The US Justice Department revealed on Friday that it was investigating former President Donald Trump for removing White House files because it believed he was in possession of illegal documents, including some related to intelligence gathering and clandestine human sources – some of America’s most closely held secrets. The department released a heavily redacted affidavit that supported the FBI’s Aug. 8 emergency search of Trump’s Florida residence, in which agents seized 11 sets of classified files, including some marked “top secret” as documents that could seriously threaten national security if exposed. In the affidavit, an unidentified FBI agent said the agency reviewed and identified 184 “classified” documents containing “national defense information” after Trump returned 15 boxes of government records sought by the US National Archives in January. Other files in those boxes, according to the affidavit, contained Trump’s handwritten notes. The investigation was part of a federal investigation into whether Trump removed and retained illegal documents when he left office in January 2021 after losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, and whether Trump tried to obstruct the investigation. Trump, a Republican considering another presidential bid in 2024, has described the court-authorized search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach as politically motivated and on Friday again described it as a “burglary.” Documents released with the affidavit revealed that “a significant number of civilian witnesses” with knowledge of Trump’s actions after leaving office were assisting the investigation, a rare revelation. The investigation was a major escalation of one of several federal and state investigations Trump is facing into his time in office and private businesses.
“OBSTACLE EVIDENCE”
The agent who wrote the affidavit wrote that after the FBI reviewed materials returned by Trump in January to the National Archives — the agency responsible for maintaining government records — it had probable cause to believe more documents were still in the Mar- a-Lago. “There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found at the facility,” the agent added. Other defense-related files returned by Trump contained references to subjects including “undercover human sources” who help gather U.S. intelligence, the affidavit showed, as well as details on how the nation conducts foreign surveillance and information collected using a law that established the US Domestic Surveillance Program. The 32-page affidavit, a sworn statement outlining evidence that gave the Justice Department probable cause to ask a judge to approve a search warrant, was heavily redacted at the department’s request. Most pages had at least some sections blacked out. Some have complete blackouts. An additional six pages of documents were released with it. The department had tried to keep the affidavit secret. But after the media sued to make it public, US Judge Bruce Rinehart, who approved the search warrant based on the affidavit, on Thursday ordered the release of a redacted version. Trump complained on social media that the released affidavit was “heavily doctored” and asked Reinhart to step down from the case, without giving any apparent basis. Trump’s legal team has not formally filed such a request. “Judge Bruce Rinehart should NEVER have allowed my home to be invaded,” Trump wrote.
BIDEN IS WEIGHING IN
Asked by reporters if it’s ever appropriate for a president to bring classified material home, Biden said: “It depends on the document and it depends on how secure the location is.” Biden added that he has an “absolutely secure” location at his home and would take home a copy of his daily intelligence briefing on Friday, but said those files would later be returned to the military. The FBI agent said in the affidavit that a preliminary review in May of records previously obtained by the Archives from Trump found 184 “unique documents” designated as classified — 67 labeled “confidential,” 92 labeled “secret.” and 25 marked “top secret”. The newly released documents showed how Trump allies tried to claim he had declassified the files in question as a way to downplay the investigation. The affidavit cited an op-ed published in May by Kash Patel, a former Trump administration official, who called media reports about the National Archives finding classified material at Mar-a-Lago “misleading.” Brandon Fox, a former federal prosecutor now with the law firm Jenner & Block, said the references to Trump’s claims about the documents being declassified are significant, even though much of the material is redacted. “They probably point to the proof that the DOJ (Department of Justice) believes it has proven that Mr. Trump had not declassified the documents,” Fox told Reuters. On social media, Patel said the fact that his name was left unsaid was evidence of “DoJ politicking at its finest.” The newly released documents showed how Trump’s lawyers tried to play down the department’s concerns about the records. “Any attempt to criminalize a President or former President involving his actions with respect to classified documents would raise serious constitutional separation of powers issues,” Trump’s lawyer Evan Corcoran wrote in a May 25 letter to Department of Justice official. . “Furthermore, the primary criminal statute governing the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material does not apply to the President,” Corcoran added.
