Highlights:
Ahead of the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago for records from the White House, Donald Trump and his team strung law enforcement along while they struggled to locate records.
Following the search, a judge unsealed the warrant that authorized the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago.
A highly redacted version of the affidavit laying out FBI rationale for the Mar-a-Lago search was released.
Donald Trump’s legal team defended his handling of classified material, claiming the FBI search was uncalled for.
A federal judge granted Donald Trump’s request to appoint a special master to review the documents for executive privilege.
Classified papers found at Mar-a-Lago held U.S. secrets about Iran and China.
Donald Trump’s former attorney general spoke out against Trump’s improper storage of documents.
Donald Trump reportedly ordered employees to move and conceal material at Mar-a-Lago as the U.S. government sought to retrieve it.
Donald Trump allegedly showed and discussed classified documents to individuals without appropriate clearance.
Donald Trump was indicted on 40 criminal counts including willfully retaining national defense secrets, making false statements, and obstructing justice.
Numerous efforts by Donald Trump and his co-defendants to have the charges dismissed failed.
After Judge Cannon dismissed the charges against Donald Trump and his co-defendants after ruling the Special Counsel was unconstitutionally appointed, the case was appealed to the 11th Circuit.
January 2021: Trump’s 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]
The National Archives Alerted Lawyers For Trump In May 2021 That Trump’s Letters With Kim Jong Un And Two Dozen Boxes Of Records Were Missing. According to CNN, “The National Archives alerted lawyers for former President Donald Trump in May 2021 that Trump’s letters with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un – and two dozen boxes of records – were missing, according to new correspondence the Archives released on Monday. Gary Stern, general counsel for the National Archives and Records Administration, wrote to former Trump White House lawyers Patrick Philbin, Mike Purpura and Scott Gast on May 6, 2021, alerting them that the letters Trump had exchanged with Kim and the letter he received from his predecessor, President Barack Obama, were missing, according to the correspondence released Monday in response to dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests. In the email, Stern asked for the lawyers’ help to ensure the Archives received all presidential records as required under law.” [CNN, 10/3/22]
The National Archives Identified A Letter Obama Had Left For Trump As Missing To Trump’s Lawyers. According to NBC News, “The National Archives notified Donald Trump’s lawyers in May 2021 that some of the presidential records it was missing included correspondence between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a letter former President Barack Obama left for Trump, according to a previously undisclosed email. The National Archives and Record Administration made the email, dated May 6, 2021, and several other documents public Monday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests by numerous news organizations. The bulk of requested material was not released. In his email last year to three Trump attorneys, including Patrick Philbin, archives General Counsel Gary Stern said the agency has ‘come upon several problems that we need your help in resolving.’ He said that there are ‘now certain paper/textual records that we cannot account for’ and that officials needed their ‘immediate assistance to ensure that NARA receives all Presidential records as required by the Presidential Records Act.’” [NBC 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 National Archives 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]
Trump Lawyer Alex Cannon Instructed Trump Aides Not To Go Through Boxes Of Records Because It Was Unclear What Was In Them And Materials Could Have Required Security Clearances. According to the New York Times, “The National Archives, the federal agency that oversees presidential records, spent much of 2021 attempting to retrieve boxes of records that its officials had been told were in the White House residence at the end of the Trump presidency. Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers tried to facilitate their return; one lawyer for Mr. Trump, Alex Cannon, told Mr. Trump to ship the boxes back as they were, instead of going through them, and that the archivists would return whatever was personal property, two people briefed on the matter said. Mr. Cannon told Mr. Trump’s aides not to go through the boxes because it was unclear what was in them, and the materials might require security clearances.” [New York Times, 10/13/22]
December 2021: After A Trump Lawyer Suspected Boxes Contained Classified Information, Trump Himself Sorted Through Boxes Of Documents. According to the New York Times, “Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers tried to facilitate their return; one lawyer for Mr. Trump, Alex Cannon, told Mr. Trump to ship the boxes back as they were, instead of going through them, and that the archivists would return whatever was personal property, two people briefed on the matter said. Mr. Cannon told Mr. Trump’s aides not to go through the boxes because it was unclear what was in them, and the materials might require security clearances. Mr. Trump instead went through the boxes himself in December, according to a person familiar with the move, and the archives sent people to retrieve 15 of them a month later. When they got the boxes, they found 184 classified documents, prompting alarm.” [New York Times, 10/13/22]
January 17, 2022: An 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]
An 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]
Trump Personally Packed The Boxes Of Documents That Were Returned To The National Archives In January. According to the Washington Post, “Trump himself eventually packed the boxes that were returned in January, people familiar with the matter said. The former president seemed determined in February to declare that all material sought by the archives had been handed over, said the people, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations.” [Washington Post, 10/3/22]
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: The National Archives Chief Counsel Alerted Trump Team That He Would Allow The 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]
Former Trump Lawyer Alex Cannon Refused Trump’s Instruction To Tell The National Archives That All Documents Had Been Returned Because He Was Unsure If It Was True. According to the New York Times, “Shortly after turning over 15 boxes of government material to the National Archives in January, former President Donald J. Trump directed a lawyer working for him to tell the archives that he had returned all the documents he had taken from the White House at the end of his presidency, according to two people familiar with the discussion. The lawyer, Alex Cannon, had become a point of contact for officials with the National Archives, who had tried for months to get Mr. Trump to return presidential records that he failed to turn over upon leaving office. Mr. Cannon declined to convey Mr. Trump’s message to the archives because he was not sure if it was true, the people said. In fact, Mr. Trump would be found still to have large quantities of government records in his possession even after turning over the 15 boxes. They included one set turned over to the Justice Department by Mr. Trump’s aides in June and another large cache — including some marked with the highest levels of classification — seized by the F.B.I. in the search in August of the former president’s residence and private club in Florida, Mar-a-Lago. When archives officials opened the initial 15 boxes they recovered in January, they found a large volume of documents with classified markings and notified the Justice Department, setting in motion events that led to a criminal investigation and the search of Mar-a-Lago.” [New York Times, 10/3/22]
May 11, 2022: The Custodian Of Trump’s Records Received A 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: The Justice Department Issued A Subpoena Seeking The 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 On June 3, 2022 To Collect Records And Were Given An 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 A 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: The FBI Searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Estate As Part Of An 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]
The Department Of Justice’s Filter Team Searched The Mar-A-Lago Basement Storage Room And Trump’s Office. According to Bloomberg, “Before executing the search warrant on Aug. 8, government investigators gave the so-called filter team a list 35 lawyers to look for, including Evan Corcoran. Cocoran represented Trump in his dealings with the Justice Department leading up to the search and has continued to serve on his legal team. The filter team was instructed to set aside an entire box of materials as ‘potentially privileged’ if any individual documents inside could possibly qualify, lawyers wrote in the filing unsealed Monday. The special team did an initial search of the basement storage room where documents were kept as well as Trump’s office.” [Bloomberg, 10/3/22]
The Special Counsel Questioned Witnesses About A “Hidden Room” FBI Agents Did Not Search At Mar-a-Lago That Might Have Contained Classified Documents. According to ABC News, “Special counsel Jack Smith's team has questioned several witnesses about a closet and a so-called ‘hidden room’ inside former President Donald Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago that the FBI didn't check while searching the estate in August 2022, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. As described to ABC News, the line of questioning in several interviews ahead of Trump's indictment last year on classified document charges suggests that -- long after the FBI seized dozens of boxes and more than 100 documents marked classified from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate -- Smith's team was trying to determine if there might still be more classified documents there.” [ABC News, 2/1/24]
Allegedly The Locks On The Door To A Closet That Was Not Searched Were Changed While Trump’s Attorney Was In Mar-a-Lago’s Basement Searching For Classified Documents. According to ABC News, “According to sources, some investigators involved in the case came to later believe that the closet, which was locked on the day of the search, should have been opened and checked. As investigators would later learn, Trump allegedly had the closet's lock changed while his attorney was in Mar-a-Lago's basement, searching for classified documents in a storage room that he was told would have all such documents. Trump's alleged efforts to conceal classified documents from both the FBI and his own attorney are a key part of Smith's indictment against Trump in Florida.” [ABC News, 2/1/24]
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 The 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 The Warrant And Property Receipt At The Request Of The 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]
The 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]
The 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]
The FBI Took 20 Boxes Of Items, Binders Of Photos, A Handwritten Note, And A 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]
The 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 A 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 Claim 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]
The Department Of Justice And The Office Of The Director Of National Intelligence Had No Record Of Trump’s Supposed “Standing Order” That Instantly Declassified Documents. According to Bloomberg, “A ‘standing order’ that former President Donald Trump has claimed authorized him to instantly declassify documents removed from the Oval Office could not be found by either the Justice Department or Office of Director of National Intelligence. The disclosure by the agencies was made in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed last August by Bloomberg News, which sued ODNI and the Justice Department’s national security division for a copy of Trump’s so-called standing order — if one existed.” [Bloomberg, 6/29/23]
According To Documents From The Special Counsel, A Former Trump Administration Official Said There Was “No Standing Declassification Order” When It Came To Documents In Trump’s Possession. According to ABC News, “Prosecutors in former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case said in court filings that a former Trump administration official told investigators that Trump, as president, had ‘no standing declassification order’ regarding documents in his possession. The filings, which are part of special counsel Jack Smith's response to a Trump legal team motion to compel discovery in the case, include notes from prosecutors' interview with a former administration official who the special counsel says ‘refused recording of the interview.’ The interview subject stated that having the interview recorded was a ‘far bigger risk for him in the Trump world,’ according to FBI notes on the interview, which were included in the filing.” [ABC News, 4/25/24]
Fourteen Of 15 Boxes Recovered From Mar-A-Lago Contained Classified Documents, According To A 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 A 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]
The FBI Affidavit Made The Case To A Judge That The Search Of Mar-A-Lago Was Necessary Due To The 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 The Archives Should Have Followed Up To Secure The Records Rather Than Referring A Criminal Probe To The 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]
Trump Said That He Wanted To Make Replacing National Archives Staff With His Supporters A Priority If He Wins A Second Term. According to the Rolling Stone, “Donald Trump has identified yet another federal institution he wants to purge of qualified officials and stack with his lackeys: the National Archives. Since this summer, Trump has told close associates that he wants to gut the nonpartisan historical agency, which the former president believes is full of anti-MAGA subversives, two sources with knowledge of the matter tell Rolling Stone. Trump has said he plans to make it a priority if he wins a second term, the sources say. In some of these conversations, the former president has referenced specific officials — all installed during Democratic administrations — who he’d want to immediately ‘get rid of’ and have replaced with pliable loyalists. One of these sources says that it was clear from the conversation that someone in Trump’s orbit had been slipping him names or lists of potential targets. In other instances, the ex-president has also casually solicited recommendations for conservatives to install at the National Archives and Records Administration, including for the top post of archivist. At least one Trump confidant threw out John Solomon, a Trump ally and conservative journalist, as an apparently serious suggestion, one of the people with knowledge of this matter says.” [Rolling Stone, 10/6/22]
Trump Called The National Archives “Woke And Broken.” According to the Rolling Stone, “On Wednesday, Trump was in Miami, Florida, delivering his address to a Hispanic Leadership Conference convened by the America First Policy Institute. During his speech, the former president took repeated swipes at the Archives, claiming that the agency, which is led by 30-year NARA veteran and acting archivist Debra Steidel Wall, is a ‘radical left-run’ entity. Coincidentally, Caputo said he happened to be with Trump at that speech, and was messaging Rolling Stone right at the very moment that Trump told attendees the National Archives is ‘woke and broken.’” [Rolling Stone, 10/6/22]
A Court Ruled The Justice Department Could Not Continue Reviewing Materials Taken From Mar-A-Lago Or Use Them In Its Investigation Until A Special Master Concluded An 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]
Special Master Raymond Dearie Enlisted Retired Judge James Orenstein To Assist In The Review Of The Documents Seized At Mar-a-Lago. According to Fox News, “Special Master Raymond Dearie has tapped a retired magistrate judge who served as an impartial adviser to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to assist in his independent review of the thousands of records seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. In a filing Thursday, Dearie said he has ‘determined that the efficient administration of the Special Master’s duties requires the assistance of the Honorable James Orenstein (Ret.), a former United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York, who has experience with complex case management, privilege review, warrant procedures, and other matters that may arise in the course of the Special Master’s duties.’” [Fox News, 9/22/22]
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 That The Special Master Would Sift Through All Of Nearly 13,000 Documents And Items The 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]
Trump Accused The FBI And NARA Of Planting Evidence And Removing Evidence From Documents. According to the Washington Post, “A spokesman for the former president did not respond to requests for comment Friday morning. But after this article published online, Trump posted on social media, decrying what he called leaks ‘on the Document Hoax’ and suggesting that the FBI and the National Archives and Records Administration were trying to frame him. ‘Who could ever trust corrupt, weaponized agencies, and that includes NARA,’ Trump wrote. ‘ … Also who knows what NARA and the FBI plant into documents, or subtract from documents — we will never know, will we?” [Washington Post, 10/21/22]
Judge Dearie Demanded That Trump Provide Evidence By September 30, 2022 For His Claim That The FBI Planted The Classified Records Found At Mar-a-Lago. According to Yahoo News, “U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, who is acting as a special master in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, on Thursday demanded that Donald Trump’s lawyers substantiate another one of the former president’s claims: that the FBI ‘planted’ records. Dearie ordered Trump’s legal team to submit by Sept. 30 a list of of specific items in the Justice Department’s 11-page inventory of documents taken from the Mar-a-Lago resort — including top secret files — that ‘plaintiff asserts were not seized from the premises.’ They must also submit a list of any items seized that were not on the inventory, the order states. ‘This submission shall be Plaintiff’s final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to the completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory,’ Dearie said.” [Yahoo New, 9/22/22]
The Special Master Said That If The Trump Team Did Not Provide Him With Evidence Of Declassification He Would Side With The Federal Government. According to Business Insider, “A court-appointed ‘special master’ on Tuesday chided Donald Trump's legal team for wanting to ‘have your cake and eat it’ after Trump's lawyers refused to provide evidence that Trump had declassified all the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago. Ahead of Tuesday's hearing, Dearie had pressed the former president's lawyers to confirm his claim that the records were declassified. Trump's team resisted the request, however, saying that turning over that information would force Trump to ‘fully and specifically disclose a defense’ that he might try to mount in the event of a ‘subsequent indictment.’ But Dearie didn't appear to buy that argument, saying Tuesday that if the former president's attorneys didn't give him evidence of declassification, he would side with the feds. ‘As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of it,’ he said, later adding: ‘You can't have your cake and eat it.’” [Business Insider, 9/20/22]
The Special Master Ordered The Trump Legal Team To Submit A Declaration That Verified The FBI’s Inventory Of Seized Documents And Indicated Which Items Trump Claimed Were Not From Mar-A-Lago. According to the New York Times, “And far from indulging Mr. Trump, as his lawyers likely hoped in suggesting his appointment, Judge Dearie appears to be organizing the document review in ways that threaten to swiftly puncture the former president’s defenses. For example, the judge has ordered Mr. Trump to submit by Friday a declaration or affidavit verifying the inventory or listing any items on it ‘that plaintiff asserts were not seized’ in the search. But if Mr. Trump acknowledges that the F.B.I. took any documents marked as classified from his personal office and a storage room at Mar-a-Lago, as the inventory says, that would become evidence that could be used against him if he were later charged with defying a subpoena. Requiring Mr. Trump’s lawyers to verify or object to the inventory also effectively means making them either affirm in court or disavow a claim Mr. Trump has made in public: his accusation that the F.B.I. planted fake evidence. While it is not a crime to lie to Fox News viewers or on social media, there are consequences to lying to a court.” [New York Times, 9/28/22]
Judge Cannon Overruled The Special Master Judge And Ruled That Trump Did Not Have To Verify The FBI’s Inventory Of Mar-a-Lago Documents And Extended The Document Review Deadline To December 16. According to USA Today, “Donald Trump, who has suggested FBI agents might have ‘planted’ evidence during the search at Mar-a-Lago, doesn't have to detail his complaints in court immediately and the special master will have two weeks longer to review the documents, under a federal judge's order Thursday. Trump has suggested on social media FBI agents may have ‘planted’ evidence during the search Aug. 8 that recovered 11,000 documents. The special master reviewing the records, U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, gave him until Friday for his lawyers to detail his concerns. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who appointed Dearie, ruled Tuesday that Trump doesn't have to explain his challenges yet. She also extended the deadline for Dearie to complete his review to Dec. 16. He had set a goal to finish by Nov. 30. Cannon ruled her order ‘imposed no additional requirements on’ Trump regarding the inventory of what was seized.” [USA Today, 9/29/22]
Dearie Had Asked Trump To List Any Items The FBI Listed In Their Inventory That Were Not From Mar-a-Lago And The Trump Lawyers Argued They Were Not Required To Do So. According to USA Today, “Dearie invited Trump to detail any items that ‘were not seized from the premises,’ any incorrect description of the contents or location of an item seized, and items seized but not listed in the inventory. But James Trusty, one of Trump's lawyers, objected in a letter Sunday and argued Dearie's request exceeded his authority. Trusty said U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order appointing Dearie asked only for a declaration from the Justice Department that the inventory was correct, not one from Trump. Government lawyers said in a letter Tuesday that Trump's verification of the inventory is required before Dearie conducts his review.” [USA Today, 9/29/22]
After The Justice Department Appealed Cannon’s Decision To Appoint Dearie As Special Master, The 11th Circuit Appeals Court 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 The Justice Department To Resume The 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]
A Federal Appeals Court Agreed With The Justice Department That The Investigation Was Impeded By The 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]
The Appeals Court Ruling Enabled The Justice Department To Avoid Providing The 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]
The Intelligence Community Restarted Work On The Damage Assessment And Classification Review Of The Documents Seized At Mar-a-Lago Following The Appeals Court Ruling. According to CNN, “The intelligence community is restarting work on both the classification review and the so-called damage assessment related to former President Donald Trump’s storage of classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago residence and resort, according to a statement of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The ODNI had temporarily paused its work earlier this month after US District Judge Aileen Cannon issued an order that halted any use of the seized materials for the Justice Department’s criminal investigation. Although she said that the intelligence community’s assessment could continue, the DOJ maintained that the two efforts were inextricably intertwined and halting one halted the other.” [CNN, 9/23/22]
Trump’s Lawyers Asked U.S. Supreme Court To Overturn The Lower Court Ruling And Allow A 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 A 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]
The Supreme Court Turned Down Trump’s Request To Overturn The Appeals Court Decision And Return 100 Documents With Classification Markings To The 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]
The Justice Department Urged The 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 Have Required 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]
A Document Describing A Foreign Government’s Military Defenses And Nuclear Capabilities Was Found By The 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]
A Letter From Trump’s Attorneys To The House Intelligence Committee Said That Classified Briefings Of Phone Calls With Foreign Leaders Were Among The Documents Returned To The National Archives In January 2022. According to CNN, “Two of Donald Trump’s defense lawyers now believe that classified briefings of phone calls with foreign leaders were among ‘all manner of documents’ in 15 boxes that Trump returned to the National Archives a year after he left the presidency, according to a new letter his lawyers sent to Congress.” [CNN, 4/26/23]
Barr Said There Was 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]
Trump And Aides Allegedly Carried Out A Dress Rehearsal For Moving Sensitive Papers Before The May 2022 Subpoena. According to the Washington Post, “Trump and his aides also allegedly carried out a ‘dress rehearsal’ for moving sensitive papers even before his office received the May 2022 subpoena, according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive ongoing investigation.” [Washington Post, 5/25/23]
Two Trump Employees Moved Boxes Of Papers The Day Before The FBI Visited Mar-A-Lago To Retrieve Documents. According to the Washington Post, “Two of Donald Trump’s employees moved boxes of papers the day before an early June visit by FBI agents and a prosecutor to the former president’s Florida home to retrieve classified documents in response to a subpoena — timing that investigators have come to view as suspicious and an indication of possible obstruction, according to people familiar with the matter.” [Washington Post, 5/25/23]
After Trump Received A Subpoena In May For Any Classified Documents That Remained At Mar-a-Lago, Trump Told People To Move The Boxes To His Residence At Mar-a-Lago. According to the Washington Post, “The people familiar with the investigation said agents have gathered witness accounts indicating that, after Trump advisers received a subpoena in May for any classified documents that remained at Mar-a-Lago, Trump told people to move boxes to his residence at the property. That description of events was corroborated by the security-camera footage, which showed people moving the boxes, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.” [Washington Post, 10/12/22]
A Trump Employee Told Federal Agents About Moving Boxes Of Documents At Mar-a-Lago At Trump’s Specific Direction. According to the Washington Post, “A Trump employee has told federal agents about moving boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago at the specific direction of the former president, according to people familiar with the investigation, who say the witness account — combined with security-camera footage — offers key evidence of Donald Trump’s behavior as investigators sought the return of classified material. The witness description and footage described to The Washington Post offer the most direct account to date of Trump’s actions and instructions leading up to the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of the Florida residence and private club, in which agents were looking for evidence of potential crimes including obstruction, destruction of government records or mishandling classified information.” [Washington Post, 10/12/22]
“Trump Employee 5” Revealed To Be Brian Butler, A 20-Year Employee At Mar-a-Lago. According to CNN, “A longtime Mar-a-Lago employee who is a central witness in the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents is now speaking publicly because he believes that voters should hear the truth about his former boss and the case before the November election. Brian Butler, who is referenced as ‘Trump Employee 5’ in the classified documents indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith, told CNN in an exclusive interview that he doesn’t believe the criminal case against Trump is a ‘witch hunt,’ as the former president has claimed. Butler gave testimony to federal investigators that informed crucial portions of last year’s criminal obstruction charges against Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta, a personal aide to Trump, and Carlos De Oliveira, a property manager at Mar-a-Lago who had been Butler’s closest friend until recently. Butler, who was employed at Mar-a-Lago for 20 years, has spoken repeatedly with investigators, paying for his own attorney and breaking with the orbit around Trump that he knows so well – setting him apart from his former colleagues and friends as his former boss has been named in multiple federal investigations.” [CNN, 3/11/24]
June 3, 2022: Butler Said He Unknowingly Helped Walt Nauta Move Boxes From Mar-a-Lago Onto Trump’s Plane. According to CNN, “Butler told CNN how he unknowingly helped Nauta deliver boxes of classified information from Mar-a-Lago to the former president’s plane in June 2022 – the same day that Trump and his attorney were meeting with the Justice Department at Mar-a-Lago about the classified documents. That day, June 3, 2022, Butler received what he remembers as a strange request from Nauta, who wanted to know if he could borrow an Escalade from the car service Butler ran for Mar-a-Lago. Trump and his family were about to fly to New Jersey that day for the summer, and it was typically Butler and his valets who handled getting their luggage onto the plane. But it was an unusual request from Nauta for the car, Butler says, because Nauta typically didn’t handle moving luggage and asked Butler for the car in a guarded way. Butler says Nauta and De Oliveira loaded up the vehicle before driving it to the West Palm Beach airport. Butler arrived with his own car filled with Trump family luggage, then helped Nauta load Trump’s plane with the luggage – as well as bankers boxes of documents that were in the Escalade. Butler says he didn’t realize the bankers boxes contained anything out of the ordinary.” [CNN, 3/11/24]
The 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 Later Said Trump Instructed Him To Move The Boxes When The 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]
May 2024: Prosecutors Released Photos Of Nauta Moving Boxes At Mar-a-Lago. According to CNN, “Prosecutors released new photos from 2020 that show Trump aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta moving boxes inside former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump is accused of taking classified national defense documents from the White House after he left office and of resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials. Trump, Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira have all pleaded not guilty.” [CNN, 5/22/24]
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 The Oval Office, His Private Study, And The 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 The 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 The Letter At The 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 The 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 Capacity 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 Associates, Including Christina Bobb, Were Offered Forms Of Partial Immunity. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Other Trump associates involved in the Mar-a-Lago documents matter also have been offered some form of immunity, people familiar with the matter said, including one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Christina Bobb, who declined, saying she didn’t need it.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/2/22]
Trump Lawyers Hired An Outside Team To Search Four Properties Including Trump Tower And Bedminster For Additional Classified Materials. According to CNN, “Lawyers for former President Donald Trump recently hired a team to search four of his properties for any potentially remaining classified materials, according to a source familiar the matter. The team of two searched Trump Tower in New York, the Bedminster golf club and two other properties amid lingering concerns from the Justice Department that not all documents had been returned to the federal government.” [CNN, 12/7/22]
Four Searches Were Carried Out Under Trump Legal Team Supervision. According to CNN, “The four searches, which were carried out in recent weeks, were overseen by Trump’s legal team, the source said. Trump’s attorneys offered to let federal investigators observe the search at his Bedminster property, but that offer was declined. Given the Justice Department’s response, Trump lawyers did not make a similar offer for the search of the other properties.” [CNN, 12/7/22]
Additional Searches Were The Result Of A Judge Instructing Lawyers To Attest That There Were No Additional Unrecovered Classified Materials. According to the Washington Post, “Lawyers for former president Donald Trump conducted a search of at least two of his properties for classified materials in recent weeks, after they were instructed by a federal judge to attest they had fully complied with a May grand jury subpoena to turn over all materials bearing classified markings, according to people familiar with the matter.” [Washington Post, 12/7/22]
Trump’s Search Team Found Classified Documents At A Storage Unit In West Palm Beach. According to the New York Times, “Former President Donald J. Trump hired people to search four properties after being directed by a federal judge to look harder for any classified material still in his possession, and they found at least two documents with classified markings inside a sealed box in one of the locations, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Trump’s search team discovered the documents at a federally run storage site in West Palm Beach, Fla., the person said, prompting his lawyers to notify the Justice Department about them.” [New York Times, 12/7/22]
Investigators Sought Laptop Files Of A Staff Member Around Trump At Mar-A-Lago. According to CNN, “The development comes at the same time federal prosecutors are pushing to look at files on a laptop of at least one staff member around Trump at Mar-a-Lago, according to multiple sources. At times, the special counsel’s office has been unwilling to negotiate with defense attorneys over recent subpoenas, leading to tense conversations. By pushing for access to computers, investigators are trying to determine if there is an electronic paper trail regarding the classified documents, another source said.” [CNN, 1/30/23]
Trump Lawyers Recently Disclosed That Junior Level Former Trump Staffer Had Uploaded Classified Documents Onto A Computer Along With Trump’s Daily Schedules. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump’s disclosure of newly located documents has been ongoing. Lawyers for the former president notified prosecutors recently about a potential witness they might want to speak with: a relatively junior former staff member to Mr. Trump who had uploaded classified material onto a laptop and discovered it only after the fact, according to a different person familiar with the incident. The discovery occurred when the staff member was placing a large trove of Mr. Trump’s daily White House schedules on the computer and realized that a small amount of classified material had been included in the schedules, the person said.” [New York Times, 2/12/23]
Trump Lawyers Found Box Of White House Schedules With Some Marked Classified After Junior Aide Transported The Box Of Schedules From Secondary Office To Mar-A-Lago. According to the Guardian, Donald Trump’s lawyers found a box of White House schedules, including some that were marked classified, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in December because a junior aide to the former president had transported it from another office in Florida after the FBI completed its search of the property. The former president does not appear to have played a direct role in the mishandling of the box, though he remains under investigation for the possible improper retention of national security documents and obstruction of justice. This previously unreported account of the retrieval was informed by two sources familiar with the matter.” [The Guardian, 2/24/23]
The Aide Known As Receptionist Of The United States Initially Kept The Box At A Converted Mar-A-Lago Bungalow Known As The “Tennis Cottage” Then Took The Box To A Government Leased Office In Palm Beach. According to the Guardian, “Known internally as ROTUS, short for Receptionist of the United States, the junior aide initially kept the box at a converted guest bungalow at Mar-a-Lago called the ‘tennis cottage’ after Trump left office, and she soon took it with her to a government-leased office in the Palm Beach area.” [Guardian, 2/24/23]
The Box Of White House Schedules Remained At The Palm Beach Office For Most Of 2022. According to the Guardian, “The box remained at the government-leased office from where the junior aide worked through most of 2022, explaining why neither Trump’s lawyer who searched Mar-a-Lago in June for any classified-marked papers nor the FBI agents who searched the property in August found the documents.” [Guardian, 2/24/23]
After Being Relocated, The Aide Took The Box With Documents To Her New Desk Just Outside Of Trump’s Office In Mar-A-Lago. According to the Guardian, “Around the time that Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago from his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey at the end of the summer, the junior aide was told that she was being relocated to a desk in the anteroom of Trump’s own office at Mar-a-Lago that previously belonged to top aide Molly Michael. The junior aide retrieved her work belongings – including the box – from the government-leased office and took them to her new Mar-a-Lago workspace around September. At that time, the justice department’s criminal investigation into Trump’s retention of national security documents was intensifying.” [Guardian, 2/24/23]
Private Contractors Found A Box With Classified Marked Schedules In December After The Department Of Justice Pressed For Additional Searches. According to The Guardian, “Several weeks after the junior aide moved into her new workspace, federal prosecutors told Trump’s lawyers in October that they suspected the former president was still in possession of additional documents with classified markings despite the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago on 8 August. The Trump legal team subsequently hired two private contractors with security clearances to search Trump properties around Thanksgiving: Trump Tower in New York, Trump Bedminster and an external storage unit that turned up two additional documents marked “SECRET”, the Guardian has reported. But the justice department was not satisfied, and it pressed the Trump legal team to get the contractors to conduct the third known search of Mar-a-Lago in early December – at which point the contractors discovered the box of presidential schedules, some with classified markings.” [The Guardian, 2/24/23]
The Junior Aide Revealed That She Had Been Instructed By Molly Michael To Scan All Of The Schedules To Her Laptop. According to the Guardian, “A few weeks later, Trump’s lawyers started exploring whether they could get a better understanding of the sensitivity of the small number of schedules marked as classified, for the junior aide had kept sole custody of the box throughout that period. It was at that point that the junior aide revealed for the first time that she could find out exactly what they were, because Michael – whose desk she inherited after she left the Trump political team at the end of the summer – had told her to scan all of the schedules on to her laptop.” [The Guardian, 2/24/23]
Additional Classified Documents Were Found In Trump’s Bedroom At Mar-a-Lago Four Months After The FBI Search. According to Politico, “Four months after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago estate, Donald Trump’s attorneys discovered four documents marked ‘classified’ in his personal bedroom. That revelation was among several cited by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in a newly unsealed 2023 opinion that found prosecutors had presented compelling evidence that Trump knowingly stashed national security documents in his home and then tried to conceal them when the Justice Department tried to retrieve them.” [Politico, 5/21/24]
The Special Counsel Obtained A July 2021 Recording Of Trump Acknowledging He Held Onto A Classified Pentagon Document Concerning A Potential Attack On Iran. According to CNN, “Federal prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of a summer 2021 meeting in which former President Donald Trump acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, multiple sources told CNN, undercutting his argument that he declassified everything.” [CNN, 5/31/23]
The Recording Captured The Sound Of Paper Rustling, Which Might Be Trump Waiving The Document Around. According to CNN, “Several sources say the recording captures the sound of paper rustling, as if Trump was waving the document around, though is not clear if it was the actual Iran document. There’s also laughter in the room that’s captured on the recording.” [CNN, 5/31/23]
The Document Was Classified At The “Secret” Level. According to the Guardian, “The document at issue is understood to be classified as ‘secret’ – significant as the justice department typically prefers to charge espionage cases involving retention of materials at that level, rather than ‘top secret’ papers that might be too sensitive or ‘confidential’ papers that are too low.” [Guardian, 5/31/23]
The Recorded Meeting Took Place At Trump’s Bedminster Golf Club In New Jersey. According to CNN, “The July 2021 meeting was held at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, with two people working on the autobiography of Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows as well as aides employed by the former president, including communications specialist Margo Martin. The attendees, sources said, did not have security clearances that would allow them access to classified information. Meadows didn’t attend the meeting, sources said.” [CNN, 5/31/23]
October 18, 2018: According To A Book By Former DHS Aide Miles Taylor, Trump Picked Up And Displayed Classified Documents Relating To The Death Of Jamal Khashoggi To Reporters In An Oval Office Meeting. According to NBC News, “A forthcoming book by an ex-Trump administration aide describes an episode in which officials worried that then-President Donald Trump was cavalier in his handling of classified information while talking to reporters, according to a copy obtained by NBC News. […] Trump was still president when the episode Taylor described unfolded Oct. 18, 2018. Taylor writes that he was in a private meeting in the West Wing with John Bolton, who was then Trump’s national security adviser. Then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders came into Bolton’s office and described an interview that Trump had given in the Oval Office, according to Taylor’s book, ‘Blowback.’ (It’s common for White House press aides to sit in when the president gives interviews.) Trump had been talking to the reporters about Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident and journalist who was killed that month by Saudi assassins in Turkey. Sanders told Bolton that the president had picked up classified documents relating to intelligence on Khashoggi’s death and displayed them, Taylor writes, but that the reporters were unlikely to have been able to read the text. Bolton gasped at first, but ‘breathed a sigh of relief’ when Sanders told him there had been no cameras in the room, according to the book. Still, ‘We were all disturbed by the lapse in protocol and poor protection of classified information,’ Taylor writes.” [NBC News, 7/7/23]
Prosecutors Had Evidence That Trump Kept Classified Documents In His Office Where They Were Visible. According to the Washington Post, “Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said.” [Washington Post, 5/25/23]
Prosecutors Had Evidence That Trump Showed Classified Documents To Others. According to the Washington Post, “Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said.” [Washington Post, 5/25/23]
April 2021: Trump Allegedly Discussed Sensitive Information About America’s Nuclear Submarines With An Australian Businessman. According to ABC News, “Months after leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about U.S. nuclear submarines with a member of his Mar-a-Lago Club -- an Australian billionaire who then allegedly shared the information with scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists, according to sources familiar with the matter.” [ABC News, 10/5/23]
The Businessman Was Mar-a-Lago Member Anthony Pratt. According to ABC News, “Prosecutors and FBI agents have at least twice this year interviewed the Mar-a-Lago member, Anthony Pratt, who runs U.S.-based Pratt Industries, one of the world's largest packaging companies.” [ABC News, 10/5/23]
The Conversation With Pratt Took Place In April 2021. According to ABC News, “In those interviews, Pratt described how -- looking to make conversation with Trump during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago in April 2021 -- he brought up the American submarine fleet, which the two had discussed before, the sources told ABC News.” [ABC News, 10/5/23]
Trump Told Pratt The Exact Number Of Nuclear Warheads Submarines Carry And How Close They Could Get To Russian Submarines Without Being Detected. According to ABC News, “According to Pratt's account, as described by the sources, Pratt told Trump he believed Australia should start buying its submarines from the United States, to which an excited Trump – ‘leaning’ toward Pratt as if to be discreet -- then told Pratt two pieces of information about U.S. submarines: the supposed exact number of nuclear warheads they routinely carry, and exactly how close they supposedly can get to a Russian submarine without being detected.” [ABC News, 10/5/23]
A Top Trump Campaign Advisor, Who Was The Person Trump Allegedly Showed A Classified Map To, Worked For A Lobbying Firm Hired By Chinese Entities. According to the New York Post, “A top Trump campaign adviser — who apparently was shown classified documents by the former president — has a top post at a lobbying firm serving Chinese entities that potentially pose a national security threat and help Beijing commit human rights abuses.” [New York Post, 6/29/23]
Susie Wiles Was The Co-Chair Of Mercury Public Affairs, Which Has Taken Millions Of Dollars From Chinese Companies. According to the New York Post, “Susie Wiles works on Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and is co-chair of Mercury Public Affairs, which has taken millions of dollars in recent years from Chinese companies such as Yealink, Hikvision and Alibaba.” [New York Post, 6/29/23]
June 8, 2023: Trump Was Indicted On 37 Criminal Counts Including Willfully Retaining National Defense Secrets, Making False Statements, And Obstructing Justice. According to the Associated Press, “Trump faces 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to the indictment unsealed Friday. The charges include counts of retaining classified information, obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes. Trump is accused of keeping documents related to ‘nuclear weaponry in the United States’ and the ‘nuclear capabilities of a foreign country,’ along with documents from White House intelligence briefings, including some that detail the military capabilities of the U.S. and other countries, according to the indictment. Prosecutors alleged Trump showed off the documents to people who did not have security clearances to review them and later tried to conceal documents from his own lawyers as they sought to comply with federal demands to find and return documents.” [Associated Press, 6/9/23]
Trump Pled Not Guilty To All Charges. According to CNN, “Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to alleged mishandling of classified documents.” [CNN, 6/13/23]
Trump Asked For A Jury Trial. According to CNN, “Trump’s lawyers asked for a jury trial during the former president’s arraignment Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Miami. ‘We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,’ Trump attorney Todd Blanche told the judge.” [CNN, 6/13/23]
July 27, 2023: Prosecutors Added Three New Charges Against Trump Include Attempting To Destroy Evidence, Inducing Someone To Destroy Evidence, And An Additional Violation Of The Espionage Act. According to the New York Times, “The revised indictment added three serious charges against Mr. Trump: attempting to ‘alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal evidence’; inducing someone else to do so; and a new count under the Espionage Act related to a classified national security document that he showed to visitors at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.” [New York Times, 7/27/23]
An Additional Charge Concerned The Possession Of A Classified War Plan Mentioned In The Original Indictment. According to Politico, “The new indictment in the Florida case adds new details about Trump’s alleged handling of the classified war plan, believed to be a plan of attack on Iran. It alleges that, on July 21, 2021, Trump shared the plan at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, with two people working on a book being written by his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows. In the original indictment, prosecutors had revealed they had a recording of that conversation, but they hadn’t yet charged Trump with possessing the document. The new indictment charges that Trump also had that classified war plan at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. It does not specify how the document reached either location.” [Politico, 7/27/23]
Trump And Co-Defendant Walt Nauta Pleaded Not Guilty To New Charges In The Classified Documents Case. According to ABC News, “Former President Donald Trump and longtime aide Walt Nauta both pleaded not guilty Thursday to new charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith in a superseding indictment last month in his classified documents probe.” [ABC News, 8/10/23]
Trump Did Not Attend The Arraignment. According to ABC News, “Trump, who waived his right to appear in person, was represented by attorney Todd Blanche, who entered a not guilty plea on Trump's behalf. Attorney Stanley Woodward entered a not guilty plea for Nauta who, like De Oliveira, was present in the Florida courtroom.” [ABC News, 8/10/23]
Trump Aide Walt Nauta Charged With Six Felonies In Connection To Trump’s Mishandling Of Classified Documents. According to NBC News, “Walt Nauta, an aide to Donald Trump, has been indicted on federal criminal charges connected to the former president's alleged mishandling of classified documents. Nauta was hit with six charges including conspiracy to obstruct, withholding a document or record and scheme to conceal, according to the federal indictment that was unsealed Friday afternoon. Nauta, Trump's butler and body man — whose legal bills are being paid by a Trump political organization — had come under scrutiny by investigators over his shifting accounts of whether he moved boxes of documents at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at his urging.” [NBC News, 6/9/23]
Walt Nauta Pled Not Guilty On Six Charges In The Classified Documents Case. According to The Hill, “Walt Nauta, former President Trump’s co-conspirator in the Mar-a-Lago case, pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom Thursday to obstruction of justice and other charges connected to withholding classified records from authorities. Nauta, a former White House military valet, faces charges on six counts in the case after he was spotted on security cameras moving boxes in and out of the storage room at Trump’s Florida home.” [The Hill, 7/6/23]
Trump Filed Four Motions To Dismiss The Classified Documents Case Charges. According to the New York Times, “Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump launched a flurry of attacks on Thursday night against the federal charges accusing him of illegally holding on to classified documents after he left office, filing more than 70 pages of court papers seeking to have the case thrown out. In four separate motions to dismiss the case, Mr. Trump’s lawyers made a barrage of legal arguments in seeking to circumvent a criminal case that many legal experts consider the most ironclad of the four against him. They attacked the law he is accused of violating, questioned the legality of the special counsel prosecuting him and argued that he is shielded from prosecution by presidential immunity.” [New York Times, 2/22/24]
Trump Argued That He Was Immune From Prosecution Despite Losing That Argument At An Appeals Court In The January 6 Case. According to the New York Times, “In one of their most brazen motions, Mr. Trump’s lawyers claimed that he was immune from prosecution on the classified documents charges even though a federal appeals court roundly rejected that argument this month when he sought to use it in a separate case, in which he stands accused of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. Mr. Trump’s claims of immunity have always rested on the theory that he could not be charged for any actions he undertook as president. And his lawyers sought to argue in their motion that he should not be prosecuted for moving dozens of classified records from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, because his initial decision to do so was made while he was in power.’” [New York Times, 2/22/24]
Trump Argued That The Espionage Act Was “Unconstitutionally Vague.” According to the New York Times, “In a separate motion, Mr. Trump’s lawyers sought to poke holes in different sections of the Espionage Act, saying that certain phrases of the law were ‘unconstitutionally vague as applied to President Trump.’ The law, for instance, makes it a crime to have ‘unauthorized possession’ of documents ‘relating to the national defense.’ Mr. Trump’s lawyers appeared to be arguing that presidents were always authorized to be in possession of national security files. They also claimed that the definition of ‘national defense’ records was so broad and ambiguous that no one could possibly know what the phrase meant.” [New York Times, 2/22/24]
March 14, 2024: Trump’s Motion To Dismiss The Charges On The Basis That The Statue Was Unconstitutionally Vague Was Dismissed. According to NBC News, “The judge presiding over the federal criminal case involving former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents on Thursday denied one of his two motions to dismiss the case, saying the motion was premature. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon found that Trump's argument that the main statute prosecutors are using against him is unconstitutionally vague as it applies to presidents is better-suited to be addressed at a later time ‘in connection with jury-instruction briefing and/or other appropriate motions.’” [NBC News, 3/14/24]
Judge Cannon Said Trump Could Raise The Issue That The Espionage Act Was Too Vague At Trial. According to Politico, “Less than three hours after the hearing concluded, Cannon turned down — for now — Trump’s motion to toss out 32 of the 40 felony charges he faces in the case. Trump had argued in the motion that the law he’s accused of violating, the Espionage Act, is too vague to apply in these circumstances. In a spare, two-page ruling, the judge said the former president’s argument ‘depends too greatly on contested’ legal arguments and factual issues that could be addressed at a trial in the case. She said she would address Trump’s vagueness claims if he raises them later in the case.” [Politico, 3/14/24]
Trump Argued That The Special Counsel Was Unlawfully Appointed Because AG Garland Had Not Gotten Smith Confirmed By The Senate. According to the New York Times, “In their third motion, Mr. Trump’s lawyers went after Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the two federal cases against Mr. Trump, claiming that he was unlawfully appointed to his post. The lawyers advanced an untested argument: that under the Constitution, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland should have gotten Senate confirmation for Mr. Smith’s appointment in November 2022. Without that, the lawyers wrote, ‘Jack Smith lacks the authority to prosecute this action.’” [New York Times, 2/22/24]
Trump Argued That He Had The Right To Declare Classified Records As Personal Under The Presidential Records Act. According to the New York Times, “Finally, Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed a motion reprising an argument that they — and their client — have made repeatedly since well before the indictment in the case was returned in June: that under the Presidential Records Act, Mr. Trump had the ‘unreviewable discretion’ to ‘designate the records at issue as personal,’ meaning that the documents were not unauthorized at all, but instead belonged to him. Legal experts have questioned this expansive interpretation of the Presidential Records Act, saying that the law was put in place after the Watergate scandal for precisely the opposite reason. It was meant to ensure that the U.S. government, not an individual president, has control over most presidential records.” [New York Times, 2/22/24]
April 4, 2024: Judge Cannon Rejected Trump’s Motion To Dismiss The Charges Against Him Due To The Presidential Records Act. According to the Miami Herald, “Former President Donald Trump lost his biggest bet so far to throw out his classified documents case Thursday when U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon firmly denied his motion, concluding that the Presidential Records Act ‘does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss’ the 42-count indictment. Trump’s lawyers argued at a hearing last month in the Fort Pierce federal courthouse that he designated the documents as his own personal property when he took them from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach after leaving office and therefore he had the authority to keep them. Her decision — barring a ruling on an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court in April that Trump has immunity against criminal prosecution — paves the way for his classified documents trial as scheduled on May 20 or later in the year as the presidential election looms between him and Joe Biden in November.” [Miami Herald, 4/4/24]
Trump Filed An Additional Three Motions That Were Under Redaction Review. According to NBC News, “Trump's attorneys filed three additional motions that were emailed privately to the court for redaction review.” [NBC News, 2/22/24]
June 2024: Judge Cannon Ordered The Removal Of One Incident From Trump’s Indictment, But Left All Charges Intact. According to the New York Times, “A federal judge on Monday slightly narrowed the classified documents case against former President Donald J. Trump, saying prosecutors cannot charge him based on an episode in which he is said to have shown a highly sensitive military map to a political adviser months after leaving office. The decision by the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, was more of a swipe at prosecutors working for the special counsel, Jack Smith, who brought the case than a major blow to the allegations against Mr. Trump. Even though Judge Cannon technically removed the incident from the 53-page indictment, prosecutors may still be able to introduce evidence of it to the jury if the case finally goes to trial.” [New York Times, 6/10/24]
February 22, 2024: Trump Co-Defendant De Oliveira Moved To Have The Obstruction Of Justice And Making False Statements Charges Thrown Out. According to the Guardian, “Lawyers for Donald Trump’s second co-defendant in the criminal case involving his retention of classified documents have asked a federal judge to throw out the parts of the indictment charging him with conspiring to obstruct justice and making false statements to the FBI. Carlos De Oliveira, who worked as the maintenance chief at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, was charged last year with taking part in an alleged effort to delete security footage of boxes containing classified documents being moved out of a storage room to be hidden. In a 19-page court filing on Thursday, lawyers for De Oliveira argued that the specific obstruction counts he was charged with should be tossed because De Oliveira was not aware that a grand jury subpoena had been issued for the footage, or of the compliance obligations the subpoena required.” [Guardian, 2/22/24]
April 18, 2024: Judge Cannon Rejected Requests By Trump Co-Defendants Nauta And De Oliveira To Dismiss The Charges Against Them. According to the New York Times, “The federal judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trump’s classified documents case on Thursday denied initial attempts by Mr. Trump’s two co-defendants to have the charges against them dismissed. The ruling by the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, was the first time she had rejected dismissal motions by the two men, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, both of whom work for Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida.” [New York Times, 4/18/24]
July 6, 2024: Judge Cannon Denied Trump Co-Defendant Walt Nauta’s Motion To Dismiss Charges Based On Selective Prosecution. According to ABC News, “The judge overseeing Donald Trump's classified documents case denied a motion to dismiss the charges against the former president's co-defendant and longtime aide, Walt Nauta. Nauta's lawyers attempted to have the charges against him thrown out by arguing that he was ‘selectively’ and ‘vindictively’ prosecuted by investigators – a claim that Judge Aileen Cannon considered during a hearing in May. In an order issued Saturday, Cannon denied the motion to dismiss the case, determining that Nauta failed to prove the prosecution was ‘motivated by a discriminatory purpose’ or that others who engaged in similar conduct were not prosecuted.” [ABC News, 7/6/24]
July 15, 2024: Judge Cannon Dismissed The Classified Documents Case Against Trump After Ruling That The Special Counsel’s Appointment Was Unconstitutional. According to ABC News, “The classified documents case against former President Donald Trump has been dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon, according to court records. The judge ruled that special counsel Jack Smith's appointment was unconstitutional. ‘The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution,’ she wrote.” [ABC News, 7/15/24]
July 17, 2024: The Special Counsel Formally Appealed Judge Cannon’s Decision To Throw Out The Charges Against Trump In The Classified Documents Case. According to Reuters, “U.S. prosecutors formally appealed on Wednesday a federal judge's decision to throw out the criminal case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith accusing Donald Trump of illegally holding on to classified documents following the end of his presidency. Smith's office filed a notice indicating it would ask the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive the case and reverse Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's ruling on Monday that Smith had been unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump in 2020, ruled that Smith's 2022 appointment violated the U.S. Constitution because Congress did not authorize Garland to name a special counsel with the degree of power and independence wielded by Smith.” [Reuters, 7/17/24]