WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – After the search of Donald Trump’s property, a procedural document has revealed new details about the investigation against the former US President. The Justice Department in Washington on Friday, by order of a judge, partially released the document on the basis of which the search of Trump’s private home Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach three weeks ago was authorized. About half of the 30+ pages have been blacked out to protect sensitive information.
The document also provides information about the FBI’s initial suspicions against the 76-year-old. Accordingly, 14 of 15 boxes of documents that Trump had already sent from Mar-a-Lago to the National Archives contained confidential and sometimes top-secret documents. 184 documents were classified – 67 as “confidential”, 92 as “secret” and 25 as “top secret”. According to the FBI, classified documents were found with other papers. Therefore, there was reason to believe that there were other classified documents on the property.
A judge in the state of Florida had ordered the partial publication of the paper on Thursday – in view of the great public interest. Several media had applied for publication in court. On August 8, the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, where Trump has often stayed since leaving the White House in January last year. Since he kept the records at his private estate, he may have broken the law. This is now being investigated. Trump suspects political reasons and defends himself with a lawsuit.
In view of the intense pressure in the politically sensitive case, Attorney General Merrick Garland had previously pushed for the release of the search warrant and evidence of the confiscated items. According to this, the agents found, among other things, a set of documents classified as “Top Secret/SCI”, which are top secret and may only be viewed in special government institutions. Four of the confiscated sets of documents were classified as “Top Secret”, three more as “Secret” and the remaining three as “Confidential”.
Investigators searching the home of a former president is considered unprecedented in US history. The operation caused a stir. Trump accused the administration of his Democratic successor Joe Biden of using the FBI for political ends. For weeks he has fueled speculation that he will run again in the next presidential election in just over two years. Trump rejects all allegations: he claims that all documents were released, so the secrecy was lifted./jac/DP/he