FBI seizes ‘top secret’ documents from Trump’s home

The FBI has recovered documents marked “top secret” from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court documents released Friday after a federal judge unsealed an unprecedented search warrant this week.

FBI agents obtained 11 sets of classified records from the property during Monday’s search, according to property receipts unsealed by the court.

The seized records included not only some marked top-secret information, but also “sensitive segregated information,” a special category designed to protect the nation’s most important secrets that could cause “unusually serious” damage to U.S. interests if disclosed publicly.

Court records did not provide specific details about the information the documents might contain.

Federal agents are investigating possible violations of three different federal laws, including one governing the collection, transmission or loss of defense information under the Espionage Act, the warrant said.

Other regulations deal with the concealment, destruction or deletion of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.

Property receipts also show that federal agents collected other potential presidential records, including orders to pardon Trump ally Roger Stone, “suitcase papers” and information about “the French president.”

A stack of photographs, a handwritten note, “miscellaneous secret documents” and “miscellaneous secret documents” were also seized during the search.

As agents conducted the search, Mr. Trump’s attorney, Christina Bobb, signed two property receipts at Mar-a-Lago—one two pages long and the other just one page. Page.

In a statement earlier on Friday, Mr. Trump claimed the documents seized by agents were “all declassified” and said he would turn over them if the Justice Department asked.

While sitting presidents typically have the power to declassify information, that power lapses once they leave office, and it’s unclear whether documents have ever been declassified.

Even the incumbent’s declassification powers may be limited when it comes to secrets involving nuclear weapons programs, covert operations and agents, and some data shared with allies.

Trump kept the documents despite requests from many agencies, including the National Archives, to turn over presidential records under federal law.

The Mar-a-Lago search warrant issued Monday is part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into classified White House records recovered from Trump’s home earlier this year.

The Archives had asked the department to investigate after it said 15 boxes of records retrieved from the estate included classified records.

It’s unclear whether the Justice Department is simply using the warrant as a means of retrieving records or as part of a broader criminal investigation.

A number of federal laws govern the handling of classified information, including criminal and civil penalties, and presidential records.

U.S. District Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same judge who signed the search warrant, should sue justice after Attorney General Merrick Garland said “there is a substantial public interest in this matter.” He opened the search warrant and property receipts on Friday, at the request of the ministry, and Trump said he supported the “immediate” release of the warrant.

The Justice Department told a judge on Friday that Mr. Trump’s lawyers were not opposed to the proposal to make it public.

In a message posted on his Truth social platform, Mr Trump wrote: “Not only will I not object to the release of documents…I will go a step further and encourage their immediate release.”

The Justice Department’s request is staggering because these warrants have traditionally remained sealed while pending investigations.

But the department appears to recognize that its silence since the search has created a vacuum for the fiery verbal attacks by Trump and his allies, and believes the public has a right to take the FBI’s side and understand the reasons for Monday’s action at the former president’s home.

“The clear and strong public interest in knowing what’s going on in this situation largely supports lifting the lockdown,” a motion filed Thursday in Florida federal court said.

The information comes as Trump prepares to run for the White House again. During the 2016 campaign, he frequently referred to the FBI’s investigation into whether his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, mishandled classified information.

In order to obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must prove to a judge that there is a probable cause for believing a crime.

Mr Garland, who said he personally approved the warrant, said the department was not taking it lightly, as standard practice is to opt for less intrusive tactics instead of searching one’s home where possible.

In this case, according to a person familiar with the matter, prior to the search warrant, Trump and his representatives made numerous contacts, including subpoena records as well as reports of FBI visits to Mar-a-Lago and Justice Department officials evaluating documents a few months earlier. storage method.

FBI and Justice Department policies warn against discussing ongoing investigations, both to protect the integrity of the investigations and to avoid unfairly defaming those who are under scrutiny but ultimately not charged.

This is especially true in the case of search warrants, and the supporting court documents are often kept secret as the investigation proceeds.

In this case, though, Mr. Garland cited Trump himself for the first time publicly confirming the fact that the FBI searched, “it’s his right”.

The attorney general also condemned verbal attacks on FBI and Justice Department personnel during the search.

Some of Trump’s Republican allies have called for defunding the FBI. A large number of his supporters have called for the arrest warrant to be released, hoping they will prove he was an unfair target.

“I’m not going to stand idly by when their integrity is being unfairly attacked,” Mr. Garland said of federal law enforcement officers, calling them “dedicated, patriotic public servants.”