it is much more than a "gotcha" that they want. They want some type of vindication for believing every false narrative and blatant corruption by the establishment over the last 7 years now.
I know it is used as a joke, but one cannot understate the actual mass formation psychosis from those on the left and anti-trumpers, which has been caused by these fake narratives and media influence. Psychosis is not believing reality, and they clearly have been lead down a path that is not reality.
Just look how it has snowballed from republicans, especially Trump republicans are racist, sexist, and/or patriarchy word salad that was pretty laughable not even a decade ago. Those exact same people years later, after believing all these fake stories (that actually show democrat and anti-trump republican corruption) now believe anyone who doesnt believe their narrative, is a domestic terrorist and a threat to democracy, whether that be a concerned parent at a school board, someone who doesn't want an experimental vaccine (that isn't a real vaccine), someone who thinks the world won't be underwater in 20 years, if you don't think we should be pushing a new proxy war, that thinks they were issues with the 2020 election.
Their psychosis is so strong that they need this. But imagine how pathetic it would be, after all these fake stories about Trump, that they way they got him (which he won't even go to jail for), but simply that he cannot run again because he had a few documents from his presidency (which is not confirmed yet). They are desperate to prove to themselves that it really was orange man bad this whole time and find vindication for believing all the spin and lies.
That is cause they have doubled down on their psychosis soooo much that they are unhinged. Imagine how unhinged they will continue to become if this is a nothing burger just like 1/6 hearings that noone cares about outside of of the same psychotic liberals, and he announces his presidency soon after, and then pays for national spots to play this beauty of a video.
I encourage everyone to go to twitter and look and search "safe with classified" to see how the #blueAnons are already super worked up, and spreading disinformation like "leaks are saying Trump had files with Obama, Clinton, Biden labels and price tags" and other ridiculous shit. Here is the search right here. Pretty amazing to see this psychosis in action, as it strengthens its hold.
https://twitter.com/search?q=safe with classified&src=recent_search_click
I agree with the second part of your post. But nothing is confirmed yet about this yet. Plus this case was referred by the national archives, but already Trump returned the related documents for their complaint. But because they did file a complaint and because of the complaint they did send investigators. When they went a Trump lawyer told investigators that they have a safe that have some classified documents. So the basis is that there may be more documents he did not return, without knowing the nature of said documents, if they are even there, etc.
Just look at the NY Times reporting. They even say he returned the documents already lol
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/us/politics/trump-fbi-mar-a-lago.html
"The search, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation, appeared to be focused on material that Mr. Trump had brought with him to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence, when he left the White House. Those boxes contained many pages of classified documents, according to a person familiar with their contents.
Mr. Trump delayed returning 15 boxes of material requested by officials with the National Archives for many months, only doing so when there became a threat of action to retrieve them. The case was referred to the Justice Department by the archives early this year."