According to a report from the New York Times, his team was said to have provided incomplete information about the whereabouts of confidential documents in Trump’s possession. Citing four unnamed people, the newspaper wrote on Saturday that at least one Republican lawyer was said to have signed a statement in June that all classified material had been returned to the government. On the other hand, Trump continued his denunciation of the inspection.
The alleged letter from Trump’s team to the Department of Justice, also reported by CNN, contradicts the FBI’s list of seized documents on Monday. During a search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the FBI seized several highly classified documents. In doing so, the former president may have violated many laws, including the US Espionage Act. According to the FBI’s list, the agents also found Top Secret/SCI documents, which can only be viewed at special government facilities.
Obstruction of justice as grounds for search warrant
The attorney’s letter can explain why the search warrant also states that obstruction of justice is the potential basis for possible confiscation. It also raises new questions about how many people could be prosecuted as part of the ongoing investigation into the handling of classified information from Trump’s days in the White House, CNN reported. Trump and his team continued to oppose it. “As with any Democratic witch hunt, this unprecedented and unnecessary campaign is being carried out by a media willing to work with suggestive leaks and anonymous sources rather than hard facts,” a Trump spokesperson said.
Trump has published articles for right-wing media on the Truth Social network, which he co-founded, calling him a “martyr” or denigrating investigators. The 76-year-old also wrote that the truth is on his side – and if you have the truth on your side, you will win in the end. He spoke of “false reports” and “fraud”. Trump himself has made the research public and talked about investigators and the judiciary. Prosecutor Merrick Garland had stressed that the presumption of innocence applies. Meanwhile, he stressed that a federal court approved the search “after the necessary identification of sufficient suspicion.”
Trump claims declassification has been lifted
National Archives officials discovered last year that Trump took a number of documents and other government materials with him when he left the White House at the end of his term in January 2021. By law, this material should have been handed over to the National Archives. Trump finally turned over several documents to power at the beginning of the year. Then, according to US media reports, there was an additional exchange between investigators and Trump’s lawyer. US media said officials suspected that Trump or his team were still holding important documents.
Trump has now argued that he declassified the documents in question and could therefore simply take them with him. Incumbent presidents have far-reaching powers to spread information and break secrecy. But for the release of documents there is a formal procedure that includes several very formal steps – simple verbal instructions are not enough. Plus, the president must break secrecy during his tenure – he can’t do that afterwards. It is unclear whether the documents have gone through the legally required approval process.
In addition, it does not necessarily play a role whether or not documents are issued. Even keeping documents without permission can be a crime in the context of national defense if it jeopardizes the security of the country. Experts note that some documents, for example related to nuclear weapons, simply cannot be released. All of these questions must now be clarified by the courts. (SDA)
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