Washington: The FBI has said that it has found highly classified documents kept in boxes along with various newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence from former US President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. The FBI said in an affidavit filed Friday that 14 of the 15 boxes recovered from the Florida estate earlier this year contained classified documents.
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate has no designated area for storing classified material. According to the documents provided to the court by the FBI, the presence of these documents was the obstacle to the search of the estate. Records were kept illegally. The 32-page affidavit details the documents and says they were kept there after Trump left the White House. The affidavit has been heavily redacted to protect the safety of witnesses and law enforcement officials and the integrity of the investigation.
Trump’s illegal possession of top-secret government documents and the failure to release them to officials despite months of requests could lead to new legal action against Trump. This problem has arisen for Trump while he is trying to compete in the 2024 presidential election.
According to the FBI affidavit, it is conducting a criminal investigation related to the possession of classified government information and its storage in unauthorized locations.
Mar-a-Lago needed to be searched because documents of extreme importance were found in 15 boxes. According to the affidavit, 25 of the 184 documents are top secret.
The affidavit did not provide new details about the 11 sets of classified records found during the Aug. 8 search at Mar-a-Lago, but instead referred to a separate batch of 15 boxes recovered by the National Archives and Records Administration in January.
Trump says he has fully cooperated with government officials. He alleges that it is a politically motivated hunt intended to damage his election chances. Trump said in his social media post on Friday that his representatives have also been in close contact with the FBI and “gave them a lot.”