Aaliyah Fooks
Following the unprecedented FBI raid on former U.S President Donald Trump’s home in August 2022, a US court has made a detailed inventory of the seized documents public.
This comes shortly after Donald Trump asked a Judge to freeze the US Justice Department’s investigation into the files. Trump filed the lawsuit on August 15th, with his lawyers arguing that the Government may have violated the former President’s Fourth Amendment Rights, due to their lack of a ‘provided reason for the search’.
Trump records timeline
- January 2022 – The National Archives retrieves 15 boxes of White House records from Mar-a-Lago and says some of the documents it received at the end of the Trump administration had been torn up.
- February – Reports emerge that classified files were found in the Mar-a-Lago cache and National Archives has asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate.
- April – US media report the FBI has begun a preliminary investigation.
- 3 June – A senior DoJ official and three FBI agents travel to Mar-a-Lago to review items in a basement. According to Mr. Trump, he told them: “Whatever you need, just let us know.”
- 8 June – Federal investigators write to a Trump aide to ask that a stronger lock be used to secure the room storing the items. Trump says that request was quickly fulfilled.
- 22 June – The Trump Organization receives a DoJ summons for CCTV footage from Mar-a-Lago.
- 8 August – Dozens of agents search Mar-a-Lago, seizing more than 20 boxes, some containing top secret files, according to the warrant.
- 12 August – Warrant released, showing that 11 sets of classified documents were taken.
- 25 August – Judge orders justice department to release a redacted version of court papers that convinced him to authorise a search of the Trump estate.
NEW: The unsealed inventory of what FBI agents seized from Mar-a-Lago included 90 EMPTY folders meant for sensitive documents, marked either as classified or for return to the White House Staff Secretary.
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) September 2, 2022
Why is this a ‘big deal’?
Trump’s mishandling of the Mar-a-Lago documents highlights the former President’s complete disregard for protocol and national security. Upon leaving office, Presidents must transfer all documents, emails, and records to the National Archives.
The Justice Department is spearheading an investigation into the claims that Trump removed documents from the White House, after leaving office in January 2021, and took them to his Florida home.
The documents seized from Mr. Trump’s Florida home include:
• 3 documents marked confidential
• 17 documents marked secret
• 7 documents marked top secret
• 43 empty folders with classified banners
• 28 empty folders labelled ‘Return to staff secretary/military aide’
FBI agents took 33 boxes of documents, including folders marked as ‘classified’; several documents marked ‘Secret’ and ‘Top Secret’ were also removed from the former President’s office.
Prosecutors with the Department of Justice have alleged that Mr. Trump and his lawyers failed to provide the relevant documents upon request and are suspected to have ‘concealed or removed’ papers in an attempt to obstruct the investigation.
Trump claimed that the documents found in his possession had already been declassified and kept in a secure storage room at his Florida home. This claim, which contradicts the unsealed FBI raid inventory, shows that 1,500 documents and empty classified folders were retrieved from Trump’s office.
The inventory also shows that many classified documents, in the storage room and in Mr. Trump’s office, were mixed with photos, newspaper clippings, ‘clothing/gift items’, and empty folders. The organization of these documents raises further concerns about Trump’s care for apparent “declassified” materials.
Seven documents marked Top Secret, alongside 17 Secret documents, were found in Trump’s office and not in the Estate’s storage area.
This suggests that these highly classified items were not just collecting dust in boxes; they were at the former president’s fingertips, and that he may have had them accessible for a reason.
Prosecutions & the case for a Special Master
Trump’s lawyers have argued that a Special Master – an outside legal expert – should be appointed to this case. Their role would be to determine whether the files are covered by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.
The former President’s lawyers claimed that the Department of Justice would “impugn, leak, and publicise selective aspects” of its investigation, without the oversight of a special master.
At the hearing, District Court Judge Cannon said she could grant Mr. Trump’s request, despite the DoJ highlighting the move as unnecessary.
Separately, Judge Cannon – who ordered the inventory to be unsealed – has blocked the FBI from using evidence seized at Mar-a-Lago and has ordered a special master review.
Although the Justice Department can appeal the ruling, so long as it is in place it will protect Donald Trump from being indicted for any crime based on evidence found during the search of his home.
Judge Cannon’s injunction only stops the DOJ from reviewing and using anything seized from Mar-a-Lago on August 8th. Expect the DOJ to probe whether Trump has sensitive documents at his other properties as well. @CNNSitRoom pic.twitter.com/trrzQcoooB
— Dave Aronberg (@aronberg) September 5, 2022
Trump & the support of the right
Roy Bunger, 65, told the New York Times the Biden administration was “deliberately targeting” Trump “to keep him from running again.”
Speaking in Pennsylvania; at his first rally since the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, and since Joe Biden warned that Republicans were assaulting US democracy, Donald Trump lashed out:
“The FBI and the justice department have become vicious monsters, controlled by radical-left scoundrels, lawyers and the media, who tell them what to do.”
Mr. Trump’s comments will seem ironic to those who remember the appointment of FBI director Christopher Wray, by Trump in 2017.
Of the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said, “It was not just my home that was raided last month. It was the hopes and dreams of every citizen who I’ve been fighting for.”
Calling the search “one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history” and “a travesty of justice”. Trump went on to say, “They’re trying to silence me and more importantly they’re trying to silence you. But we will not be silenced, right?”
The former President has taken the accusations lodged against him and flipped those onto his opponents, whilst simultaneously utilising the excitement he generates amongst his supporters to perpetuate his version of events.
This is a well-honed strategy that we have seen the former President use before to insight support and even insurrections from his MAGA enthusiasts. (As seen on January 6th).
This is just the latest in a series of events, in which Mr. Trump’s credibility and legal standing has been called into question. The former President was impeached twice, before being beaten in the 2020 election, by Joe Biden.
Trump’s acquittal reveals the full extent to which the US political system is failing
Featured image courtesy of Dalton Caraway on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
