Donald Trump’s mansion in Florida was littered with top-class classified U.S. government documents that must never leave a specially-protected government agency. These materials were taken away by his FBI agents during a house raid a month ago, causing a scandal unlike any other in the United States. Former president investigators suspect he illegally removed documents from the White House.
As the case continues to escalate, Trump has called the raid on the Mar-a-Lago home “one of the most shocking abuses of government power in American history.”
the former president said it on sunday he declared At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, he arrived to support candidates for the upcoming congressional and gubernatorial elections. He has not appeared in public since August 8th. FBI She conducted a several-hour raid at his residence.
Americans are already accustomed to the social uproar surrounding Trump since he entered politics in 2015. But his clashes with the current state apparatus are sharp even by his standards. A federal police intervention in a former president’s residence is a historically unprecedented event.
“It wasn’t just my home that was attacked, it was also the hopes and dreams of every citizen I am fighting against” against him and his voters as political persecution by state power.
“We are facing attacks by the FBI and the Department of Justice. falsely accused and said he was about to indict a presidency, which he himself increasingly signals.
On Sunday, he called the current US president, Democrat Joe Biden, a “devil-looking” “enemy of the state.” Trump responded to Biden’s last speech last Thursday, calling Trump and his voters “extremists who threaten the very foundation of our republic.”
a year and a half of negotiations
Two days before Trump showed up in Pennsylvania on Sunday, the Justice Department It was published The most detailed overview yet of the documents seized by the FBI in Mar-a-Lago. Among them are dozens of top-secret files that should never leave specially protected government agencies.
On Monday, Florida District Court Judge Eileen Cannon granted Trump’s request to appoint an independent arbitrator to review the contents of the seized documents. And until that happens, the department may not use the materials for ongoing investigations.
“The court recognizes that such restrictions on criminal investigations are unpopular, but the unprecedented circumstances make it difficult to ensure a fair trial,” said Cannon, who will assume his current role in 2020. We have determined that a short pause is necessary to allow for a neutral, third-party review of our work.” was nominated by then-President Donald Trump.
From the information known so far, which was gradually revealed by investigators in the weeks following the raid, the course of the entire case can be summarized. You can form at least a rough picture of the types of material you were working with.
The home inspection itself came after a year and a half of negotiations. National Archives Washington and investigators on the one hand, Trump and his lawyers on the other. The subject matter was precisely the documents that the ex-president had taken away last January during the chaotic final days of his presidency. White House Headquarters in Florida.
Trump later returned some of these materials, but his team falsely claimed they were all documents. It was only done after another failed negotiation.
“Top Secret” branded box
During a raid on Trump’s residence, investigators found 33 boxes containing more than 100 documents with varying degrees of classification, from Top Secret to Top Secret (English), according to the Justice Department’s aforementioned brief. was seized.
They found seven boxes in the former president’s office and the rest in the warehouse of his private club. .
In addition, investigators found about 50 empty files that, based on the markings on the boards, should contain classified and confidential documents. However, according to the Ministry of Justice, in this case it is still impossible to determine whether the file originally contained confidential printouts.
Regarding the list of materials seized, Resort said their review was just “one step in the investigation” in an ongoing “active criminal investigation.” justification A raid request, published in an incomplete version two weeks ago, indicates that the office suspects the former president of three possible crimes.
The most serious is a violation of the Wartime Espionage Act of 1917, which penalizes the illegal handling of classified material and carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The second offense could violate his 1978 law, which provides that documents related to the performance of the presidency be kept in the White House and made available for disposal by the National Archives in Washington. .
And third, it could be a criminal act of obstruction of justice. Trump said shortly after the raid that had the FBI told them about the documents, it might not have happened at all. , after Trump and his people repeatedly refused to cooperate fully and transparently.
A message from Obama, an agent in danger
National Archives Representative Washington They asked Trump’s team to return the documents last May, four months after he left the White House. , with partial success.
The Justice Department and the FBI took over after it was found to contain classified documents as well. Among the materials provided, investigators found classified documents in 14 of his boxes (out of a total of 184 documents, 25 were classified at the highest level).
In addition to relatively innocent documents from an intelligence standpoint, such as Trump’s correspondence with the North Korean dictator Kim Jung Eun Or the traditional personal message left for Trump in the Oval Office by his predecessor barack obama, These were also highly confidential documents. For example, the “live intelligence” of the US Secret Service. If these things fall into the wrong hands, they could pose a direct threat to U.S. agents on the ground.
Additionally, an ongoing FBI investigation has revealed that Trump has not returned nearly all of the documents to the National Archives. In May this year, the Ministry of Justice issued a court order seeking their extradition. Lawyers for the former president countered by saying Trump declassified all the materials while he was head of the White House, and according to them, he committed illegal acts by keeping the documents in Mar-a-Lago. had never committed
Nonetheless, Trump’s team agreed to visit the FBI in Mar-a-Lago, and investigators picked up another 38 files of classified documents on June 3 of this year, 17 of which were top secret. During this visit, Donald Trump also greeted investigators briefly.
Folder about Macron and nuclear weapons
“Thank you for your work. Let us know if you need anything,” Trump said, shaking hands with investigators. His attorney, Christina Bobova, later signed a statement that the former president’s team had conducted a “thorough investigation” under a court order issued and that “all relevant documents” had already been handed over. .
But the FBI had reason to believe it wasn’t true. Among other things, they had testimony from people close to Trump and video footage from his residence, including the incriminating warehouse of the Maralago Club. Please do not move the materials anywhere.”
On August 5 of this year, Florida District Court Judge Bruce Reinhart issued a search warrant at the request of the FBI and with the approval of Attorney General Merrick Garland. Three days later, on the night of August 8, his unarmed FBI agents searched his nine-hour Florida residence in New York. They confiscated another 33 boxes of him containing over 100 secret documents, as already mentioned.
In addition to classified and not-so-classified materials for American security, such as the French president’s intelligence folder, it was repeated again Emmanuel Macronaccording to information in the American media, it was supposed to be top secret.
For example, according to the sheet Washington Post These were documents related to nuclear weapons.However, an anonymous source for this journal did not specifywhether it is American weapons or those of other states.
But for Trump and his supporters, the incident quickly became the pretext for a new wave of fierce resistance to Democrats. Joe Biden and the ongoing alleged conspiracy of Washington’s old structures, which the former president calls the “Deep State.”
who benefits?
On his social network Truth Social, Trump has subscribed to various conspiracy theories, including the fact that the FBI planted him with false material to indict him. supported the president.
The case was also, inevitably, a focal point of the campaign, just two months before the congressional and gubernatorial elections. But according to American commentators and political scientists, it’s impossible to say for sure whether he directs more recordings to Republicans or Democrats.
It can mobilize Republican voters and help boost turnout, but if other voters focus again on Trump instead of issues such as high inflation that blame Biden, the candidate’s There is also the possibility that it will be disadvantageous to your chances.
Despite the popularity of the current president, lowonly 42%, but in a hypothetical battle with Trump, American voters rate him far better. We believe the raid was justified and “was part of a lawful and proper investigation” to determine whether the former president committed illegal acts.
Research, especially fresh research in papers wall street journalfurthermore they showa significant spillover of Republican-to-Democrat preference has occurred in recent weeks, mostly among independent voters who tend to tip the scale in elections.
But while that case interfered with elections, future elections could affect the investigation of the entire case. It pointed out According to the New York Times, according to the unwritten rules of American politics, the Justice Department is to refrain from making decisions that could affect an election 60 days before an election.
Justice Minister Merrick Garland may delay the investigation until the November elections and take no further action against Trump, according to legal experts cited in the letter.
Video: FBI Raids Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Mansion
FBI Agents Search Former President Donald Trump’s Private Residence Video: Associated Press
