Details of Mar-a-Lago search: Top-secret documents related to nuclear weapons were kept on Trump's estate

The National Archives (NARA) found more than 700 pages of classified material, including "Special Access Program files," one of the government's most secret documents, in 15 boxes seized in January from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, reports Politico.

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A May 10 letter, published late on Aug. 22 on the website of John Solomon, a conservative journalist and one of Trump's authorized representatives to the National Archives to examine documents from his presidency, revealed that NARA and federal investigators were increasingly alarmed at the potential damage to national security. caused by the storage of these documents in Mar-a-Lago, as well as Trump's resistance to handing them over to the FBI.

Those recordings included 700 pages of classified material, according to a letter sent by national archivist Debra Wall to Trump's lawyer Evan Corcoran.

Wall's letter describes earlier correspondence in which Trump's team objected to the disclosure of the contents of 15 FBI crates.

On the subject: Who in the US has access to top-secret documents: how unique are the papers that Trump took with him to Mar-a-Lago

“As you are no doubt aware, NARA was in constant communication with Trump representatives throughout 2021 regarding what appeared to be missing presidential records, which resulted in the transfer of 15 boxes of records to NARA in January 2022,” she wrote. Wall. “During an initial review of the materials in these boxes, NARA identified items designated as classified national security information up to the Top Secret level, including confidential information and Special Access Program materials.”

The letter also indicated that an assessment of the national security threats associated with Trump's possession of the documents was already underway long before members of Congress were informed about it.

Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (D-Fla.) have already approached the intelligence community to provide such an assessment.

US officials in the national security community expressed extreme surprise and concern at Trump's offhand handling of classified material. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic, said they were struck by the "recklessness" of the move.

It's an "insult" for "those people who dedicated their lives to protecting and enforcing rule-based order, only for someone to come in and use their special access to illegally collect and store top secret documents," the source said. .

It can take up to ten years to declassify certain information, said one former Department of Defense official who still has security clearances, so the fact that Trump took hundreds of pages of classified material is "one of the worst things I've ever done." or heard."

“There is no gray area here. I'm just in shock," the source said.

The correspondence also shows that despite NARA returning 15 boxes in January, Justice Department and FBI investigators did not see their contents until May, after lengthy negotiations with Trump officials. The letter also shows that, in the meantime, the Justice Department has asked President Joe Biden to authorize NARA to release the tapes to investigators, despite Trump's attempts to claim executive privilege over the tapes. Wall indicated that she rejected Trump's statement due to the importance of the documents to national security.

"NARA informed the Department of Justice of this discovery, prompting the Department to request the President that NARA grant the FBI access to the disputed boxes so that the FBI and other members of the intelligence community can examine them," Wall wrote.

Biden, according to Wall, delegated the privilege decision to her after consulting with the Justice Department.

“The FBI and other members of the intelligence community access this material in the interest of national security,” Wall said.

“Not only is access to the materials necessary for the purposes of our ongoing criminal investigation, the Executive Branch must also assess the potential harm resulting from the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take any necessary corrective action,” according to the Department of Justice letter. “Accordingly, we are seeking immediate access to these materials to facilitate the necessary assessments that need to be made within the executive branch.”

Wall pointed out that the Archive notified Trump on April 12 of the "urgency" of checking the FBI documents, but delayed their release at the direction of Trump's team.

“It has been four weeks since we first informed you of our intention to give the FBI access to the boxes so that it and other members of the intelligence community could conduct their reviews,” Wall wrote. “Notwithstanding the urgency conveyed by the Department of Justice and the reasonable extension granted to Trump, your April 29 letter requests additional time to review the materials in the boxes to ensure that any particular document is subject to confidentiality and then consult with Trump "so that he may personally make any decision to assert a claim to constitutional privilege."

Wall said she consulted with the Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel and decided not to comply with the request.

“The Executive Branch here is seeking access to records owned and maintained by the federal government itself, not only to determine whether those records were used unlawfully, but also, as Homeland Security explained, to “assess the potential harm in as a result of the apparent manner in which these materials were stored and transported and take all necessary corrective measures,” she said.

Earlier this month, it was reported that some of the documents in Trump's possession dealt with nuclear weapons and "special access program" materials, as evidenced by Wall's letter. But at the time, Trump's GOP allies held back until they could hear from NARA directly.

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At least one Republican MP noted that this particular scenario would be problematic.

“I mean, if he had real special access program materials – do you know how extremely important that is? This is very, very important. If those papers were actually in his house, that would be a problem," said Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On August 8, the FBI issued a warrant for search at the resort Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents that may have been brought there.
• FBI agents seized secret recordings from the home of the 45th US President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida during an unprecedented search. Some of them have been marked as top secret.
• In this case, the US Department of Justice is investigating, Did the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump violate several federal laws related to the handling of classified documents. But that's not all: several other departments have also filed cases against Trump.
• Who in the United States has access to top-secret documents and how unique are the papers that Trump took with him to Mar-a-Lago, read in our material.

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