An FBI affidavit filed ahead of the search of former President Donald Trump’s home says agents reviewed 184 classified documents kept at the Florida property after he left the White House — including many with Trump’s apparent handwriting on them – and interviewed “a significant number of political witnesses” in their ongoing investigation. The details contained in the affidavit and the unsealing on Friday, nearly three weeks after the Aug. 8 investigation, underscore the high stakes and unprecedented nature of a criminal investigation into whether the former president and his aides obtained classified government documents and denied to return all the material — even in the face of demands from senior law enforcement officials. The affidavit suggests that if some of the classified documents had fallen into the wrong hands, they could have revealed sensitive details about human intelligence sources or how spy agencies monitor the electronic communications of foreign targets. “There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found,” the affidavit states. A federal judge read the affidavit and authorized the search on August 5. Three days later, FBI agents dressed in polo shirts and khakis executed a search warrant at the Palm Beach estate, removing about 20 boxes from a bedroom, an office and a first-floor storage room, according to an inventory of what was recovered from the property released earlier this month. The warrant authorizing the search said agents were looking for all “physical documents and records that constitute evidence, contraband, proceeds of crime or other items unlawfully possessed in violation of three possible crimes,” including a part of the Espionage Act that prohibits collection, transmission or loss of national defense information. The warrant also mentions destruction of records and concealment or mutilation of government material. Trump spokesman Taylor Budowitz said in a statement: “This is a serious travesty, and anything left uncorrected only further supports President Trump’s position that there was NO reason for a raid – it’s all politics!” The 38-page affidavit says federal agents sought permission to conduct the search after examining the contents of 15 boxes Trump returned to the National Archives earlier this year and found documents found to be classified. Some were marked “HCS,” a category of highly classified government information. others related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and material intended not to be shared with foreign nations. The acronym “HCS” stands for “HUMINT Control Systems” and refers to the government systems used to protect information gathered from covert human sources, the affidavit states. In total, those boxes contained 184 unique classified documents, according to the affidavit. Some of the documents, the affidavit said, include Trump’s handwritten notes. Twenty-five of these were marked top secret, while 92 were marked with the lowest classification of “secret”; 67 were designated “confidential,” the lowest level of classification. Classified information and Trump documents investigation: What you need to know The affidavit also includes a May 25 letter from Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran to the Justice Department defending the president’s conduct by arguing that Trump had the ultimate classification authority within the government. In the letter, Corcoran insisted his client had cooperated with the investigation and complained about leaks. Criminalizing Trump’s conduct on classified documents, Corcoran argued, “would raise serious constitutional separation of powers issues.” The lawyer asked that any petition to a judge or grand jury in connection with the investigation include Trump’s defense letter. A separate, partially redacted document also unsealed Friday outlines prosecutors’ rationale for withholding significant portions of the affidavit and shows that a large number of people have provided information to the FBI about classified documents kept at Mar-a-Lago. . The memo states that the amendments to the affidavit were necessary to “protect the safety and privacy of a significant number of civilian witnesses, in addition to law enforcement personnel, as well as to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation and to avoid disclosure of the grand jury material.” The archives requested records after Trump’s lawyer agreed to have them returned, the email said Affidavits are detailed documents about an investigation that law enforcement officers submit to judges in hopes that they will approve their applications for search warrants. The affidavit usually contains key information about witnesses, why agents believe evidence of a crime may be found on a particular property or device, and investigative steps prior to an investigation. It is unusual for the details of such an affidavit to be made public, particularly in an ongoing investigation. However, numerous media organizations and other parties have called for the document to be unsealed, citing extreme public interest in the case involving a former president who may run for re-election in 2024. Federal Judge Bruce E. Reinhart, who approved the search warrant, granted the request to unseal the affidavit but allowed the Justice Department to propose redactions of information that government officials said could jeopardize the investigation or the safety of witnesses. Large portions of the affidavit remained sealed as the Justice Department continues its investigation into whether crimes were committed, including the possible mishandling of national defense information. Of the 38 pages of the affidavit, nearly half are entirely or mostly redacted. Trump’s secret documents and the “myth” of the presidential security clearance The investigation intensified Trump’s longstanding animosity toward the Justice Department and the FBI. Emails, documents and interviews show months of conflict followed between the former president and law enforcement over getting the documents — which are protected by the Presidential Records Act — into the hands of the National Archives and Records Administration. Some material recovered in the investigation is considered highly sensitive, two people familiar with the probe said, and could reveal closely guarded secrets about U.S. intelligence-gathering methods. One of the people said the information is “one of the most sensitive secrets we keep.” Like others interviewed about the investigation, the two people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public. This is a developing story. He will be informed.
