The top secret documents seized from the former president’s residence Donald Trump in Florida, “they probably hid them” to obstruct a federal police investigation into the Republican tycoon, according to a Justice Department document released overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
This procedural document explains the reasons that led the federal police (F.B.I) to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on August 8 to seize documents he should not have taken with him when he left the White House.
Before this operation, the FBI had found “ample evidence” that “classified documents” were still at Trump’s residence. The federal police “also had evidence that government documents were likely hidden and taken (…) and that actions were taken to obstruct the investigation,” that document continues.
The department describes FBI agents first going to Mar-a-Lago in June to retrieve several files. A member of Trump’s team “assured them under oath” that they were the last ones still being held in that house. But in the survey that took place in Augustthe police officers found some 30 boxes of documents which were characterized as “confidentially” or even “top secret”. The FBI and the department’s lawyers were forced to seek “additional approval” to be able to study them.
Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of a House Intelligence Committee, spoke of “deliberate deception” and “extremely irresponsible» behavior on the part of Trump’s inner circle.
On the last page of the document, a photograph shows the documents seized by the authorities, stamped “Top secret” above them, spread out on a carpet with a floral pattern.
“It’s appalling the way the FBI, during the raid on Mar-a-Lago, he literally threw the documents on the floor (maybe to make them think I did it!),” Trump responded via the Truth Social platform, assuring that he had previously declassified these documents himself.
The Justice Department said it explained the process that led to the search of the home to “correct the incomplete and inaccurate narrative presented in the statements” by Trump.
The ministry’s announcement essentially responds to the request made last week by the former president, requesting that the seized documents be examined by an independent expert. The appointment of a third party could prevent investigators from accessing the documents, and authorities are not required to do so because “those documents do not belong” to Trump, the department stressed.
The case came to light in January when the National Archives, which is responsible for keeping presidential documents, received 15 boxes of files that Donald Trump took with him when he left the White House. From examining these boxes the FBI became convinced that the former president likely had other documents in his possession. Investigators believe Trump violated the US Espionage Act by possessing classified documents.
At the moment, however, he has not been prosecuted for any case.
Source: News Beast
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