Over 300 classified documents recovered from Trump’s Florida home—NY Times

By: 2 years ago

An aerial view of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents searched it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 15, 2022. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has recovered more than 300 documents with classified markings from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, including material from the CIA, the National Security Agency and the FBI, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing multiple people briefed on the matter.

An initial batch of more than 150 documents marked as classified was recovered by the U.S. National Archives in January, the newspaper reported. Aides to Trump gave the U.S. Justice Department a second set in June, while a third batch was seized in an FBI raid earlier this month, it said.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for the former president did not immediately provide comment.

Trump asked a federal court on Monday to temporarily block the FBI from reviewing the materials it seized on Aug. 8 from his Mar-a-Lago home until a special master can be appointed to oversee the review.

The search is part of a federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed documents when he left office in January 2021 after losing the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.

During its search, the FBI seized 11 sets of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago, some of which were labeled “top secret” – the highest level of classification reserved for the most closely held U.S. national security information and which can only be viewed in special government facilities.