Trump attorney ‘told DoJ all classified material in Mar-a-Lago had been returned’, #Trump #lawyer #told #DoJ #classified #material #MaraLago #returned Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
A lawyer for former President Donald Trump reportedly told the Justice Department that all classified material at Mar-a-Lago had been returned by June.
At least one member of Trump’s legal team signed a written statement earlier this summer that all materials marked as classified and stored in boxes at Mr. Trump’s private club and home had been turned over to the government, according to the report. four people who spoke to? The New York Times.
Jay Bratt, a counterintelligence officer with the DOJ’s national security department, visited the Florida estate on June 3, after which the written statement was made.
The statement suggests that Mr. Trump and his attorneys have not been completely sincere in their dealings with federal authorities, The times noted. The paper added it could explain why an allegation of obstruction was cited by the DOJ in seeking the warrant.
Monday’s FBI raid came after months of discussions between authorities and Mr Trump and his aides.
The FBI has removed 11 sets of documents marked as classified. Some were marked as “classified/TS/SCI”, meaning “top secret/sensitive compartmentalized information”. Such information should only be viewed in a secure government facility known as a SCIF – Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility.
The search included a storage facility in Mar-a-Lago, as well as Mr. Trump’s office and residence. On Friday, Mr. Trump claimed he released the documents while he was still president, but he provided no evidence that he had.
“Like any Democrat-manufactured witch hunt before, the waters of this unprecedented and unnecessary raid are being carried by a media willing to run with suggestive leaks, anonymous sources and no hard facts,” Trump spokesman Taylor Budovich said on Saturday. The New York Times.
The search warrant said law enforcement officers were looking for evidence linked to possible violations of the Espionage Act and a law prohibiting the unlawful removal or destruction of government documents, as well as allegations of obstruction.
National Archives officials discovered last year that Mr. Trump had taken government documents and other types of material with him when he left the White House in January 2021. Under the Presidential Records Act, such materials must be sent to the archives.
In January, Trump returned 15 boxes of material. The records determined that many had been classified and sent the case to the DOJ, who appointed a grand jury and launched an investigation into the matter.
DOJ issued a subpoena this spring in an effort to find additional documents believed to be in Mr. Trump’s home. He was advised on several occasions by assistants to hand over what was left, contrary to what individuals said was his willingness to preserve some materials, according to The times.
Bratt, along with other officials, visited the Florida residence in early June to try and resolve the issue. They met Mr. Trump for a short time during that visit, the paper reported.
People with knowledge of the meeting said: The times that Trump attorneys Evan Corcoran and Christina Bobb met with DOJ officials.
The lawyers showed the officials boxes of materials Mr. Trump had brought from the White House that was in a storage room at the time.
Two individuals told the paper that the officials left the residence with further classified documents and also obtained the written statement around the same time, with at least one Trump attorney confirming that all the materials had been handed over.
After the meeting, Mr. Bratt told Mr. Corcoran in an email to get a better padlock for the storage area, which the Trump team did, The times reported.
DOJ also subpoenaed the club’s security video files, including footage from outside the storage area. According to The times, the footage raised concerns at DOJ that the materials were not properly cared for. Officials have spoken with about six Trump associates in recent months about the handling of the documents.
When Mr. Biden became president, he prevented Mr. Trump from receiving secret briefings given to former presidents, citing his “irregular behavior”.
Trump’s handling of classified information was also a concern among officials during his tenure.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Thursday that he had approved the Mar-a-Lago search, suggesting that the DOJ would not have done so without taking less intrusive actions first.
Just prior to Mr. Garland’s statement, a person in Mr. Trump’s inner circle contacted a DOJ official to send a message from Mr. Trump to Mr. Garland.
The former president wanted the attorney general to know that he had spoken to people in the US and that they were outraged by the raid.
“The country is on fire,” Mr Trump says, according to the person with knowledge of the message, The times reported. “What can I do to reduce the heat?”
A judge unlocked the search warrant the next day, which included an inventory of the items the FBI collected Monday.
Mr. Trump claimed that no wrongdoing had occurred, and he also unfoundedly suggested that agents had placed evidence in his residence.