“Realistically, no one actually believes that Trump had such an order.
National security law experts who previously spoke with The Hill noted that while Trump would have broad powers as president to declassify documents, such a practice is usually done on a case-by-case basis, and also triggers notification to other agencies that hold classified information, so that they can reclassify them appropriately in their own system. “If the DOJ was really focused on recovering the classified material and was not criminally investigating the former president, they would not be calling in former NSC officials to question them about Trump’s supposed “standing order” declassifying documents,” Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, wrote on Twitter. Shortly after the warrant was executed, Trump claimed the documents removed from his home were “all declassified.” He later elaborated in a statement to Fox News that he had “a standing order” to declassify any documents. In a sign the Department of Justice is not content to have simply secured the return of classified materials, its investigators appear to be contacting former Trump-era officials about his claims of having declassified the contents removed from his Florida home.Īccording to reporting from R olling Stone, the FBI has thus far been conducting voluntary interviews with those who could have knowledge of such an order, including former staff on the National Security Council. DOJ appears to be investigating Trump’s claims around a ‘standing order’ “All indications are that the government’s argument will amount to three things: (1) Trump took the properly marked classified records with him to Florida (2) he left them in boxes in the basement (3) when confronted about it, he willfully held onto records despite demands from NARA and later the FBI to return them,” he added, referring to the National Archives and Records Administration, which takes custody of White House records when a president leaves office. “This aligns with what we know so far from public media reporting, as well as the minimal information we have derived from the unsealed court filings,” Bradley Moss, a national security lawyer and partner in the law office of Mark S. That new detail appeared to lend further support to the theory - one that was already widely assumed - that Trump himself is the target of the investigation. State House candidate from Florida banned from Twitter for suggesting violence against federal officials What the criminal cover sheet revealed, after it was unsealed Thursday, is that law enforcement had probable cause to think a “willful retention of national defense information” occurred.
It was already known that investigators believed the materials housed at Trump’s residence were linked to a likely violation of the Espionage Act, a WWI-era statute designed to help safeguard the country’s vital national security secrets. That document, known as a criminal cover sheet, provided additional insight into the nature of the crime under investigation, according to some legal experts.
Trump eyed for ‘willful’ violations of the Espionage ActĪlthough the most highly sensitive materials underlying the Mar-a-Lago search warrant remained under seal this week, the judge presiding over the case did make one court record newly available to the public. Meanwhile, the DOJ has fought to limit how much information will come out about an ongoing investigation with Trump as its target. Trump has called for the release of more information tied to the search, an effort that corresponds with bashing the agency for what he claims is a politically motivated attack. ( The Hill) – Former President Trump could be facing mounting legal troubles as new details emerge about the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that prompted an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.
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