The FBI confiscated several highly classified documents during a search of former US President Donald Trump’s home in Florida. This stems from the delivery of the confiscated material, which was made jointly by a court in the US state of Florida with search warrant He was released Friday at the request of US Attorney Merrick Garland.
Trump had previously claimed on the social network Truth Social, which he co-founded, that all documents were released, that is, declassified.
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Incumbent presidents have far-reaching powers to spread information and break secrecy. But in this case, it’s not quite as simple as Trump portrays it. There is an official procedure for the release of documents.
Additional approvals are required for some versions. In addition, it does not necessarily matter whether the documents have been declassified, because keeping documents without permission in the context of national defense can constitute a crime.
According to the FBI’s list, agents last Monday found a set of Top Secret/SCI documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which are top secret and can only be viewed in special government facilities. Four sets of confiscated documents are classified as „top secret”, another three as „secret” and the remaining three as „secret”.
The search warrant lists three criminal offenses as possible causes for potential confiscation: collecting, transferring, or losing defense information, removing or destroying official documents, and destroying or altering documents to obstruct investigations. The first charge – which falls under the US Espionage Act – carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, the second up to three years and the third up to 20 years.
But legal experts pointed out that the mention of anti-espionage law in the search warrant does not necessarily mean that Trump faces espionage charges.
Bradley Moss, a security attorney, wrote on Twitter that the law „covers a range of non-espionage related offenses.” The law deals with the „unlawful retention of information relating to national defense.”
Information about Macron and the pardon of Roger Stone
In addition to the search warrant, a list of confiscated documents was published. Accordingly, some of the documents confiscated in Mar-a-Lago „were supposed to be available only in private government institutions”. Among other things, these documents contained information about the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.
According to the list, the agents also confiscated several boxes, two photo albums and a pardon for Trump confidant Roger Stone, who was sentenced to 40 months in prison in the course of the case over alleged Russian election interference in Trump’s favour.
It remains unclear why Trump took the documents with him at all. The New York Times quoted people close to Trump as saying that it is his habit to simply collect souvenirs and memorabilia – without naming names.
The US Department of Justice, which is also the nation’s top law enforcement agency, asked a federal judge on Friday to release the search warrant.
Trump dismissed a media report on Friday that the FBI was also searching for classified documents on nuclear weapons. „The issue of nuclear weapons is a hoax,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social, which he co-founded. „The same lousy people are involved,” he said, referring to the impeachment trials and the Mueller investigation. Trump did not provide any evidence for his statements.
Unprecedented event
Those involved in the raid said FBI officials were looking for evidence that Trump illegally took government documents from the White House when he left office in January 2021.
On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed that the presumption of innocence applies. Meanwhile, he stressed that a federal court had authorized the search „after the necessary identification of sufficient suspicion.” „I personally supported the decision to request a search warrant.” Trump accused the administration of his successor, Joe Biden, of using the FBI for political ends.
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According to the White House, Biden had no prior knowledge of the search for Trump’s drug. This process is unprecedented in US history. Trump was not at his home during the inspection.
Garland justified the request to publish the search and receipt order, among other things, in the public interest.
The National Archives contradicts Trump’s claim about Obama
Meanwhile, the US National Archives, which is responsible for storing presidential documents, contradicted Trump’s claim that his predecessor Barack Obama kept secret documents after his departure. On Friday, the government organization said that, in accordance with legal requirements, after Obama left office in 2017, the National Archives „taken over the exclusive legal and physical custody of Obama’s presidential records.” About 30 million pages of unclassified documents are kept in the Chicago area. The confidential information will be kept in Washington.
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Trump wrote on the Truth Social on Friday that had authorities asked him about it, he would have given them all the documents. „The biggest problem is what are they going to do with the 33 million pages of documents, many of them classified, that President Obama took with him to Chicago?” he wrote in the same letter. Trump had previously made the same claim without providing any supporting evidence.
In general, the veracity of Trump’s statements is disputed. Washington Post fact-checkers have established that Trump made more than 30,000 false or misleading statements during his four-year term from 2017 to 2021.
Criticism from top Republicans
The raid caused outrage and anger in right-wing circles. Several senior politicians from Trump’s Republican Party and even former Vice President Mike Pence have accused the Justice Department of being politically motivated.
There have been threats of violence against the FBI in online forums, which its director, Christopher Wray, described as „reprehensible and dangerous.” Against this background, Thursday’s incident in Cincinnati, Ohio caused an especially great stir.
According to the FBI, a man attempted to break into an FBI office there. After a chase, the man aimed his gun at the policemen, who shot him.
The attacker reportedly called on US citizens to take up arms on Truth Social before the attack. „This is your call to arms,” according to the Internet account of 42-year-old Ricky Schaeffer, quoting screenshots. The account has since been deleted. (DPA, Agence France-Presse, Reuters)