US government documents were “likely concealed and removed” from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago as part of an effort to “obstruct” the FBI’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s potential mishandling of classified materials, the Justice Department said in a blockbuster court filing Tuesday night.
More than 320 classified documents have now been recovered from Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department said, including more than 100 in the FBI search earlier this month. Tuesday’s filing represents the Justice Department’s strongest case to date that Trump concealed classified material he was keeping at Mar-a-Lago in an attempt to obstruct the FBI’s investigation into the potential mishandling of classified material.
The Justice Department revealed the startling new details as part of its move to oppose Trump’s effort to intervene in the federal investigation that led to the search of his Florida resort and his desire for a “special master” to be appointed to the case. Trump has pushed an “incomplete and inaccurate narrative” in his recent court filings about the Mar-a-Lago search, the Justice Department said.
“The government provides below a detailed recitation of the relevant facts, many of which are provided to correct the incomplete and inaccurate narrative set forth in Plaintiff’s filings,” prosecutors wrote. It presents a strong rebuttal of the criticisms of the FBI’s unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, laying out clearly how Trump had failed to return dozens of classified documents even after his lawyer attested that he had provided all classified material in his possession.
A picture on the final page of the filing showing classified documents arrayed on the floor of Trump’s office — full of classified markings like “HCS,” or human confidential sources — hammered home how sensitive the material Trump had taken was. At issue is Trump’s compliance with a grand jury subpoena, issued in May, demanding that he turn over classified documents from Mar-a-Lago.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that some documents were likely removed from a storage room before Trump’s lawyers examined the area, while they were trying to comply with the subpoena. The timeline is essential, because Trump’s lawyers later told investigators that they searched the storage area and that all classified documents were accounted for.
“The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation,” prosecutors wrote. “This included evidence indicating that boxes formerly in the Storage Room were not returned prior to counsel’s review.” (CNN)
