According to the Washington Post, a classified document seized by the FBI at former US President Donald Trump’s Florida residence describes a foreign power’s nuclear capabilities and military defences. The report, however, did not identify the country in question. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate also serves as a private club, and it is unclear where the highly sensitive material was discovered.
According to the Post, some of the documents discovered during the August 8 raids were so highly classified that only the president and cabinet or near-cabinet level officials would be authorised to grant access to other government officials. ‘Even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents,’ according to a government court filing.
According to the Post, such documents require need-to-know clearances rather than top-secret clearances. According to the Justice Department, top secret documents were ‘likely concealed’ in order to obstruct an FBI investigation into Trump’s potential mishandling of classified materials. Previously, after months of back and forth with the National Archives and Records Administration, Trump handed over ‘highly classified’ records in January, which were later reviewed by authorities. Trump handed over 15 boxes containing 184 documents labelled confidential, secret, or top secret.
The FBI, on the other hand, was unconvinced, and Trump’s lawyer was eventually forced to turn over 38 more classified documents. They even provided ‘sworn certification’ that they had the last of the material. However, the FBI discovered ‘multiple sources of evidence’ indicating that classified documents were still present at Mar-a-Lago.
Post Your Comments