 11 sets of classified documents, some marked at the highest classification levels. According to the indictment, classified documents were located throughout Mar-a-Lago, including a storage room, shower, office, bedroom, and ballroom. Photos released by the Justice Department showed boxes stacked around a toilet in a bathroom under a chandelier, as well as in the property’s white-and-gold ballroom.

Eric Trump’s appearance was part of the Trump family’s ongoing efforts to portray various investigations as politically driven attacks. He claimed the family spent $400 million defending against what he called sham investigations, drawing parallels between the Mar-a-Lago search and other legal actions.

The classified documents case led to 32 federal charges against President Donald Trump, including willful retention of national defense information. However, the case was dismissed by a Trump-appointed judge, and the Justice Department has since moved to drop various prosecutions following Trump’s return to office.

Eric Trump’s Monday appearance on Fox News occurred as his father renewed calls for the Justice Department to investigate his political adversaries, claiming he remains the victim of politicized law enforcement. The president has publicly advocated for inquiries into his perceived enemies since his return to office in January.

Legal experts have noted the unusual nature of Eric Trump’s specific accusations against Smith. The detailed conspiracy theory concerning evidence planting during a search that predated Smith’s appointment highlights a significant factual error in the broader narrative constructed by Trump family members regarding the investigations.

The original search warrant was executed after the government obtained evidence contradicting Trump’s legal team’s claims that all classified documents had been returned in response to a federal subpoena. Federal prosecutors had made several attempts to retrieve the materials through cooperative efforts before resorting to the search warrant.