January 2021: Trump Team Certified That Items From The White House Being Shipped To Them Were Required To Wind Down The Former President’s Official Business. According to the Associated Press, “Then-President Donald Trump left the White House for Florida ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. According to the General Services Administration, members of Trump’s transition team were responsible for packing items into boxes, putting boxes on pallets and shrink-wrapping those pallets so they could be transported. Prior to shipping, GSA said it ‘required the outgoing transition team to certify in writing that the items being shipped were required to wind down the Office of the Former President and would be utilized as the Office transitioned to its new location in Florida.’” [Associated Press, 8/31/22]
May 6, 2021: National Archives Official Wrote To Trump’s Team Noting About 24 Boxes Of Records Remained Missing. According to CBS News, “An official working for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) warned Donald Trump’s legal team in May 2021 that the Archives was missing numerous records from the Trump White House that urgently needed to be returned, according to a letter released by the Archives on Monday following a Freedom of Information Act request. On May 6, 2021, NARA general counsel Gary Stern wrote to a group of Trump attorneys, including Patrick Philbin and Michael Purpura, informing them that ‘roughly two dozen boxes of original Presidential records’ from Trump’s time in office that were once kept in the White House residence had yet to be returned to the Archives.” [CBS News, 10/3/22]
Archives Official Said The Missing Records Including Trump’s “Original Correspondence” With Kim Jong Un And The Letter Obama Left For Trump. According to CBS News, “Other missing records included an ‘original correspondence’ between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and a letter then-president Barack Obama left for Trump during the 2017 presidential transition – a White House tradition – according to the letter.” [CBS News, 10/3/22]
Summer 2021: Meadows Reportedly Spoke With Trump During A Visit To Mar-a-Lago About The Missing Documents. According to CNN, “Meadows is one of Trump’s designees to the Archives, and he got involved in the summer of 2021 after being contacted by another designee, former Trump Deputy White House Counsel Pat Philbin. While he was at Mar-a-Lago last summer, Meadows talked with Trump about the documents that the Archives was seeking to have returned, sources said. Meadows has continued to work with the Archives in its efforts to recover documents since then, according to the sources.” [CNN, 9/2/22]
Late December 2021: After Months Of The NARA Asking For Missing Records, A Trump Representative Said They Could Come Pick Up 12 Boxes Of Records From Mar-A-Lago. According to the Associated Press, “DECEMBER 2021: NARA ‘continued to make requests’ for records it believed to be missing for several months, according to the affidavit. Around late December 2021, a Trump representative informed the agency that an additional 12 boxes of records that should have been turned over had been found at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club and residence and were ready to be retrieved.” [Associated Press, 8/31/22]
January 17, 2022: Archives Contractor Arrived At Mar-a-Lago To Load 15 Boxes Into Truck And Transport Them To Back To National Archives. According to the Washington Post, “Jan. 17, 2022: An archives contractor arrives at Mar-a-Lago to load 15 boxes into a truck and transport them 1,000 miles north. Among the gifts, mementos and papers sent back were the notable items the archives had requested, including a letter President Barack Obama left for Trump, part of an Inauguration Day tradition in which the outgoing president leaves a warm missive for his successor. Trump had overseen the packing process himself with great secrecy, declining to show some items even to top aides, said a person familiar with the process.” [Washington Post, 8/30/22]
FBI Affidavit Showed 15 Boxes Of Records Arrived At The Archives January 18, 2022. According to the Washington Post, “Jan. 18, 2022: According to an affidavit filed later in support of the Aug. 8, 2022, search of Mar-a-Lago, 15 boxes of records arrive at the archives.” [Washington Post, 8/30/22]
Archives Officials Found Documents Marked Classified And Made A Formal Referral Asking Justice Department To Investigate Potential Mishandling Of Classified Records. According to the Washington Post, “Feb. 9: On opening the boxes, archives officials find documents clearly marked classified, intermingled with printouts of news articles, mementos and items. They make a formal referral asking the Justice Department to investigate the possible mishandling of classified records.” [Washington Post, 8/30/22]
February 2022: Trump Released A Statement Claiming That He Gave Documents To Archives “Easily And Without Conflict.” According to the Washington Post, “Feb. 10: Trump releases a different statement from the one he dictated days earlier. This statement says the documents sought by the archives “were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis.” The statement did not assert that Trump had returned everything sought by the archives, as the former president had said in the version of the statement that aides declined to release.” [Washington Post, 8/30/22]
April 2022: National Archives Chief Counsel Alerted Trump Team That He Would Allow FBI To Begin Reviewing Documents Retrieved. According to the Washington Post, “April 12: Stern emails Trump representatives Philbin and John Eisenberg to say that, in keeping with the records act, the White House has asked for the Justice Department and FBI to be given access to the returned documents. Stern indicates that he plans to allow the FBI to begin reviewing the documents the following week, and offers Trump’s representatives a chance to do so, as well, at the archive’s secured facility.” [Washington Post, 8/30/22]
May 11, 2022: Custodian Of Trump’s Record Received Grand Jury Subpoena Seeking “Documents Bearing Classification Markings” Still In Trump’s Possession. According to the Washington Post, “May 11: According to a court filing by Trump’s lawyers, the custodian of his records receives a grand jury subpoena seeking all ‘documents bearing classification markings”’ that are still in Trump’s possession. The filing indicates that in response, Trump asked his aides to look for documents marked classified, even if he believed they had been declassified. [Washington Post, 8/30/22]
May 2022: Justice Department Issue Subpoena Seeking Return Of Classified Records Taken From White House To Mar-A-Lago After Trump’s Term Ended. According to the Associated Press, “The Justice Department in May issued a subpoena seeking the return of classified records taken from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s term had ended.” [Associated Press, 10/24/22]
June 3, 2022: Justice Department Official And FBI Agents Met With Trump Lawyers Bobb And Corcoran To Receive Documents Gathered In Response To May 11 Subpoena. According to the Washington Post, “June 3: [Jay] Bratt and three FBI agents meet with Bobb and Corcoran at Mar-a-Lago and receive the documents gathered in response to the May 11 subpoena. Trump’s lawyers later write in a court filing that the group is greeted in the dining room by Trump, who tells the lawyers to give Bratt and his agents anything they need.” [Washington Post, 8/30/22]
Law Enforcement Officials Visited Mar-A-Lago June 3 To Collect Records And Were Given Envelope Containing 38 Documents With Classified Markings, But Believed More Documents Remained At The Home And The Trump Team Tried To Obstruct The Investigation. According to the Associated Press, “Law enforcement officials visited on June 3 to collect the records, and were given an envelope containing 38 documents with classification markings. They also instructed the Trump legal team to preserve the boxes of classified records in the storage room until further notice. But FBI agents came to believe that more documents remained at the home, and that there had been efforts to obstruct their probe.” [Associated Press, 10/24/22]
Trump Lawyer, Likely Bobb, Prohibited Government Personnel From Looking In Any Of The Boxes Remaining In Storage Room, According to Justice Department Filing. According to the New York Times, “On June 3, his team presented F.B.I. agents with 38 additional documents with classified markings, including 17 labeled top secret. But one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers present during that visit ‘explicitly prohibited government personnel from opening or looking inside any of the boxes that remained in the storage room, giving no opportunity for the government to confirm that no documents with classification markings remained,’ the filing said. Mr. Trump’s team also provided the department’s national security division with a written statement on behalf of his office by one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers who was serving as the formal ‘custodian’ of the files. While that person’s name has been redacted in government filings, multiple people have identified her as Christina Bobb. Ms. Bobb’s statement was attached to the department’s filing on Tuesday. In it, the lawyer wrote that ‘based upon the information that has been provided to me,’ there had been a ‘diligent’ search and all documents responsive to the subpoena were being returned. But law enforcement officials soon developed evidence that statement was untrue.” [New York Times, 8/31/22]
August 8, 2022: FBI Searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Estate As Part Of Investigation Into Whether He Took Classified Records From The White House. According to the Associated Press, “The FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said Monday, a move that represents a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of the former president.” [Associated Press, 8/9/22]
Trump Cast Mar-A-Lago Search As Weaponization Of Criminal Justice System. According to the Associated Press, “‘These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,’ Trump wrote. ‘Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.’ ‘After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,’ Trump said in his statement.” [Associated Press, 8/9/22]
Trump Decried FBI Search Of Mar-A-Lago At A Rally In Wilkes-Barre, PA. According to CBS News, “In a speech that lasted nearly two hours on Saturday night in northeastern Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump decried the FBI search at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as ‘one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration,’ and compared his treatment to that in a ‘third-world nation.’ It was his first rally since the FBI served a search warrant Aug. 8, seizing dozens of documents marked as classified. ‘The shameful raid and break-in of my home, Mar-a-Lago, was a travesty of justice that made a mockery of America's laws, traditions and principles before the entire world,’ Trump said before the passionate crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre. Mr Trump said, without merit, that the FBI and the Justice Department have become ‘vicious monsters’ working for ‘radical left scoundrels’ and the media. Trump accused President Biden of having involvement in the timing of the raid.” [CBS News, 9/3/22]
Judge Reinhart, Who Signed Off On The Search Warrant, Unsealed Warrant And Property Receipt At Request Of Justice Department Without Objection From The Trump Team. According to the Associated Press, “U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same judge who signed off on the search warrant, unsealed the warrant and property receipt Friday at the request of the Justice Department after Attorney General Merrick Garland declared there was ‘substantial public interest in this matter,’ and Trump said he backed the warrant’s ‘immediate’ release. The Justice Department told the judge Friday afternoon that Trump’s lawyers did not object to the proposal to make it public.” [Associated Press, 8/12/22]
FBI Recovered “Top Secret” And Other Sensitive Documents From Mar-A-Lago According To Court Papers Released. According to the Associated Press, “The FBI recovered ‘top secret’ and even more sensitive documents from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to court papers released Friday after a federal judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the sudden, unprecedented search this week..” [Associated Press, 8/12/22]
FBI Removed 11 Sets Of Classified Documents According To Search Warrant Release By Florida Court. According to the Wall Street Journal, “FBI agents who searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home Monday removed 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked as top secret and meant to be only available in special government facilities, according to a search warrant released by a Florida court Friday.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/13/22]
FBI Took 20 Boxes Of Items, Binders Of Photos, Handwritten Note, Grant Of Clemency For Roger Stone From Mar-A-Lago. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The Federal Bureau of Investigation agents took around 20 boxes of items, binders of photos, a handwritten note and the executive grant of clemency for Mr. Trump’s ally Roger Stone, a list of items removed from the property shows. Also included in the list was information about the “President of France,” according to the three-page list. The list is contained in a seven-page document that also includes the warrant to search the premises which was granted by a federal magistrate judge in Florida.” [Wall Street Journal, 8/13/22]
Seized Records Included Top Secret And “Sensitive Compartmented Information.” According to the Associated Press, “The seized records include some marked not only top secret but also ‘sensitive compartmented information,’ a special category meant to protect the nation’s most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause ‘exceptionally grave’ damage to U.S. interests. The court records did not provide specific details about information the documents might contain.” [Associated Press, 8/12/22]
Agents Found Dozens Of Empty Folders Marked Classified At Mar-A-Lago. According to the Associated Press, “Along with highly classified government documents, the FBI agents who searched former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate found dozens of empty folders marked classified but with nothing inside and no explanation of what might have been there, according to a more detailed inventory of the seized material made public on Friday.” [Associated Press, 9/2/22]
Agents Found More Than 10,000 Other Government Documents With No Classification Marking At Mar-A-Lago. According to the Associated Press, “The agents also found more than 10,000 other government documents kept by Trump with no classification marked.” [Associated Press, 9/2/22]
Property Receipt Showed Federal Agents Collected Records Including Order Pardoning Trump Ally Roger Stone And Information About The President Of France. According to the Associated Press, “The property receipt also shows federal agents collected other potential presidential records, including the order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone, a ‘leatherbound box of documents,’ and information about the ‘President of France.’ A binder of photos, a handwritten note, ‘miscellaneous secret documents’ and ‘miscellaneous confidential documents’ were also seized in the search.” [Associated Press, 9/2/22]
Trump Claimed All Documents Seized By Agents Were “All Declassified.” According to the Associated Press, “In a statement earlier Friday, Trump claimed that the documents seized by agents were ‘all declassified,’ and argued that he would have turned them over if the Justice Department had asked.” [Associated Press, 9/2/22]
Trump Claimed He Declassified All Documents In Photo On Truth Social. According to CNN, “In posts on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump claimed that he had declassified all of the documents in the photo. ‘Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!),’ Trump wrote, ‘and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see. Thought they wanted them kept Secret? Lucky I Declassified!’” [CNN, 8/31/22]
Trump: “If You’re The President Of The United States, You Can Declassify Just By Saying It’s Declassified.” According to the Guardian, “Speaking to Sean Hannity of Fox News in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, the former US president said: ‘Different people say different things but as I understand it, if you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it. ‘Because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago or wherever you’re sending it. There doesn’t have to be a process. There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. ‘You’re the president – you make that decision.’” [Guardian, 9/22/22]
NSA Lawyer: Trump’s Claimed Was “Preposterous.” According to the New York Times, “Days after the F.B.I. search, Mr. Trump’s office claimed that as president, he had a standing order that materials ‘removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them,’ according to a statement read on Fox News by a right-wing writer whom the former president has designated as one of his representatives to the National Archives. No credible evidence has emerged that Mr. Trump issued any standing order to declassify everything he happened to take from the Oval Office, and national security legal specialists have greeted the notion with disdain. Glenn S. Gerstell, the top lawyer for the National Security Agency from 2015 to 2020, said the idea that whatever Mr. Trump happened to take upstairs each evening automatically became declassified — without logging what it was and notifying the agencies that used that information — was ‘preposterous.’” [New York Times, 8/14/22]
Specialists Said Trump’s Claim Was “Borderline Incoherent.” According to the New York Times, “Can a president secretly declassify information without leaving a written record or telling anyone? That question, according to specialists in the law of government secrecy, is borderline incoherent.” [New York Times, 8/14/22]
Fourteen Of 15 Boxes Recovered From Mar-A-Lago Contained Classified Documents, According to FBI Affidavit Released. According to the Associated Press, “Fourteen of the 15 boxes recovered from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate early this year contained classified documents, many of them top secret, mixed in with miscellaneous newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday.” [Associated Press, 8/26/22]
No Space At Mar-A-Lago Was Authorized For Storage Of Classified Material According to FBI Affidavit. According to the Associated Press, “No space at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was authorized for the storage of classified material, according to the court papers, which laid out the FBI’s rationale for searching the property this month, including ‘probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found.’” [Associated Press, 8/26/22]
FBI Affidavit Made Case To Judge That Search Of Mar-A-Lago Was Necessary Due To Highly Sensitive Material Found In 15 Boxes. According to the Associated Press, “The affidavit made the case to a judge that a search of Mar-a-Lago was necessary due to the highly sensitive material found in those 15 boxes. Of 184 documents with classification markings, 25 were at the top secret level, the affidavit says. Some had special markings suggesting they included information from highly sensitive human sources or the collection of electronic ‘signals’ authorized by a special intelligence court.” [Associated Press, 8/26/22]
Trump Argued In Court Filing That National Archives Should have Expected To Find Classified Material In The Boxes Trump Turned Over In January 2022 Because They Were Presidential Records. According to CNN, “Former President Donald Trump argued in a court filing Wednesday that the National Archives should have expected to find classified material among the 15 boxes Trump turned over in January from Mar-a-Lago because they were presidential records. [CNN, 8/31/22]
Trump Court Filing Acknowledged Classified Material Was Found At Mar-A-Lago, But Argued It Should Not Have Been Cause For Alarm Or Led To The FBI Search. According to CNN, “The filing, his closing written legal argument before a critical hearing Thursday, acknowledged that classified material was found at Mar-a-Lago, but argued that it should not have been cause for alarm – and should not have led to the search of Trump’s Florida residence earlier this month. Trump’s new filing on Wednesday is his platform to formally respond to prosecutors’ assertions that members of his legal team engaged in ‘obstructive conduct’ by concealing documents at his Florida resort and by providing untrue information to investigators about how many classified documents remained on site. [CNN, 8/31/22]
Trump’s Lawyers Argued Under Presidential Records Act That Archives Should Have Followed Up To Secure Records Rather Than Referring Criminal Probe To Justice Department. According to CNN, “Trump’s lawyers argue that under the Presidential Records Act, the Archives should have followed up with a good faith effort to secure recovery of presidential records, rather than referring a criminal probe to the Justice Department. [CNN, 8/31/22]
Court Ruled Justice Department Could Not Continue Reviewing Materials Taken From Mar-A-Lago Or Use Them In Its Investigation Until Special Master Concluded Examination Of Records. According to the Washington Post, “A federal judge will appoint a special master to sift through nearly 13,000 documents and items the FBI seized from Donald Trump’s Florida residence and identify any that might be protected by attorney-client or executive privilege, according to a court order posted Monday. In a ruling that could slow down and complicate the government’s ongoing criminal probe, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon wrote that the Justice Department cannot continue reviewing the materials taken from Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, or use them in its investigation, until the special master concludes his or her examination.” [Washington Post, 9/5/22]
Judge Cannon Was Nominated By Trump To The Bench In May 2020. According to CNN, “Cannon of the Southern District of Florida, was nominated by Trump to the bench in May 2020 and confirmed by the Senate in a 56-21 just days after the presidential election in November 2020. She previously served as an assistant US attorney in Florida in the Major Crimes Division and as an appellate attorney, according to written answers she gave to the Senate during her confirmation process.” [CNN, 9/5/22]
Judge Cannon Assigned Judge Raymond Dearie To Review Records And Segregate Those That May Have Been Protected By Attorney-Client Privilege Or Executive Privilege. According to the Associated Press, “The FBI says it seized roughly 11,000 documents, including about 100 with classification markings, during its search. The Trump team asked a judge in Florida, Aileen Cannon, to appoint a special master to do an independent review of the records.” [Associated Press, 10/4/22]
Justice Department Lawyers Told Cannon They Had Already Sorted Through The Documents To Separate Potentially Privileged Documents. According to the Washington Post, “In opposing the appointment of a special master, Justice Department lawyers told Cannon they had already sorted through the documents, using a ‘filter team’ to separate out more than 500 pages of potentially privileged documents. That arrangement was approved by the U.S. magistrate judge who authorized the Mar-a-Lago search warrant.” [Washington Post, 9/5/22]
Judge Cannon Ruled Special Master Would Sift Through All Of Nearly 13,000 Documents And Items FBI Took From Mar-A-Lago. According to the Washington Post, “U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon ruled the special master also will sift through all of the nearly 13,000 documents and items the FBI took to identify any that might be protected by attorney-client privilege, even though Justice Department lawyers have said a ‘filter’ team has already completed that task.” [Washington Post, 9/6/22]
Justice Department Appealed Cannon’s Decision To Appoint Dearie As Special Master, 11th Circuit Appeals Court Ruled Department Did Not Have to Provide Dearie With Access To Records And Lifted Cannon’s Hold On Investigators’ Ability To Review Classified Records. According to the Associated Press, “The Justice Department appealed, prompting the 11th Circuit to lift Cannon’s hold on investigators’ ability to scrutinize the classified records. The appeals court also ruled that the department did not have to provide Dearie with access to the classified records.” [Associated Press, 10/4/22]
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Permitted Justice Department To Resume Use Of Classified Records. According to the Associated Press, “In a stark repudiation of Donald Trump’s legal arguments, a federal appeals court on Wednesday permitted the Justice Department to resume its use of classified records seized from the former president’s Florida estate as part of its ongoing criminal investigation. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit amounts to an overwhelming victory for the Justice Department, clearing the way for investigators to continue scrutinizing the documents as they consider whether to bring criminal charges over the storage of of top-secret records at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. In lifting a hold on a core aspect of the department’s probe, the court removed an obstacle that could have delayed the investigation by weeks.” [Associated Press, 9/22/22]
Federal Appeals Court Agreed With Justice Department That Investigation Was Impeded By Order From Judge Cannon. According to the Associated Press, “The government had argued that its investigation had been impeded, and national security concerns swept aside, by an order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that temporarily barred investigators from continuing to use the documents in its inquiry. Cannon, a Trump appointee, had said the hold would remain in place pending a separate review by an independent arbiter she had appointed at the Trump team’s request to review the records. The appeals panel agreed with the Justice Department’s concerns.” [Associated Press, 9/22/22]
Appeals Court Ruling Enabled Justice Department To Avoid Providing Special Master With Classified Documents To Review. According to the Associated Press, “The appeals court ruling substantially narrowed the special master’s job duties, enabling the Justice Department to avoid providing him with classified documents to review. Responding to the order, Cannon on Thursday struck the parts of her order that required the department to give Dearie and Trump’s lawyers access to the classified documents. Instead, Dearie would review the much larger tranche of non-classified government documents.” [Associated Press, 9/22/22]
Trump’s Lawyers Asked U.S. Supreme Court To Overturn Lower Court Ruling And Allow Special Master To Review Documents With Classification Markings. According to the Associated Press, “Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to step into the legal fight over the classified documents seized during an FBI search of his Florida estate, escalating a dispute over the powers of an independent arbiter appointed to inspect the records. The Trump team asked the justices to overturn a lower court ruling and allow the arbiter, called a special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classification markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago.” [Associated Press, 10/4/22]
Trump’s Lawyers Submitted Supreme Court Application To Justice Thomas. According to the Associated Press, “Trump’s lawyers submitted the Supreme Court application to Justice Clarence Thomas, who oversees emergency matters from Florida and several other Southern states. Thomas can act on his own or, as is usually done, refer the emergency appeal to the rest of the court. Late Tuesday the court said the government was being asked to respond to the petition by Oct. 11. Thomas has previously come under scrutiny for his vote in a different Trump documents case, in which he was the only member of the court to vote against allowing the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot to obtain Trump records held by the National Archives and Records Administration.” [Associated Press, 10/4/22]
Supreme Court Turned Down Trump’s Request To Overturn Appeals Court Decision And Return 100 Documents With Classification Markings to Special Master For Review. According to POLITICO, “The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down former President Donald Trump’s request to step into the legal fight over documents the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate. The former president was seeking an order to return about 100 documents with classification markings to a review process a ‘special master’ is conducting of more than 10,000 documents the FBI took during the Aug. 8 search of Trump’s home.” [POLITICO, 10/13/22]
Justice Department Urged Supreme Court To Turn Down Trump’s Request. According to POLITICO, “The Justice Department had urged the high court to reject Trump’s request, saying he had not met the legal standard needed for such an order and that the executive branch has wide-ranging authority over the disposition of documents deemed to be national security secrets.” [POLITICO, 10/13/22]
Classified Documents Relating To Nuclear Weapons Were Among Items FBI Agents Sought In Search Of Mar-A-Lago. According to the Washington Post, “Classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the items FBI agents sought in a search of former president Donald Trump’s Florida residence on Monday, according to people familiar with the investigation. Experts in classified information said the unusual search underscores deep concern among government officials about the types of information they thought could be located at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club and potentially in danger of falling into the wrong hands.” [Washington Post, 8/11/22]
Documents Related To Highly Classified Operations May Require Special Clearance On Need-To-Know Basis, Above Top-Secret Clearance. According to the Washington Post, “Documents about such highly classified operations require special clearances on a need-to-know basis, not just top-secret clearance. Some special-access programs can have as few as a couple dozen government personnel authorized to know of an operation’s existence. Records that deal with such programs are kept under lock and key, almost always in a secure compartmented information facility, with a designated control officer to keep careful tabs on their location.” [Washington Post, 9/6/22]
Document Describing Foreign Government’s Military Defenses And Nuclear Capabilities Was Found By FBI Agents Who Searched Mar-A-Lago. According to the Washington Post, “A document describing a foreign government’s military defenses, including its nuclear capabilities, was found by FBI agents who searched former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club last month, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about classified material stashed in the Florida property.” [Washington Post, 9/6/22]
Classified Documents Recovered From Mar-A-Lago Included Highly Sensitive Information Regarding Iran’s Missile Program And Intelligence Work Aimed At China. According to the Washington Post, “Some of the classified documents recovered by the FBI from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and private club included highly sensitive intelligence regarding Iran and China, according to people familiar with the matter. If shared with others, the people said, such information could expose intelligence-gathering methods that the United States wants to keep hidden from the world. At least one of the documents seized by the FBI describes Iran’s missile program, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation. Other documents described highly sensitive intelligence work aimed at China, they said.” [Washington Post, 10/21/22]
Barr Said No Reason For Classified Documents To Be At Mar-A-Lago After Trump Was No Longer President. According to the Washington Post, “In his sharpest critique of his former boss, former attorney general William P. Barr said there is no reason classified documents should have been inside Donald Trump’s personal residence in Florida after he was no longer president. ‘No, I can’t think of a legitimate reason why they could be taken out of government, away from the government, if they are classified,’ Barr said in an interview with Fox News that aired Friday. […] ‘People say this was unprecedented’” Barr said Friday, ‘but it’s also unprecedented for a president to take all this classified information and put them in a country club, okay?’” [Washington Post, 9/2/22]
Barr Said Trump’s Argument That He Could Have Declassified Entire Batches Of Documents Was Not Legitimate. According to the Washington Post, “Barr also dismissed the explanation advanced by Trump and his allies that the former president had declassified entire batches of the documents. ‘If in fact he sort of stood over scores of boxes, not really knowing what was in them, and said, ‘I hereby declassify everything in here,’ that would be such an abuse and show such recklessness that it’s almost worse than taking the documents,’ Barr said. ‘What people are missing,’ Barr told Fox News, is that documents, regardless of whether they were classified, ‘still belong to the government and go to the archives.’” [Washington Post, 9/2/22]
Justice Department Wanted To Question Associate Of Trump, Walt Nauta, Seen On Security Camera Footage Moving Boxes Of Classified Records At Mar-A-Lago. According to the Associated Press, “The Justice Department is seeking to again question an associate of Donald Trump who was seen on security camera footage moving boxes of classified records at the former president’s Florida estate, according to a person familiar with the matter. Walt Nauta has already been interviewed by investigators examining the potential mishandling of classified government records at Mar-a-Lago and prosecutors want to speak with him again as they try to understand how boxes came to be relocated from a storage room at the property, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing probe.” [Associated Press, 10/24/22]
Footage Showed Nauta, A Former Military Aide Who Worked For Trump, Moving Boxes From Storage Room. According to the New York Times, “A long-serving aide to former President Donald J. Trump was captured on security camera footage moving boxes out of a storage room at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s residence in Florida, both before and after the Justice Department issued a subpoena in May demanding the return of all classified documents, according to three people familiar with the matter. The footage showed Walt Nauta, a former military aide who left the White House and then went to work for Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, moving boxes from a storage room that became a focus of the Justice Department’s investigation, according to the people briefed on the matter. The inquiry has centered on whether Mr. Trump improperly kept national security records after he left the White House and obstructed the government’s repeated efforts to get them back. As part of its investigation, the Justice Department has interviewed Mr. Nauta on several occasions, according to one of the people. Those interviews started before the F.B.I. executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 and carted off more than 11,000 documents, including about 100 that bore classification markings. Mr. Nauta has answered questions but is not formally cooperating with the investigation of Mr. Trump’s handling of the documents.” [New York Times, 10/12/22]
Nauta Originally Denied Any Role In Moving Boxes Or Sensitive Documents, But Said Trump Instructed Him To Move Boxes When FBI Interviewed Him A Second Time. According to the Washington Post, “When FBI agents first interviewed Nauta, he denied any role in moving boxes or sensitive documents, the people familiar with the situation said in interviews before Nauta’s name became public. But as investigators gathered more evidence, they questioned him a second time and he told a starkly different story — that Trump instructed him to move the boxes, these people said.” [Washington Post, 10/13/22]
Some Of The Boxes Were Kept In Storage While Trump Removed Some Documents And Kept Them In The Residence According To A Person with Knowledge Of The Boxes At Mar-A-Lago. According to the Washington Post, “A person with knowledge of the movement of the boxes at Mar-a-Lago said that after they were taken to the residence, Trump looked through at least some of them and removed some of the documents. At least some of the boxes were later returned to the storage room, this person said, while some of the documents remained in the residence. The Post could not confirm the specific content of the boxes reportedly examined by Trump.” [Washington Post, 10/13/22]
Nauta Moved Boxes Containing Papers For Trump Between Oval Office, Private Study, And Private Dining Room In the White House. According to the Washington Post, “As part of his valet responsibilities, Nauta also moved boxes containing papers for Trump between the Oval Office and a private study, as well as a private dining room that Trump used as an informal office, the former staffer said. Trump routinely took classified documents to that dining room, mingled with newspaper articles and other papers, according to multiple former White House officials who have said Trump never strictly followed the rules and customs for handling sensitive government material.” [Washington Post, 10/13/22]
Nauta Became One Of Trump’s Valets And Often Brought the President His Diet Coke When He Pressed A Call Button On His Desk. According to the Washington Post, “Not long after Trump took office, Nauta left the mess to become one of Trump’s valets, spending some of his workday in a small passageway that connects the West Wing to a private dining room. From there, he had access to a small refrigerator stocked with Diet Cokes, which he brought to the president in the Oval Office when Trump pressed a call button on his desk, said a former White House staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss activities inside the White House. Nauta frequently served as a kind of gofer, fetching any items the president might need throughout the day and tidying up the room, the former staffer said. When Trump left the Oval Office for the night, it was Nauta who brought his coat. Their daily proximity meant that the two developed a close professional relationship, and Trump ‘trusted him completely,’ this person added.” [Washington Post, 10/13/22]
Nauta Joined Trump At Mar-A-Lago, Paid Out Of Trump’s PAC, After He Left White House. According to the Washington Post, “The former staffer described Nauta as friendly and pleasant to Oval Office visitors. In September 2020, Nauta was promoted to senior chief petty officer, a significant career advancement. When Trump left the White House, Nauta decided to join him at Mar-a-Lago. His date of separation from the military was September 2021, according to his service record. Campaign finance records show that Nauta was placed on the payroll of a Trump political action committee, Save America, last year. He was on payroll as recently as August, making $5,227.81 a paycheck, or about $135,000 a year, according to Federal Election Commission filings.” [Washington Post, 10/13/22]
FBI Agents Interviewed Christina Bobb Regarding Her Signature On A June Letter That Stated A “Diligent Search” Had Been Conducted For Classified Records At Mar-A-Lago. According to the Washington Post, “Separately, FBI agents interviewed another key figure in the documents case last week: Christina Bobb, a lawyer who signed a June letter saying that a ‘diligent search’ had been conducted for classified records at Mar-a-Lago and that all such documents had been given back to the government.” [Washington Post, 10/13/22]
Bobb Told FBI Agents She Signed Letter At Request Of Other Lawyers And As Not Aware Of Details Of The Search For Remaining Classified Records At Mar-A-Lago. According to the Washington Post, “Bobb, whose interview with the FBI was first reported by NBC News, told agents that she signed the letter at the request of other lawyers and was not aware of the details of the search, a person familiar with the matter said. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose private conversations, said Bobb told the FBI she was skeptical of signing the letter and insisted on adding a disclaimer clause saying it was based on the information provided to her by others. Bobb has told other Trump advisers that she has done nothing wrong and acted based on what she was told by Trump attorney Evan Corcoran, who handled the search for documents in response to the subpoena.” [Washington Post, 10/13/22]
Bobb Told Investigators She Had Not Drafted Letter, But Another Trump Lawyer Had And Asked Her To Sign It In Her Role As A Designated Custodian Of Trump’s Records. According to the Associated Press, “Christina Bobb told federal investigators during Friday’s interview that she had not drafted the letter but that another Trump lawyer who she said actually prepared it had asked her to sign it in her role as a designated custodian of Trump’s records, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The process is of interest to investigators because the Justice Department says the letter was untrue in asserting that all classified records sought by the government had been located and returned. Though the letter, and 38 documents bearing classification markings, were presented to FBI and Justice Department officials during a June 3 visit to Mar-a-Lago, agents returned to the Florida estate with a search warrant on Aug. 8 and seized about 100 additional classified records.” [Associated Press, 10/11/22]
Bobb Told FBI That Letter Was Drafted And Prepared By M. Evan Corcoran And That He Asked Her To sign It In Her Capcaity As Custodian Of The Records. According to the Associated Press, “Bobb told the FBI that the letter was actually drafted and prepared by another of Trump’s lawyers, M. Evan Corcoran, and that he had asked her to sign it in her capacity as custodian of the records, according to the person. Corcoran did not immediately return an email and phone message on Tuesday. Spokespeople for the FBI and Justice Department declined to comment, and Bobb did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.” [Associated Press, 10/11/22]
Trump’s Legal Team Weighed Whether To Allow Federal Agents To Return And Search Mar-A-Lago. According to CNN, “Donald Trump’s legal team is weighing whether to allow federal agents to return to the former President’s Florida residence, and potentially conduct a supervised search, to satisfy the Justice Department’s demands that all sensitive government documents are returned, sources tell CNN. In private discussions with Trump’s team as well as court filings, the Justice Department has made clear that it believes Trump failed to comply with a May subpoena ordering the return of all documents marked as classified and that more government records remain missing.” [CNN, 10/19/22]
Trump Legal Team Believed Allowing FBI To Search Mar-A-Lago Again Would Help To Move Past The Investigation. According to CNN, “‘The general belief in Trump World is that this is much ado about nothing and the sooner we get past it the better,’ said a person close to Trump, adding that the former President has told allies he ‘wants to move on.’” [CNN, 10/19/22]