Judicial deadlock over classified documents confiscated from Donald Trump’s home

The series of archives that Donald Trump kept after he left the White House is a matter of national security. In the September 7 edition, Washington Post Allegedly among the documents seized on August 8 by federal police from the residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, is a note describing the military capabilities – including nuclear – of a foreign country. The newspaper does not specify the name of the country, nor the degree of possible classification. This is the only information so far – not quite complete – about the content of the documents, which immediately opened the way to endless speculation among commentators.

But there are other certainties in this case, overwhelming for the former president. The latter kept for eighteen months at his residence very sensitive archives, some of which detail the work of the intelligence services. This is without justification and without the strict security and conservation requirements normally required. Notes bearing, for example, the sign “Rated / TS / SCI” In principle they can only be consulted in a federal building designated for this purpose. It is impossible, at this stage, to assess the damage caused, without knowing who had access to what documents and for what purpose.

On August 8, the FBI obtained confirmation of the lightness of storing archives, in disarray, often mixed with magazines and photographs. The police found 48 empty files, which were marked “secret information”. Some of the documents found during the search were categorized as “HCS,” a category that includes highly sensitive human sources, particularly moles or hacked agents in hostile environments or foreign systems. Investigators came across notes with restricted access, he explains Washington Postthat even some of the top officials in the current security services, in the Biden administration, are not allowed to consult with them.

About 300 documents in total

In 2021, the National Archives attempted to rebuild the missing files, but it ran into a wall on the side of Donald Trump. The Ministry of Justice has participated in these efforts on several occasions. By January, 184 documents had been obtained from the former president. In June, his lawyers handed over 38 others. But the FBI, well informed thanks to an inside source in the residence, suspected that advisers to Donald Trump and the latter were concealing the scope and nature of the archive. Hence the amazing search in Mar-a-Lago on August 8, during which a hundred more documents were discovered.

You have 53.46% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.